Individualism In The Bean Trees

In the book The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, the main character, Taylor Greer, leaves her hometown of Pittman, Kentucky to start a new life with her new “daughter”, Turtle. Taylor first follows the American Dream by changing her name from Marietta to Taylor. Her new identity was a pivotal moment in moving forward from her old life when she passed the town, Taylorville and believed “there was enough destiny in it to satisfy me”(16). Taylor soon starts her life by meeting Lou Ann, a single mother to Dwayne Ray, and decides to live with her. This symbolizes Taylor settling down and officially staying in Tucson, Arizona (101). Other characters who define the American Dream are Esperanza and Estevan. They had to flee from Guatemala because they were apart of the Teachers Union and many people were after them trying to kill them. Esperanza’s brother and friends were killed and her daughter, Ismene, was taken from her and Estevan on

In her romance novel The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver discusses the importance of family and friendship. The protagonist Taylor Greer escapes her home in Pittman County to live a more fulfilling life elsewhere. She arrives in the Cherokee Nation where she is handed a baby. She names the baby Turtle and drives to Tucson where she stops by Jesus is Lord Used Tires and meets Mattie, the owner. The tire shop doubles as a sanctuary and protects illegal immigrants. Kingsolver uses the motif of birds to symbolize the illegal immigrants and emphasize a theme of salvation. Taylor moves in with a self-deprecatory, single mother named Lou Ann Ruiz. Lou Ann changes her negative attitude over the course of the book, which adds on to the theme of backbone and internal strength. Turtle develops an attachment to vegetation, a motif of the novel that symbolizes growth and rebirth. Taylor, Turtle, Lou Ann’s son Dwayne Ray, and Lou Ann’s family-like qualities illustrates Kingsolver’s themes of a true home and family. At the end of the novel, Taylor faces a difficult situation in which she Taylor could lose Turtle to further highlight Kingsolver’s theme of true family. Kingsolver presents the tension between legality and morality through the depictions of her characters’ choices and values. In doing so, she underscores the message that shared morality, rather than legality, defines and creates a better family.

Taylor Greer is the primary protagonist of the adventurous tale taking place throughout multiple states in America, The Bean Trees. Taylor is girl from a town of simpletons, and she wants to escape that and live freely somewhere else. The Bean Trees is written by Barbra Kingsolver, an acclaimed author, and the story is about Taylor and her life after leaving a small town in Kentucky to find happiness. Taylor is a very complex person with a number of defining characteristics such as devotion, strength, and affection that make it possible for her to have such a mediocre story.

While displaying doubt to her mother about being able to get the job Mr Walter was offering, her mother expresses her faith in Taylor on page 7 of The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver by saying, “The way I see it, a person isn’t nothing more than a scarecrow...the only difference between one that stands up good and one that blows over is what they are stuck up on.” She knows that Taylor can handle whatever challenges the job presents her with and wants her to realize that in herself she has the power to do it, now all she has to do is use what she knows to get the job. Mama says this to her in a knowing way, because while Taylor does not realize herself she can get the job, Mama knows she can. A few days after Mama tells her this, she uses her backbone she is “up on” and tells Mr Walter that since he hasn’t made his mind up, she is going to be doing the job. Mama lights a fire in Taylor she didn’t know she had by saying this quote, that she takes to heart throughout the rest of the novel.

In the beginning of the story we see that Taylor is an average teenage girl living with a single mother. She says, “But I stayed in school. I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble” (3). She was called “Missy” for a lot of her childhood

Missy and her mother are shelling peas together talking about Missy getting a job (Kingsolver 5). This section reminds me of when I shelled peas with grandma. There aren’t any bean plant specific archetypes but the color green symbolizes earth and growth (YourDictionary 3). Shelling beans can constitute a change. In the book The Bean Trees this means that Missy is likely going to come out of her shell and show who she really is. This foreshadows a little about how likely she is going to start a life of her own and leave. This use of the symbol really adds to the story because it shows a growth of the main character early on.

