The bean trees summary. The Bean Trees Chapters Two 2022-11-03
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"The Bean Trees" is a novel by Barbara Kingsolver, published in 1988. It tells the story of Taylor Greer, a young woman from Kentucky who sets out on a journey to Arizona with the intention of starting a new life. Along the way, she encounters a variety of characters and experiences that challenge and shape her worldview.
One of the main themes of the novel is the importance of family and community. Taylor finds herself taking on the role of a mother figure for a young Cherokee girl named Turtle, who has been abandoned by her own mother. Taylor's decision to take in Turtle and care for her serves as a catalyst for the development of her own maternal instincts and sense of responsibility.
Another major theme of the novel is the relationship between humans and the natural world. Taylor becomes involved with a group of environmentalists who are fighting to protect a grove of old-growth trees from being cut down. This experience helps Taylor to better understand the interconnectedness of all living things and the need to preserve natural habitats for future generations.
Throughout the novel, Taylor grapples with issues of identity and belonging. She struggles to find her place in the world and to understand who she is and what she stands for. Along the way, she learns to embrace her own strengths and to stand up for what she believes in.
In the end, Taylor finds a sense of belonging and purpose in the community of friends and loved ones she has cultivated in Arizona. The novel ends on a hopeful note, as Taylor looks to the future with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose.
Overall, "The Bean Trees" is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that explores themes of family, community, and the natural world in a compelling and emotionally resonant way. It is a must-read for anyone interested in these issues, or for anyone looking for a poignant and uplifting story about the human spirit.
The Bean Trees Chapter 7 Summary
Mattie shows Taylor her purple beans, the seeds of which she received from the Chinese woman next door, who vows they are descendants of seeds she brought from China in 1907. Taylor describes this disconnect in spiritual terms, saying that the Cherokee religion requires trees. See Plot Diagram Summary The Bean Trees opens with "Missy" Marietta Greer considering her future in her small Kentucky hometown. Lou Ann tells Taylor that Edna and Turtle were at the park enjoying the cool air from the storm. The boy never seemed satisfied, despite being given all the needs he asked for until the tree is left with only its stump. Marietta finishes high school and gets a job at the Pittman County Hospital.
The women's friendship, the relationships that they develop with other characters, and the creation of a home in an unexpected place provide the main themes in the novel. Barbara Kingsolver novel The Bean Trees reflects this commitment. The novel then introduces Lou Ann Ruiz, a woman from Kentucky currently living in Tucson, Arizona. Though she was related by law to Angel, she is rejecting him and tying herself to his family instead. She and Turtle stay in the cheap Hotel Republic downtown. One day when Taylor was coming home from work, she could sense that something was wrong. Once, she and Angel and another couple went out to the desert to look at shooting stars.
The narrator then shares her name: Marietta. The nest is there to protect the birds from the sharp cactus and lou ann protects turtle from any danger , like a safety net. One day, Taylor has to take off work to take Turtle to the doctor. Missy has decent life: she loves her mother and manages to get a job at the hospital lab after high school graduation. La-Isha lectures Taylor on the dangers of hot dogs after hearing that Turtle eats them, and Fei explains that the house is a soy-milk collective and each household member must spend seven hours a week straining curd.
That same day, Angel tells Lou Ann that he is leaving her for good. Taylor, now stuck with the child, will have to find her own balance between burden and nourishment as a mother. Taylor is confronted with the extreme outcome of the misogyny she has seen all her life: sexual assault of a defenseless, innocent baby girl. Taylor watches her go, realizing that the woman is in fact very skinny now that she is no longer carrying the baby. She speaks a southern dialect that realistically imitates the dialect spoken by people who live in that part of rural Kentucky.
Meanwhile, Taylor and Turtle go to get groceries from Lee Sing and run into Edna Poppy. In the wake of this disaster, Lou Ann and Taylor switch roles. Lou Ann has come against another instance of misogyny as the manager does not find her capable of a job because she is a woman. The woman is very round and seems wary of the two men at the counter. One example of a nontraditional family would be before Taylor and her mother Alice before Taylor left Kentucky. One night after work, Lou Ann confesses that she has always worried about Dwayne Ray because she had a dream that he would not live past the year 2000.
Esperanza is quieter, and spends most of her time watching Turtle. Taylor then takes Estevan and Esperanza to a new sanctuary in Oklahoma City where they can try to start their family anew. Taylor actually keeps going past where she breaks down the first time in Oklahoma in order to make it to Arizona. Taylor tells Lou Ann the story of Turtle, and Lou Ann introduces Dwayne Ray. Ironically, the troubles she has with the car dramatically affect her life. Taylor is reluctant, knowing that she left Kentucky to avoid becoming a young mother, and that she needs documentation in order to officially take the child.
Her mother realizes that Taylor wants to leave and makes her daughter prove that she can change the car tires and tend to the car if it breaks down. Jolene seems to be everything that Marietta does not want to be, completely dependent on men who treat her and everyone else poorly. Because of additional car problems, they end up at a business named Jesus Is Lord Used Tires. Taylor continues to tell Lou Ann about all the ugliness she has seen in Tucson, and the way her heart breaks for the poor and homeless, those just trying to raise a family in spite of all the odds stacked against them. As Turtle plays in a patch of wisteria vines, Edna and Virgie Mae come by to tell Lou Ann that Angel is looking for her.
The Bean Trees Chapter 4: Tug Fork Water Summary & Analysis
Moreover, she does not want her baby to feel robbed of his own special birthday, which he might if it fell on a holiday. Kingsolver uses subjects such as birds to represent Taylor and Turtle's situations and plants to symbolize growth and dependence. She was brought up, as was Kingsolver, in rural Kentucky among struggling tobacco farmers. Lou Ann got drunk. The public notary signs off on this falsified adoption, making Taylor the official legal guardian of Turtle. She has negative associations with the day, since Angel lost his leg on Christmas.
The Bean Trees Chapter 1: The One to Get Away Summary & Analysis
Many girls at the high school drop out to have babies, but Taylor makes up her mind to avoid pregnancy. She speaks mostly about vegetables. It can also be grown in crop rotations due to its ability to fix nitrogen symbiotically. Taylor finally reaches a motel and goes to talk to the woman who owns the motel. Bobbie Brooks a brand of clothing associated with well-to-do young adults. Taylor decides to send it to her mother. Here, Kingsolver refers to the Cherokee Trail of Tears when she mentions that Taylor's great-grandfather was "too old or too ornery to get marched over to Oklahoma," so he stayed in Tennessee.
While this is a very nice gesture, it will have some practical consequences for Turtle and Taylor. Family Relationships In Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees 766 Words 4 Pages Taylor is making closer and closer connections with the people around her as she tries to make Turtle open up to her once again after she was molested. Furthermore, Taylor sees the lack of trees in the area as a special offense to the Cherokee religion, which believes that trees are homes for the gods. Taylor thinks of this spot in the park as a special haven from the tumble of downtown Tucson. Taylor cries at all of this injustice in the world, and grapples with the more personal revelation that her crush on Estevan is not meant to be.
