Language is a form of communication that comes in many forms, such as verbal language, body language, and written language, that people use to express ideas to other people. The way a person utilizes language is what makes them different from their neighbor. Kingsolver has a unique voice in her novel The Bean Trees that perspicuously proclaims individuality and makes the novel identifiable as her work. She manipulates language to exude a “literary fingerprint” by creating a casual tone with a first-person narrative and acknowledgement of the reader, and by allowing cultural references to appear in her work. The novel opens with first-person, the very first sentence beginning with “I” (Kingsolver 1). Although first-person narrative does not
For example, when Taylor was in the process of getting a job from Mr. Walter, she predicts that he would pick a “Candy Striper,” (5) a wealthy and conceited girl and a title derived through the unique culture of Pittman County. Taylor mentions to the woman who gave her Turtle that if she “wanted a baby [she] would have stayed in Kentucky,” (24) which demonstrates a piece of cultural background of Pittman County that there is a high pregnancy rate and Taylor continuously mentions it throughout the book. She adds in additional cultural expressions such as when Taylor talks to Turtle about her grip and compares her to a mud turtle because “If a mud turtle bites you, it won’t let go till it thunders,” (30) which is a Southern expression and suggests evidence of the influence Southern culture has on Kingsolver’s writing. Cultural expressions are also prevalent in Lou Ann’s life as seen when her Grandmother Logan comes to visit her. Lou Ann “swear[s] it’s eighty degrees” (79) outside and her grandmother warns her that she will “swear [herself] to tarnation,” (79) which displays how strictly religious her grandmother is and the South is a heavily religious region, evidently illustrating the impact the Southern culture has on the dialogue of Lou Ann’s grandmother. Estevan calls this dialogue poetic. Taylor, however, doubts this and calls the
...g “you” like second person. That leaves third person. I know it’s not third person omniscient, because the narrator doesn’t know, or can’t reveal the thoughts of more than one character.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is a phrase that has been uttered numerous times to children by their parents. This aphorism has been used to not only apply to books but also people. In The Black Walnut Tree by Mary Oliver, the speaker faces a conflict between the literal and figurative meaning of a tree in her yard. In the beginning of the poem, the mother and daughter “debate” selling the tree to “pay off their mortgage.” But with a shift from literal language to figurative language comes a symbolic representation of the tree, one that represents family heritage and their ancestors’ hard work.
This shows how she now worries about things just as much as Lou Ann used to. Taylor is beginning to think like a worrisome mother. Taylor helps fill the missing masculine figure and lack of confidence in Lou Ann’s life. Lou Ann is far more womanly in a traditional sense than Taylor is, she expresses her conviction that marriages and love should last forever.
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.
Taylor drives all the way up to Cherokee Nation in hopes of finding Turtle’s real parents back at the diner where she was given to Taylor. From pages 225-227, the official adoption of Turtle began. This adoption is supposed to take place between the child’s real parents, but instead, Esperanza and Estevan pretended to be the parents. What the three of them did was against the law. Estevan and Esperanza saw it, however, as a way to make both Taylor and Turtle’s lives better and easier along the road even though it could get them caught. The reason that they did it for Taylor was because they thought it morally right. As a result of how hard Estevan and Esperanza help Taylor in the adoption process, Turtle is now Taylor’s legal daughter. After Taylor says her goodbyes to Esperanza and Estevan, she calls Lou Ann to tell her about Turtle being her daughter “Lou Ann’s breath came out like a slow leak in a tire. ‘Taylor, I was scared to death you’d come back without her’” (245). Kingsolver uses a simile here, comparing “slow leak in a tire” to “Lou Ann’s breath coming out”. This connects to one of the motifs in the book; tires. Tires represent stability, so when Lou Ann lets out the air in her tire, it shows that everyone’s life has become more stable. This quote also ties
Pipher writes of her experience reading Twyla Hansen’s article that “encourages land owners to plant slow-growing shade trees” (439). “After reading Hansen’s article,” Pipher states, “I bought a sycamore” (439). Along with personal experience in the specific example, Pipher uses allegory to convey the effect of writing using a much more corporeal and understandable example. By using allegory, Pipher’s concept of the significance of writing is “dumbed down” to make it quite clear and understandable to even the least educated
Taylor Greer has lived in Kentucky all her life. Yet, the life available to her in Kentucky is not what she always dreamed of: "none of these sights had so far inspired me to get hogtied to a future as a tobacco farmer's wife" (3). Living with her mother, Taylor becomes more independent and striven to find a better life. Taylor's father disappeared before she could even remember what he looks like: "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 and was long gone besides" (2). Taylor's father's abandonment contributes to Taylor's dislike in men: "To hear you tell it, you'd think man was only put on this earth to keep urinals from going to waste" (112). She does not trust any men and Kingsolver displays this by not adding many male characters to the novel. Taylor feeling of being abandoned by her father scars her, even thought she does not express it clearly.
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.
Butler, Octavia. “Speech Sounds.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susun X Day, and Robert Funk. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 2008. 408-417. Print.
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.
Updike, John. “A&P.” Literature Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw, 2013. 141-145. Print.
The following day the family heads off to Florida. Another major point of irony happens as the story revolves around the grandmothers traditional southern values of respect for other people; especially elders, respect for your home and country. At the same moment as the grandmother is lecturing her grand kids about respecting their home state she sees a young Negro boy and says: “Oh look at the cute little pickaninny!” (Pg 208). Her hypocrisy becomes evident as she wants the family to do what she says not what she does.
Supporting someone means having their back and assisting them with their emotional or physical needs. Barbara Kingsolver frequently demonstrates the need to support others in her novel, The Bean Trees. Throughout the entirety of the novel, the two protagonists, Taylor and Lou Ann, are treated as outcasts in their society. When faced with adversity, they learn to rely on the help of others. They realize the need for an “invisible” support system. Because both Taylor and Lou Ann face unexpected hardships when confronted with the issue of parenthood, they realize, through support from their family and community, you can learn to thrive.
Languages are the foundation of communication in our world; whether through speaking or writing, words give people ways to convey information and feelings. But do these words do an adequate job of saying what people think everyday? Herman Melville's short story, Bartleby the Scrivener, provides an interesting basis upon which one can analyze the effectiveness of language, using a situation that has no sufficient counterpoint: passive resistance. Because of the nature of the school of criticism, if one reads this story while simultaneously considering elements of post-structuralism and deconstruction, more emphasis is placed on the particular words that Bartleby, his boss, and the other employees use to interact, and how little these words actually
Schilb, John, and John Clifford. Sonny Blues. Making Literature Matter: An Antology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 337-60. Print.