Epiphanies In The Bean Trees

In The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, three characters in particular undergo a catharsis, each in their own way: Esperanza, Turtle, and Taylor. This paper will focus on the change on the development of the character Esperanza, showing the suffering and difficulties, she has undergone and how through a catharsis, this suffering was ameliorated.

Barbara Kingsolver uses irony and ____ in order to show differences in the roles of parents. Missy leaves her hometown and stops in a town to eat food. While there, a woman tries to give her a baby.

“Scotty Richey … killed himself on his sixteenth birthday … nobody could understand about Scotty … But the way I see it is, he just didn’t have anybody. … It was like we were all the animals on Noah’s ark that came in pairs, except of his kind there was only one” (Kingsolver 132-4). In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Bean Trees, Taylor mentions to Estevan her classmate Scotty Richey’s suicide. She explains that although her school had a very distinct social hierarchy, people within a class had each other for company. Scotty, however, had nobody. As a result of the extreme isolation he faced, he committed suicide. Today, bullying is a developing issue in the world and exclusion, which Scotty faced, is just one of many forms of bullying. What Scotty experienced in the novel occurs in schools around the world, and the consequences are unimaginable and horrific. In light of the increasingly advanced technology developed in recent years, cyberbullying has become a more common form of bullying among students. Cyberbullying, or bullying that occurs through the internet or media, happens due to the courage that bullies acquire by not having to physically face their victims. The harassment the victims experience lead to mental as well as physical health issues, which often times leads to suicide. In order to prevent such grave repercussions, education systems and parents must teach kids how to behave properly on the

In the famous poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, America is deemed a land of “world wide welcome” for those who seek a new place to call home. The Statue of Liberty is established early on in the piece as a symbol of freedom and protection, a statue symbolic of the spirit of America. In the piece, Lazarus refers to immigrants as the “poor, huddled masses” to whom the United States offers a pair of open “golden doors.” However, many immigrants today feel far removed from the land of freedom referenced in The New Colossus. The promise of a blue sky with endless possibilities is far from reality for the Americans that the poem calls the huddled masses. It is clear that America’s promise of freedom and opportunity, characterized by the

Birds are a personal symbol for Turtle’s development. Throughout the novel, birds are tied to Turtle and major events in her life. Turtle makes her first sound when the car stops suddenly to avoid a family of quail. “I slammed on the brakes and we all pitched forward… ‘I think that sound was a laugh’...In the road up ahead there was a quail, the type that has one big feather spronging out the front of its head like a forties-model ladies' hat. We could just make out that she was dithering back and forth in the road, and then we gradually could see that there were a couple dozen babies running around her every which way” (Kingsolver 106-107). Turtle and Taylor have become comfortable as a family and Turtle has recovered from her previous trauma to the point that she makes audible noises and expresses herself. Just as the family of Taylor and Turtle has brought joy to the lives of Lou Ann, Mattie, Esperanza and Estevan, this disruptive family of birds bring joy and laughter to Taylor and Turtle. When Taylor takes Turtle to the doctor and learns the extent of Turtle’s abuse, she sees a bird that has made its nest inside a cactus. “I looked through the bones to the garden on the other side. There was a cactus with bushy arms and a coat of yellow spines as thick as fur. A bird had built her nest in it. In and out she flew among the horrible spiny branches, never once hesitating. You just couldn't imagine how she'd made a home in there” (Kingsolver 137-138). Just as the bird has

To all the characters in the story, they truly found themselves through their epiphanies. Most of the stories heavily depended on the character’s epiphanies throughout a story, as a story should. Each character had these crucial moments in order to further develop and grow. I interpret having an epiphany as a sudden realization or understanding of an essence or larger meaning to something impactful.

