The Bean Trees By Barbara Kingsolver Essay

Throughout the novel, the author, Barbara Kingsolver, uses various stylistic devices to create complex, symbolic, and significant literature that is also rich in meaning. In the assigned passage, Kingsolver incorporates several literary devices to capture the audience’s attention and leave them with something to think about post reading.

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.

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.

In The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Taylor Greer and Lou Ann Ruiz are two characters who “mother” their children in different ways throughout the novel. Both mothers work together to raise their children. Lou Ann is an overprotective and cautious birth-mother, while Taylor is a spunky, determined, and unexpected mother. In contrast to Taylor, Lou Ann’s nervous and pessimistic attitude influences how she mothers Dwayne Ray. ( Trans- is it good?)

In the opening of her novel, Kingsolver introduces many families and touches on the topics of financial struggles, strong mother-daughter bonds, and the hardships that many families encounter. To begin with, the narrator, Taylor, mentions that her family, “ were any better than Hardbines or had a dime to our name… And for all I ever knew of my own daddy, I can’t say we weren’t, except for Mama swearing up and down that he was nobody I knew...” (2). The author makes it obvious that the narrator’s family consists of Taylor and her single mother, Alice Greer; although the narrator is raised in a non-traditional, financially challenged family, her mother embeds great confidence in her:...

The first social issue that Barbara Kingsolver wants to bring awareness to in The Bean Trees are refugees. Kingsolver sympathizes for the tall hurdles that refugees must overcome. She wants to prove that people who are not from America have the same value as those who are. In order to express this, Kingsolver uses Turtle as a symbol of the refugees as she was also separated from her parents and taken to a foreign land. By the end of the novel, Turtle finds a home within Taylor which is symbolic for Kingsolver's opinion that all refugees deserve a loving, accessible home. Virgie Parson is also a symbol for all Americans who have conservative political ideals and the nation’s haste towards allowing refugees and immigrants into our country. Although Virgie is not portrayed as evil, she is portrayed as having no sympathy for the consequences that alienating these aliens from our country will have and not thinking about the moral implications. By providing a happy ending for almost all the character, Kingsolver demonstrates how Refugees and American can both live peacefully as one.

Imagine trying to flee your country in the pursuit of freedom and a better life? The Bean Trees is about Americans who have different thoughts about immigrants coming to the United States. Barbara Kingsolver defines the immigrant experience in The Bean Trees through discrimination, making friends, and protecting those in need.

Bill Withers once said, “Lean on me when you’re not strong and I’ll be your friends, I'll help your carry-on." When there is a problem in life, there is always someone there for you. In this quote, Withers is letting a friend know that when they are going through rough times, he will be there for them. Furthermore, Withers even offers to support and help them through struggle. In Barbara Kingsolver's’ The Bean Trees, Struggle leads to support as shown through Mattie’s perseverance to get Taylor through her fear of tires, Mattie and Lou Ann’s assistance when Taylor was in shock and, Lou Ann and Taylor’s relationship development.

Readers are able to witness all the horrors and victories Maya experiences, and feel empowered by her story. The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, is the fictional story of Taylor Greer, who moves from her small-town in Kentucky to Arizona in hopes of adventure that

The author Barbara Kingsolver once said, “Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.” This means that mothers can go through great lengths and even break laws for their children. In the book “The Bean Trees”, Kingsolver portrays that quote by writing about Taylor’s experiences with an abandoned child named Turtle. Kingsolver included several characters in the book that act as mother figures. Barbara Kingsolver seems to be saying that a mother does not have to come biologically through the characters of Taylor, Lou Ann, and Mattie.

differences in her character "I was liking Lou Ann a great deal these days. In

Life is constantly changing, like clouds in the sky; always shifting and turning. People never really know which way life will turn next, bringing them fortune or failure. When you look at how things change it is best to compare it to something that you can relate it to. The changeable nature of life can be related to the novel 'The Bean Trees.' This is a book written almost entirely on dealing with changes in the characters lives.

“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,

Intro: Refugees face a far worse life than most people can imagine, and there is no easy way out for them. They first must get out of whatever dangerous place they are in, then travel long distances with almost no resources, and even if they do make it safely to the USA there is a chance they will be sent back or even put in jail. The refugee experience is defined by risks and belonging.

Author use many symbolism in the book The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. She uses symbolism because it makes it easier for readers to understand the deeper meaning or feeling of the character or the events that are happening. For example, author uses the symbolism of bean trees as transformation and Ismene as the abandoned children to show the deeper meaning of them.