Moving out of your home can sometimes be a tough determination to make whether it is for a better living or finding jobs; most of the time, I find it brave to do so.
In consideration, many unexpected events can occur to us, which helps to shape one’s belief in something that they should avoid having. The novel, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver portrays the life of Taylor Greer, a young and spirited woman who is brave enough to move out of a rural home in Kentucky with the goal of avoiding pregnancy. Little did Taylor know, she faces a human condition of accepting a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle. Throughout her journey, she creates many friendships with other people and love toward Turtle so there are many things that
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Taylor stuns, “But neither of us could interpret the significance of Turtle’s first word. It was ‘bean’” (p.130). Clearly, this represents that Turtle is now a normal kid, and she is developing with the support of Taylor. Also, she is now growing in a better environment than her past; obtaining happiness from Taylor’s friends’ better lifestyle and talking of the people she lives with like in Lou Ann’s house and Mattie’s friendliness. In this case, the “bean” is a metaphorical expression that compares Turtle’s life and the bean itself. Taylor explains, “The wisteria vines were a week or two past full bloom… ‘Bean trees,’ she said… Some of the wisteria flowers had gone to seed, and all these wonderful long green pods hung down from the branches” (p.192,193-194). We can see that this perfectly illustrates the progress of a bean growing itself into long green pods like how Turtle is progressively opening up herself and feeling secure in this place. Similarly, the vines will start to bloom up after a few weeks in a suitable condition and will eventually become bigger. Finally, receiving the adoption certificate is also an important moment in Taylor’s …show more content…
Moving forward in their adventure together, Taylor feels that she is more mature than she ever was and realizes that being a mother is not a bad thing. The adoption certificate symbolizes evidenceevidence, and the freedom of discrimination that some people may have against her. Taylor expresses, “That means you’re my kid,’ I explained, ‘and I’m your mother, and nobody can say it isn’t so” (p.311). This tells us how satisfies Taylor is to become a mother for Turtle. Although it was the goal of her to avoid getting pregnant, now she finally understands that being a mother is such a wonderful experience that anyone can ever have. Honestly, Taylor loves Turtle with her whole heart and will make Turtle feel safe. Taylor becoming a mother is a great advantage for Turtle because Taylor has very good personalities that will make Turtle a happier girl and eventually get influenced by it.Firstly, Taylor’s car is an important thing that helped Taylor to move out of her little town of Kentucky. Secondly, a memorable event that occurs to Taylor is Turtle’s first-word “bean” because Taylor has made Turtle to feel comfortable enough to talk to Taylor and everyone else. Finally,
Diane von Furstenberg once stated “I wanted to be an independent woman, a woman who could pay for her bills, a woman who could run her own life.” Independence plays a big role in being able to be successful in life. Taylor, a girl that can be described as “different ,” is a person who is a strong believer in doing things by herself. She moved out when she learned how to drive and never went back. She gains a child and soon settles down in Tucson Arizona, where she starts her own life. In the novel The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, there are many obstacles Taylor goes through to set the theme of independence.
The Arizona atmosphere was visibly different in both literal and nonliteral ways from Kentucky. Taylor’s lifestyle would have been drastically contrasting with how she thrived in her new home of Tucson. Apart from having a night and day experience at maternity, and getting a fresh start at life on her own, Taylor also met a new group of people who changed her in many ways. Lou Ann, who molded her into a better mother, Mattie, who helped her to overcome fears, Esperanza, though she spoke very little, managed to open Taylor’s eyes the horrors of a life she would never have to experience, and finally Turtle, who made Taylor realize what she loved most in life. Pittman, Kentucky did not have any of these individuals to teach the protagonist of this story.
In the novel, The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, we watch as Taylor grows a great deal. This young woman takes on a huge commitment of caring for a child that doesn't even belong to her. The friends that she acquired along the way help teach her about love and responsibility, and those friends become family to her and Turtle. Having no experience in motherhood, she muddles through the best she can, as all mothers do.
In this story “The Bean Trees” by Barbara Kingslover we meet Taylor Greer, an average teenager from Pittman, Kentucky. Even though Taylor has never been through anything truly horrific in her life how can she truly understand how unpleasant the world can be? Taylor’s personal growth in the “The Bean Trees” is a part of an uncertain journey because Taylor is thrown into motherhood and forced to see the bad experiences people go through in life.
Running Head: THE BEAN TREES. Abstract This book report deals with the Native American culture and how a girl named Taylor got away from what was expected of her as part of her rural town in Pittman, Kentucky. She struggles along the way with her old beat up car and gets as far west as she can. Along the way, she takes care of an abandoned child which she found in the backseat of her car and decides to take care of her.
They say that growing up is hard to do, and it certainly was for Taylor Greer, which is why she couldn't wait to leave her home in Pittman County, Kentucky. The novel, The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, follows Taylor's story of growing up, leaving home, and accepting responsibility. Along the way Taylor is given a child, Turtle, and she struggles with accepting the responsibility of raising a child. Kingsolver's choices for point of view, setting, conflict, theme, characterization, and style throughout the plot help create an uplifting story about love and what it means to be a family.
