Taylor's Journey of Personal Growth in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingslover

Alyse, Ty's love interest seems to be the polar opposite of the street hustling protagonist. They met on Ty's first day at the alternative school. She is in all of his classes after the first time they met there was a connection. Alyse is very studious and is worried about her grades for college. She is also a very nice and considerate person, which led Ty to wonder why she was at that school. After the second time they studied together, Ty had asked her, what brought her to the alternative school. It turns out she had gotten pregnant, and wanted to drop out to support he child. But with her mother's help and an afternoon job, she has been able to return to school. This shows her determination to succeed. The problem is with the relationship between Ty and Alyse is that she doesn't know that he is a drug dealer.

Taylor receives no explanation from the woman who leaves Turtle with her, yet Taylor still takes on huge responsibility of caring for the child. Then, Taylor starts to notice a lot of things that makes her wandering what happened with the little girl. Taylor starts noticing Turtle’s smile while she was bathing her, and she also discovers that Turtle has been sexually molested and abused. By discovering these details of Turtle’s life, Tylor want to know more about Turtle’s life. She start working, but Tylor keeps thinking about Turtle. For example, in page (69) Tylor starts the work at Burger Derby, but after 6 days she quiet. She kept thinking about Tylor and who will take care of her while she is in work. That shows how Tylor start acting like mother when she left her job and tried to find a good place for her and

“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

By fighting to save the most important part of her life, Taylor shows that she has realized what is truly important. When she decides not to discuss Turtle’s future in front of her, as though she simply property, Taylor’s renewed belief in small acts of kindness and the effect they can have on people, is shown. Once more, she knows that even small acts of compassion can have large impacts on the lives of others. The effects of Taylor’s epiphany are illustrated again when she agrees to drive Estevan and Esperanza to Oklahoma. Even though she does not want Estevan to leave, Taylor drives him and Esperanza to Oklahoma, risking fines and jail time in the process. When Mattie warns Taylor of the dangers of her plan, Taylor says, “Just stop it, okay? Estevan and Esperanza are my friends. And, even if they weren’t, I can’t see why I shouldn’t do this.” By saying this, Taylor’s belief in the importance of doing the right thing, even when it is dangerous, is displayed. Taylor’s morals have been transformed: bravery and integrity are now more important to her than safety and realism. She no longer withdraws from her friends and loved ones like she did after

Taylor is raised in a non-traditional setting; her mother, Alice Greer, is a single mother takes care of Taylor by herself. Alice had been married before, but her husband told her not to get pregnant and so when she did he left, and she tells Taylor that this was the best deal she ever made. She is extremely supportive of Taylor, in all that she does, but also expects the very best from her. Taylor knows this saying “then no matter what I did, whatever I came home with, she acted like it was the moon I had just hung up in the sky and plugged in all the stars. Like I was that good” (Kingsolver 10). Alice takes on both 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

Due to the difference in Taylor’s children’s behaviors, her parenting skills would have been divergent as well. In Arizona, Taylor had to move at a much slower pace with Turtle because of the trepidation she was filled with from her previous home life. After months of being together, three-year-old Turtle finally utters her first word to Taylor “‘Bean,’ Turtle said. ‘Humbean’” (Kingsolver 97). This reveals how much more effort it took Taylor to reach out to her daughter. In Arizona she had a much more abrupt maturing into a woman and mother than if she had stayed in her hometown. Taylor had to grow up significantly faster than if she had gone through the process of pregnancy in Pittman. There, Taylor would be able to become more mentally and physically prepared for being a mother.

the other hand Taylor did everything in her power not to end up living that

Barbara Kingsolver once said, “Good fiction creates empathy. A novel takes you somewhere and asks you to look through the eyes of another person, to live another life” (Barbara Kingsolver Quotes). Contemporary Literary Criticism includes authors’ critiques of Kingsolver’s novel, The Bean Trees, agreeing this quote “…imbues the reader with giddy feelings” (“Barbara Kingsolver”). Published in 1988, Kingsolver takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster with a manifold of feelings. Her novel, filled with friendship and survival, is set in the barren American Southwest, focusing on Taylor Greer’s search for a new life as she traveled across the country (“Barbara Kingsolver”). Kingsolver’s adventurous childhood in Kentucky, eye opening

“You have a face only a mother could love” Although a harsh insult this is for most mothers a very true statement. A mother’s love is something that you will probably not experience until you have your very own children. Motherhood can be a very sentimental topic in literature, especially when there is conflict with a child and their mother figure. In the book The Bean Trees there are several mother figures that each express their love for their child, even going great lengths for them. Throughout the many great themes of The Bean Trees this one by far sticks out the most because the book is mainly about a mother taking care of her child, that isn’t even hers, making many sacrifices to give her the best life possible. The main character,

(Quote Turtles first word). Taylor comes to the conclusion that like a flower being planted in a dirty place it can turn out beautiful. After her finding out about Turtle condition of Failure to Thrive she then will take Estevan and Esperanza with her to a Cherokee nation to find out more about both Turtles ancestry along with Taylor’s grandfathers. While being their Taylor understands how big a privilege she has being in the majority while she is in Arizona, because while being in the Cherokee nation she is a minority. Throughout the whole book Taylor constantly makes improvements on the way she looks at life and how although she didn’t want to have Turtle in the first place, having her and taking her to Arizona was the best decision she had

Taylor Greer. When Marietta leaves her native Kentucky, for parts unknown in search of a better life, she decides that a new life deserves a new name so she drives until she runs out of gas and takes the name of the place where this occurs. Taylorville becomes Taylor. Taylor has been raised only by her Mama who arms her with self esteem, " she always expected the best out of me . . . no matter what I did, whatever I came home with, she acted like it was the moon I had just hung up in the sky and plugged in all the stars. Like I was that good" (TBT 10), and a practical approach to life by making sure she knows "how to handle anything that might come along " (TBT 11). The latter proves to be fortunate, because a great deal comes along, and Taylor takes it in stride.

Regardless, Taylor is proud of her Cherokee bloodline. While on Cherokee lands, she is given a baby before leaving, finding out later that the baby, named Turtle, was sexually abused and molested. Taylor sees how helpless Turtle was, and

In  The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Missy, also known as Taylor, goes on a physical and emotional journey in which she learns to become a responsible adult and to become a loving and nurturing mother. In Pittman County, Kentucky Taylor is an innocent young girl who finds herself bored with her small town and the only lifestyle she has ever known. When she finally decides to leave Kentucky, she drives straight through to Oklahoma and her life is forever changed. She is starting to realize how hard being an adult can be. While in Oklahoma on the Native American reserve, she is given a baby girl which she names Turtle.

The Her in Heroic Forty seven percent of all pregnancies in Kentucky are unintended and Taylor Greer was not going to be apart of that forty seven. Taylor Greer, a young woman from Kentucky, leaves her hometown to avoid getting pregnant and settling down with a man. On her journey, a stranger encounters her and hands her a child. Taylor unsure of her next move, goes on a wild journey to build a life for herself on the way. In The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, Taylor is viewed as a heroic character.