Overall, the book is a great read, even for those who do not enjoy
Dalen Todorov, Period 8 Eng 10 H, Ms. Reid 1 October 2014 ORP 1 Dialectical Journal Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees New York City: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988 “"Take this baby," she said….. "Where do you want me to take it?"....... ”She looked back at the bar, and then looked at me. "
With the exception of Angel and Lou Ann’s relationship, it seems like every personal interaction in The Bean Trees is equal parts of give and take. For example, Virgie Mae helps Edna Poppy who is blind, while Edna Poppy runs interference on Virgie’s inappropriate remarks. Lou Ann teaches Taylor how to hone her abilities, and Taylor calms and reassures Lou Ann. Even Estevez and Esperanza are symbiotic; they have been through so much, with their illegal immigration that they cannot function outside of one another. In what ways do these relationships, and the other, less prominent relationships in The Bean Trees promote a network of reliance?
Once we move ahead with the novel, the most enjoyable for me was the character build up
The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver and My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult are both books that show a moral dilemma. Anna forces a moral dilemma when she chooses to sue for the rights to her body. Taylor is constantly facing dilemmas in her life, such as whether or not the keep Turtle or to help Estevan and Esperanza. These books have many similarities as well as differences in aspects including theme, characters, plot, and genre. The theme in The Bean Trees is that family does not have to be blood related.
In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel The Bean Trees, one major social issue that Kingsolver attempts to educate her readers on is xenophobia. Virgie, a character in the novel, is someone Kingsolver uses to demonstrate the presence and effect of xenophobia. During a dinner party with Virgie and Estevan, a refugee working at a restaurant owned by Chinese immigrants, Estevan mentions how he “work[s] with a very kind family who speak only Chinese.” (Kingsolver 111) In response, Virgie “mutter[s] that she thought this was a disgrace,” as Virgie believes that immigrants “ought to stay put in their own dirt, not come here taking up jobs.”
It has often been said that once you spend enough time with someone and create a strong bond with them, you end up becoming very close and considering them family. What has also been said is that we find friendships when we need it most. As important as family is in real life, it is often shown that in literature, authors use this concept to offer a clear understanding on how close an individual can get to someone within months. Barbara Kingsolver demonstrates the importance of family through Taylor in her novel The Bean Trees, as she creates strong relationships on her way through life.
Thought out a persons ever changing life, the one thing that is always consistent is their name. However, sometimes a persons identity will change so much that their own name seems foreign when speaking it out loud. This creates the need for a new name to match a new identity. Kingsolvers The Bean Trees and Lena Coakley’s Mirror Image both apply characterization, conflict, and symbolism to show how identity changes with names and labels.
In my own personal opinion, motherhood does not sound like an easy thing. I mean, think about it, all the responsibilities and precautions you have to take when it comes to taking care of a child. In The Bean Trees, Taylor takes on the role of a mother when she is given a child by a strange woman at a bar in Oklahoma. Even though this child was not legally hers, Taylor decided to care for Turtle.
I did enjoy this book, even if I did lose interest and went on my phone randomly while reading the middle of a paragraph. This book taught me a lot that I didn’t know, like the fire that ruined thousands of buildings in Chicago in 1871. It just generally told me information straight up without wording stuff around it, which is what I like best when reading. I more than likely not recommend this book to one of my friends, just because I could not see them enjoying this book and all the information it gives you. I would however, recommend this book to an older adult, because I feel like they would enjoy and appreciate this book a lot more than any of my friends
The process of gaining independence is an important part of who a person is and how they overcome issues they come across in their lifetimes. Several characters from the book, The Bean Trees, are either independent from the beginning of the story or develop to become independent. Due to these characters strong, self-supporting personalities, they can solve the issues they come across in a self-sufficient manner without help from others. These characters are never stuck relying on others for help or forced to wait for others. In the book The Bean Trees, several characters personify independence throughout the work, which supports the idea independent people can self-sufficiently overcome obstacles they come across.
Taylor’s journey in the Bean Trees has all four of these stages, making her a bildungsroman character. Although Taylor’s desire for independence begins her journey, she eventually realizes people need a network
(134) This shows Taylor would give up her only freetime just to know that Turtle is in safe hands. As her love and affection grows towards Turtle, Taylor would do anything to keep Turtle safe and starts becoming more organized with motherly schedules. Starting out as a confused young lady, Taylor Greer matures into a loving individual that is not scared to take risks. Throughout the book, The Bean Trees, written by Barbra Kingsolver, readers get to see Taylor grow up through her eyes and narration.
This book was interesting for me because it allowed me to relate to a character. I love reading novels that not only allow me to feel a connection with a character, but allow me to relate to their personality or
Books 5 and 6 of The Odessey are very significant parts of the story. In book 5 the gods (except Posiden) meet to discuss the fate of Odysseus. They conclude that he should be set free to return to his family but it will take him ten years. Hermes an artisan messenger, go to Calypso to tell her to set Odysseus free. When he does Calypso then begins to give a rhapsody saying that the male gods can do whatever they want but when it comes to female gods the males always interfere.