Throughout the novel, kingsolver shows that poverty is very prominent in the U.S, despite the fact that it is a very rich country. From the
What does one think of when the word “turtle” is mentioned? This adorable creature is usually thought of as slow, futile, and the unsung hero of “The Tortoise and Hare.” However, Kay Ryan argues in her poem “Turtle” that turtles are more than just these things: they are strong but unfortunate creatures that must put up with many obstacles in order to survive. Despite the struggles that she faces, the turtle exhibits a multitude of different strengths to overcome them, as seen as the poem progresses.
Abandonment plays a major role in Barbara Kingsolver's novel. It links all the characters together. Once one abandons, or is abandoned, they find someone else. They all help each other grow and become stronger. Even with something as horrible and hurtful as abandonment, hope can be found. Taylor explains it perfectly to Turtle when she talks about bean trees, "'There's a whole invisible system for helping out the plant that you'd never guess was there.' I loved this idea. 'It's just the same as with people. The way Edna has Virgie, and Virgie has Edna, and Sandi has Kid Central Station, and everyone has Mattie" (227-228). Everyone is linked together and each person has someone to help. This whole cycle is caused by abandonment. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver shows that can be hope and love found in any situation, even in abandonment.
Taylor Greer had been running away from premature pregnancy her entire life. Afraid that she would wind up just another hick in Pittman County, she left town and searched for a new life out West. On her way getting there, she acquires Turtle, an abandoned three-year-old Native American girl. Taylor knows that keeping Turtle is a major responsibility, being that she was abandoned and abused. Yet, Taylor knows that she is the best option that Turtle has, as far as parental figures go. "Then you are not the parent or guardian?’…. ‘Look,’ I said. ‘I’m not her real mother, but I’m taking care of her now. She’s not with her original family anymore." (Kingsolver 162) As the story progresses, Taylor accepts Turtle as part of life. This sacrifice later turns into a blessing.
The Bean Trees is a novel which shows Taylor’s maturation; it is a bildungsroman story. Taylor is a developing or dynamic character. Her moral qualities and outlook undergo a permanent change. When the novel begins, Taylor is an independent-minded young woman embarking on an adventure to a new world. She has no cares or worries. She is confident in her abilities, and is determined to make it through life on her own. As she discovers new things and meets new people, Taylor is exposed to the realities of the world. She learns about the plight of abandoned children and of illegal immigrants. She learns how to give help and how to depend upon the help of others. As she interacts with others, those people are likewise affected by Taylor. The other developing characters are Lou Ann Ruiz, Turtle, and Esperanza. Together they learn the importance of interdependence and find their confidence.
Betty Smith’s novel A Tree Grows In Brooklyn is a tale of poignant family relationships and childhood and also of grim privation. The story revolves around the protagonist of the story, young Francie Nolan. She is an imaginative, endearing 11-year-old girl growing up in 1912, in Brooklyn, New York. The entire story revolves around Francie and the Nolan family, including her brother Neelie, her mother Katie and her father Johnny. An ensemble of high relief characters aids and abets them in their journey through this story of sometimes bleak survival and everlasting hope. As we find out, the struggle for survival is primarily focused against the antagonist of this story, the hard-grinding poverty afflicting Francie, the Nolan’s and Brooklyn itself. The hope in the novel is shown symbolically in the “The “Tree of Heaven””. A symbol used throughout the novel to show hope, perseverance and to highlight other key points.
Precious is an African-American female who is currently impregnated by her biological father for the second time. She is sixteen years of age and can neither read nor write. She constantly suffers pitfalls at her young age. She is heavily obsessed and is subjected to abuse at the hands of her vicious, dysfunctional, abusive, and unemployed mother. With the proper support from an engaged principal, teacher, and social worker, Precious’s life turns into the positive.
At the age of ten, most children are dependent on their parents for everything in their lives, needing a great deal of attention and care. However, Ellen, the main character and protagonist of the novel Ellen Foster, exemplifies a substantial amount of independence and mature, rational thought as a ten-year-old girl. The recent death of her mother sends her on a quest for the ideal family, or anywhere her father, who had shown apathy to both she and her fragile mother, was not. Kaye Gibbons’ use of simple diction, unmarked dialogue, and a unique story structure in her first novel, Ellen Foster, allows the reader to explore the emotions and thoughts of this heroic, ten-year-old girl modeled after Gibbons’ own experiences as a young girl. Kaye Gibbons’ experiences as a child are the foundations for this.
Marie and Callie both value motherhood and the sale of the puppy. Yet, their beliefs towards these concepts vary greatly. These two women are symbolic to the differing perceptions of all human beings because no two individuals have identical experiences or values. George Saunders emphasizes, in the short story “Puppy”, that perception is not a unanimously decided meaning of a concept because every individual’s past inspires an exclusive outlook on life. These unique views are evident in the many distinctive preferences that individuals express. What makes one person excited may enrage someone else. How we see the world, other people, and ourselves is reliant on on perception.