In the short stories “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “A + P” by John Updike the protagonists experience an epiphany that change their restricted way of thinking. The main character, “Sammy” in John Updike’s, “A + P” is a teenage boy working in the town grocery store. Sammy experiences an epiphany when he decides to quit his job at the grocery store. He quit because he believed that it was wrong of his boss to treat customers poorly due to any pre-conceived notion that was determined by what the customer looks like. Raymond Carver’s main character named “the husband” in his story “Cathedral” experiences an epiphany

During their picnic at the lake, Taylor sees Turtle burying her doll. She explains to Turtle that dolls don't grow when they are planted. When Turtle says "Mama”(Kingsolver 281), Taylor finally realizes that Turtle must have seen her mother buried. Now it’s Taylors job to inform Turtle that her parents are gone, but in a comforting way. Taylor says, “‘I'm sorry’, I said. ‘It’s awful, awful sad when people die. You don’t ever get to see them again. You understand that she’s gone now, don’t you”(282). Turtle now knows to some extent that her mama is gone(she might not completely understand since she is just a child). However, Turtle can now move on now that Taylor has helped her on her journey to be reunited with her family. Now Taylor moves on from helping Turtle find her family and legally adopt Turtle and become her mother. Just as Turtle in a similar way must fit in with her new home, Taylor helps Estevan and Esperanza fit in with theirs.

When thinking of birds, visualizing them building their nests in cacti certainly isn't the first thing that comes to mind. In the book, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, metaphorically everyone is constantly building their nests in cacti, and evolving from their experiences. From living in attics to taking trips across the country with no destination, characters in this book don't live what society considers the “conventional American lifestyle.” Growing and thriving in unexpected and unusual places and ways is nothing but average throughout the book. Taylor, despite unorthodox living arrangements or lifestyle, shows how living things are able to find methods of growing and changing. From great change in location to change within

In the novel “The Bean Trees”, the Cherokee Indian child Turtle was adopted by Taylor, and Taylor kept Turtle with her for a period time. If Taylor had not adopted Turtle, Turtle would be alone. Turtle was abandoned in the park, and Turtle spoke little in the whole story, because she was abused. Turtle’s case highlights the effects of child abuse, Turtle had been physically and sexually abused. Child abuse happened anywhere and anytime. For example, neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse are some types of abuse. Especially in China, child abuse is serious, and the internet and newspapers reported about it now and then. The phenomenon of child abuse in China happens in society, family and school.

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, is her first novel, published in 1988. It is a novel that tells the story of a young girl who leaves her hometown to create a new life for herself. Along her journey, she finds a group of friends who offer endless love and support, allowing her to fulfill a happy life. Although she is presented with many obstacles, she is determined to continue her journey, in which she is faced with a lift-changing decision. Taylor Greer, the protagonist in the novel, must take on the challenges of motherhood and accept her newfound responsibilities. In the novel, The Bean Trees, the author uses the key literary elements of setting, character development, and theme to create interest in a young woman’s journey through life.

Could you consider both characters (Taylor and Lou Ann) to be dynamic characters? Taylor and Lou Ann were born in rural Kentucky, Taylor claims Kentucky is not a great place because “you can’t see far because of the mountains. Taylor also believes she will be independent. In this essay about The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver I will discuss could both characters be dynamic, I will choose one character and create an argument that explains my position. Taylor did a lot of things she thought she wouldn’t do.

At the point when Taylor first discovers her, she does not know whether Turtle is dead or alive. Step by step, Turtle hints at life, as her misuse turns into a more ancient history and she figures out how to trust Taylor. This cycle goes another round when Turtle is assaulted in the park,

In spite of the fact that the book had a great deal of activity, it could have been spread out additional. It wasn't until the center of the book that we figured out what was medicinally the matter with Turtle, why she was so dormant. Considering this youngster was such a noteworthy part of Taylor's life, and would transform her future totally, she was not discussed as much as she could have been. It's similar to a fraction of the time she overlooked Turtle arrived. "It's interesting how individuals don't give that much thought to what children need, the length of they're being quiet"(280). I comprehend that Turtle was simply dropped in Taylor's lap, however regardless I think Turtle demand to have more consideration given to her than she did. I would have preferred Turtle to have been the youngster that was taken from the outcasts, the displaced person lady demonstrated her so much love. "I couldn't have taken her from Esperanza. On the off chance that she had asked I couldn't have said no"(288). I think they would have adored her a great deal

The unnamed city of the story is a bleak place, one that offers little opportunity for growth.