Alicia kim's blog

Introduction:
The Bean Trees is a novel by Barbara Kingsolver, published in 1988. The story is set in Kentucky with Taylor Greer and her mother. Taylor Greer leaves her hometown after earning enough money. She meets different people, such as refugees and a baby. She goes through hardships with the people around her and finds her “home.”

Plot:
The story begins in Kentucky with Taylor Greer, known as Marietta or Missy. After a childhood incident involving a tractor, Taylor fears tires. She escapes her small-town life by avoiding pregnancy and working hard to save money. Eventually, she leaves home for good. While driving, Taylor decides to change her name to Taylor from the town called Taylorville. Her car breaks down in Oklahoma, where a woman unexpectedly leaves a baby named Turtle in her car, insisting Taylor take her. Taylor discovers Turtle has been abused and decides to care for her. Taylor and Turtle eventually reach Tucson, Arizona, where Taylor finds a job at a tire shop owned by a kind woman named Mattie. Taylor becomes friends with another woman, Lou Ann, who struggles after her husband leaves her. Lou Ann gives birth to a son, Dwayne Ray, and tries to move on with her life. Taylor meets Estevan and Esperanza, a couple from Guatemala living illegally in Tucson. They share their story about having to flee their country after the government took their daughter. Taylor starts falling for Estevan. As time passes, Lou Ann gains independence with a job at a salsa factory, while Taylor faces challenges with Turtle’s past trauma. After an attack on Turtle, Taylor learns she has no legal claim to her and must find a way to keep her safe. Concerned for Estevan and Esperanza’s safety, Taylor decides to help them escape to a sanctuary for illegal immigrants in Oklahoma. She also hopes to find Turtle’s relatives for a possible legal adoption. In Oklahoma, they pretend to be Turtle’s biological parents during a meeting with a legal advisor. Esperanza’s emotional response reveals her grief over her lost daughter. After saying goodbye to Estevan, Taylor and Turtle return to Tucson, now feeling at home together.

Analysis:
During Taylor’s journey with others who she meets on the way, it’s noticeable how she matures and grows through the hardships she faces. The responsibility she holds is great since she also has a baby to take care of. It is shown in the plot of the story how she leads the people she meets who are in a hopeless situation to a hopeful condition. From Taylor’s actions, it is clearly shown the themes of the book. One of them is the struggles of refugees. Taylor meets Estevan and Esperanza on her way and decides to help them find a safe home. In exchange, they act as Turtle’s biological parents so that Taylor could be the legal guardian of Turtle. This also shows how Taylor cares about Turtle and the mother-like authority she has over her. One of the confusing plotlines was the reason Taylor decided to change her name from Marietta to Taylor. Another coincidental happening was that her mom just let Taylor go on her own. Usually, they would talk or even argue about whether she was making the right choice to leave their hometown and her only mom by herself. From every decision she made to the ending of the story, it was all luck and coincidences as everything might not have happened without the tractor trauma or incident or any of the events in between.

Conclusion:
The Bean Trees is the first novel by Barbara Kingsolver and was published in 1988. The story introduces itself to the protagonist, Taylor Greer in Kentucky. She flees her hometown when she gathers enough money for the trip. She meets Turtle, a baby, Mattie, Lou Ann, Estevan, and Esperanza during her trip. She tries to help Estevan and Esperanza, who are a refugee couple, find a home. They help Taylor become a legal guardian of Turtle when Taylor finds them a real home. The book discusses the themes of hardship of refugees and womanhood. These themes are shown by the illegal refugees, Estevan and Esperanza, and how Taylor cares for the baby, Turtle. The plot tells us that the whole story is based on coincidences and every decision she had made, it brought her to where she is now.