Seeking Solace in Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

728 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Bean trees essay

Seeking Solace in The Bean Trees

Many aspects of life are explored in Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Bean Trees. A young woman named Marietta Greer from Kentucky wanted to strike out on her own, leaving behind everything she ever knew, just to start a new life. Many children want to do this at an early age so they can experience life on their own yet they don't realize the dangers involved.. Everyone that leaves the solace of their own home needs loving support to keep them going through life.

Marietta Greer starts her journey by heading west across the United States in a run-down old car. She decides at the start that wherever the car breaks down will become her new home. When she stops at a diner one night for something to eat, she is suddenly left with a baby dropped off by an elderly Indian woman with no reasons why. Marietta tells her "If I wanted a baby I would have stayed in Kentucky" (24). Continuing her lonely trek, she changes her name to Taylor and ends up keeping the child and caring for her. When she finally arrives at her unknown destination, Taylor gets a job at a tire company working for a nice lady named Mattie and moves in with Lou Ann, also a single mother. She develops close friendships with them, and they all help each other through good times and bad. Taylor starts getting stronger feelings for the child, Turtle, and eventually adopts her through deceiving means with her new friends Estevan and Esperanza. Taylor keeps in touch with her mother, and she was thrilled her mother was supportive of her decision to adopt Turtle.

There are some things I would have changed about the novel to make it more interesting reading and to broaden the type of audience it addresses. In my opinion, the book was kind of targeted at a feminine audience, especially single mothers. When Taylor and Lou Ann get together, Lou Ann sounds kind of pathetic saying " Who in the world would want to move in here with us" (102), yet they develop a strong friendship regardless. I had kind of a hard time focusing on what was going on and who was doing what mainly because the story wasn't interesting enough to attract my attention. Perhaps by throwing in a little more suspense or more action, the novel would have been more fun to read.

Show More
Related

  • Independence In Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Taylor's Quest In The Bean Trees

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Bean Trees has the structure of a quest. The protagonist or quester is Taylor Greer. Her place to go or destination of the quest is more of an idea rather than an actual place. It is the idea of a place free of oppression due to her gender and cultural background. She wants a place to start a new life. Taylor’s escape

    Read More

  • Effect of Multiple Plots in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main characters in The Bean Trees are Taylor and Lou Ann. The first chapter is about Missy leaving Kentucky to find a better life. This chapter is written is 1st person, with Missy being the narrator. She is a person that is tired of her boring life, she changes her name to Taylor, and wants an adventure. She leaves home and goes on a road trip across America. Before Taylor began her trip, she stated, ?And so what I promised myself is that I would drive west until my car stopped running, and there I would stay? (Kingsolver 16). She later continued on Tucson, Arizona.

    Read More

  • Symbiotic Relationships In Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel challenges the contradicting sides of the expectation and reality of family and how each one contains a symbiotic relationship. The ideal relationship within families differ throughout The Bean Trees. Kingsolver focuses on the relationship between different characters and how they rely on each other to fill the missing gaps in their lives.

    Read More

  • Motherhood in Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

    757 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Morality In The Bean Trees

    1216 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is a large topic of discussion whether legality or morality is more important. Barbara Kingsolver poses this debate in her book The Bean Trees. This book takes place in the 1980s in Putnam County, Kentucky, and begins with Taylor, the main character, leaving her old house behind to start fresh. Taylor does not get the fresh start she is looking for and instead is given an unwanted responsibility of raising a child. Along her journey to find home, Taylor meets many new friends who help her. Through the illegal ways that Turtle Esperanza and Estevan are taken in by Taylor and Mattie, Kingsolver proves that with regard to family, morality is more important than legality.

    Read More

  • Analysis: The Bean Trees

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Abandonment in The Bean Trees

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Bean Trees

    2754 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Perseus Quest Essay

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    The significance of the quest to the society is that Theseus’ society admired those of great heroes

    Read More

  • Coming of Age in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a young girl coming of age, a time when she is faced with new challenges and must overcome obstacles. Throughout the book the protagonist, Francie Nolan discovers herself maturing as she struggles with loneliness, the loss of innocence and a life of poverty in a Brooklyn slum. This theme is evident in (1.) her love for books which she uses as companionship, (2.) her outlook on the world as she matures and finally, (3.) her realization that in order to succeed in life she must obtain an education and work hard to do it.

    Read More

  • Dreams or Reality: Rome and the Gate of False Dreams

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aeneas’s journey to establish a new home was a difficult and arduous task. At every turn Juno was throwing another obstacle in his way, trying to prevent Rome from ever being established to save Carthage. Aeneas was dedicated to his mission, even with all of the trial and continued on. During his journey, Aeneas had to undergo a task that few heroes ever attempted. He had to travel to the underworld. Before Aeneas can depart from the Underworld to continue on his journey, he is shown a parade of his descendants, the future city of Rome and the outcome of his hard labor. He is shown Romulus, the founder of Rome; he is shown Ceasar Augustus, “who shall bring once again an Age of Gold” (6.1065); and many other famous Romans. Along with these great men, Aeneas is shown Marcellus, a youth cut down in his prime, his fate in the future. Aeneas is even told of upcoming battles his city will face and how to deal with them in the future. Once all this has been told to Aeneas he departs from the underworld. Of the two gates available to him, Aeneas makes an interesting choice and decides to leave through the gate of false dreams.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Perseus And Theseus

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    The perfect person does not exist but, the best version of oneself does. Fear is implemented in a unique way in every individual. The lack of confidence can cause individuals fears to be heightened. Confidence and fearlessness are two traits expected to be obtained by men who are brave, Theseus is a demigod meaning he is the child of of one god and a mortal, Perseus is also a demigod. Both Perseus and Theseus defeated a monster showing the characteristics of fearlessness and confidence: Perseus defeated Medusa; Theseus killed the Minotaur. Theseus is more of brave demigod than Perseus, as comparing their confidence and fearlessness, Theseus possesses the traits often and well allowing him to accomplish more dangerous tasks.

    Read More

  • Perseus Research Paper

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    of Argos. Acrisius heard a prophecy that his grandson would kill him. So what Acrisius decided

    Read More

  • First Law Of Thermodynamics Essay

    2643 Words  | 6 Pages

    The first law of thermodynamics is that heat is work and work is heat. Energy can’t be created or destroyed but it can be converted from one form to another form. First law of thermodynamics would be eating food. Humans turn food into chemical energy and humans need that energy to keep functioning. The second law of thermodynamics is heat can only transfer to colder objects not hotter objects. An example would be ice melting in a cooler. The coldness from the ice doesn’t leave the cooler, instead the heat transfers into the cooler to melt the ice. The third law is that the work or energy put in is equal to the work out plus heat. Some heat energy will always be wasted, such as a computer giving off heat. Using the first law, when the energy is transferred from one form to another, there will always be wasted heat because of the second law. This is because the energy is converted from a useful form to a less useful form. The less useful form is heat.

    Read More

More about Seeking Solace in Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

Open Document