The elements of The Bean Trees fit this symbolic archetype. Plants are found throughout the novel and Taylor’s life. In the Cherokee nation, Turtle points out the window and shouts, “Mama” (Kingsolver 275). Taylor mentions, “We looked, but couldn’t see anybody at all on the road. There were only a gas station and a cemetery.” (Kingsolver 275). At the lake, Turtle buries her doll in the soft dirt at the base of the pine tree (Kingsolver 281). The doll symbolizes the afterlife because Turtle's biological mother dies (Kingsolver 281). Taylor explains, “Some things grow into bushes or trees when you plant them, but other things don't. Beans do, doll babies don’t.” (Kingsolver 281). Turtle replies, "Mama." (Kingsolver 281). Taylor realizes that Turtle remembers her mother’s burial

Secondly, Barbara Kingsolver want to defend the ideas of alternative parenthood. In The Bean Trees, Kingsolver implicates many forms of parenting option such as single motherhood, teenage pregnancy, and adopted families. In the society in which The Bean Trees take place, a lot of these alternate forms of parenting are look down upon and are considered ‘less than’ when compared to a traditional

The book The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, is a coming of age story about a young girl, Taylor, that is thrust into motherhood when a baby is left in her car. Taylor however, is not the only example of a mother in the story. There is Lou Ann and Esperanza, both literal mothers, but only one of them has their child to take care of. There is Mattie, one of the first people that Taylor meet in Tucson, and who becomes almost a surrogate-mother for both her, and also the refugees that she shelters. In all of the both literal and figurative examples of motherhood in the story, none of them really fit into the idea of a traditional family setting. Kingsolver is expressing to the reader that being a successful mother does not rely on whether the family is “normal”, but rather being able to do the best for your children.

Throughout The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Marietta “Missy” Greer goes through many changes. For example, she changes her name to Taylor, adopts a child, and experiences life-changing events. When she left Pittman County, she probably did not expect to have a family that she avoided having in the beginning. Taylor left her home in Kentucky because she did not want to end up like all the other girls who did not finish school, got married early, and did not have much to look forward to in life. Taylor wanted a better life for herself so she left and made a new life in Tucson, Arizona. Some significant items that changed Taylor’s life along the way were Lou Ann’s ad in the newspaper, a photo of her with Estevan after Esperanza’s suicide attempt, and Turtle’s custody documents. These items are very meaningful because they play an important role in Taylor’s new life

Anaïs Nin dared to question the norm of society; she asked “how wrong is it for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself?” The two main characters in the novel, The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, are two young women who share a common struggle, Taylor Greer and Lou Anne Ruiz. The book changes protagonist between Taylor and Lou Anne whom are complete opposites. However they both deal with their hardships together in Tucson, Arizona. Most women end up pregnant and dependent on their spouse just like Lou Anne. Both of these protagonists learn from each other to improve their lifestyles. Women are not dependent on men; life is what you decide to do not society’s trends.

Times were difficult in Habersham County. The skyrocketing prices of fuel and food were threatening to bankrupt the Johnson family’s small farm, which was no match for the multi-million-dollar mega-farms that had been popping up all over the southeast. Joseph, the family patriarch, was especially troubled by the farm’s

When a young author from New York City decides to take a trip to the southern city of Savannah, he finds himself falling in love with the town and ends up renting an apartment. He encounters many different characters, including Danny Hansford and Jim Williams, that gives the reader a good look into the aura of Savannah. The main conflict in the book occurs when a murder happens in an old mansion located in the town. The book follows the progression of the trial and the outcome following the court’s decision.

Lou Ann is a character that was introduced in the second chapter. Lou Ann is single and has a son whom she loves. Lou Ann met Taylor later on with the book and got in a huge mutual

During the late 1970's in the United States, women were advocating against an engrained system of male superiority and inequality. Expected to be housewives who depended on their husbands, thousands of women came together and organized marches and protests that brought awareness to the abuse and misogyny that women were subjected to. Taylor Greer, Lou Anne, and Mattie are all examples of this new generation of self-reliant and empowered women who break boundaries and stereotypes. Taylor's strong confidence, Lou Anne's relationship with Taylor and ability to help her raise their kids, and business owner Mattie's independence and mentorship, display a theme of women's empowerment. In “The Bean Trees”, by Barbara Kingsolver, women with strong