Comparing The Human Condition In Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

Life could be simple wherever one chooses to be. It is a fixed condition, you live, grow, reproduce, and die all in the same small land with the slightly familiar faces. It is comfortable and easy, without any worrying about the future or new people. This is a fate many people would accept happily, but it is exactly what Marietta, or Taylor Greer was trying to run away from. Taylor tries desperately to escape the lifestyle of a barefoot and pregnant Kentucky wife, while still being trapped by the human condition. Even so, her travels bring to light the different natures of the world and the true faces of the american people. Throughout the novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver; Taylor Greer discovers the darker, inhumane and prejudice parts of the world, while still experiences the inevitable force of the human condition.

Taylor did not want to end up becoming a mother, which is something people say is an inevitable part of a woman’s life. Although she did not want motherhood, a child was still given to her anyway. And she learned to love that child unconditionally. Even though the circumstances are non traditional, Taylor, Turtle, Lou Ann and Dwayne Ray become a real family and the two women live through the burdens of motherhood together even though it was something Taylor never wanted. Furthermore, Taylor had never really loved anyone romantically before Estevan. She only kept her feelings quiet so she would not end up hurting Esperanza. In that instance the human condition effected her again by means of love. Her endless efforts had no effect, she faced what all people do, only in a different way.

The novel The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver and it’s vivid characters experience all the good and terrible ways of the world, while being acted on by the inevitable conditions all people must