Strength Of Women In The Bean Trees

Marietta Greer, also known as Taylor Greer in the book The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, started a new life by leaving her home in Pittman County, Kentucky to avoid motherhood. Her life was full of ups, downs, blessings, hardships, dramatic events, and mixed feelings. The people she met in this new life such as Lou Ann, Mattie, Estevan, Esperanza, and especially Turtle, have created a positive outlook on Taylor’s life. Without ever meeting them, Taylor’s fresh new life would have been dull and confusing. Though there are also some memories that may have followed her as a fear, but it soon became a lucky asset to have in her life. The tractor tire, the photo of Turtle during their first night together, and Turtle’s adoption document are each a significant symbol of Taylor’s journey.

Taylor is raised in a non-traditional setting; her mother, Alice Greer, is a single mother takes care of Taylor by herself. Alice had been married before, but her husband told her not to get pregnant and so when she did he left, and she tells Taylor that this was the best deal she ever made. She is extremely supportive of Taylor, in all that she does, but also expects the very best from her. Taylor knows this saying “then no matter what I did, whatever I came home with, she acted like it was the moon I had just hung up in the sky and plugged in all the stars. Like I was that good” (Kingsolver 10). Alice takes on both the

Before leaving on her journey west, Taylor had been living with her single mother, Alice Greer. Since the day Taylor was born, she and Alice both depended on each other for most everything. By leaving, Taylor was gaining independence for both her and her mother alike. In Arizona Taylor lived with Lou Ann Ruiz, a fellow Kentuckian who was also new to raising a child alone. Both Lou Ann and Taylor were able to discover new sides of themselves and learn how to live without the help of a man (in Lou Ann’s case), or

Barbara Kingsolver’s modern romance, The Bean Trees, tells the story of a young woman named Taylor Greer. Taylor is born in a small rural town and “gets away” so she can do bigger and better things. While driving cross-country, a woman leaves her a small child. Taylor raises names and raises this child, Turtle. She moves in with another single mom and works for Mattie, a woman who smuggles refugees. Taylor has multiple moments of lost innocence as she learns the true evils of the world, and she uses this to grow into a stronger person. In her novel, The Bean Trees, Kingsolver juxtaposes characters and settings that uphold gender stereotypes and that challenge them in order to convey the notion that those who break traditional gender roles

When they lived in Guatemala, there was a raid on their village. During the raid, their daughter Ismene was taken as well as, Estevan's brother and two friends were killed. Both of them were devastated by the losses so they ran away and started over in America. For safety reasons, Estevan and Esperanza were going to move farther away from the border. Taylor told them that she would drive them because she needs to go there to find Turtles relatives. Taylor was risking her life to for them to start a better one of their own. Estevan and Esperanza said they would help Taylor adopt Turtle as her legal daughter. During the adoption process Esperanza help turtle and cried because it was the last time she would see her. This gave her the closure that she never really got with Ismene so now she can move. Moving to different places was a big part of Estevan and Esperanza’s

It is presently common, to label women as inherently malicious and slanderous individuals. We see these stereotypes present, in today’s society. For instance, when two women get in an argument, others around them, tend to yell ‘cat fight’, declaring that because they are women, they presume them as ‘catty’. This scenario, can also be used as a parallel, that depicts what society does to women. Society sets women in opposition to each other, by elevating a male’s status, and forcing women to seek approval from men. In the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the main character Francie observes, a situation where, a woman is verbally and eventually physically assaulted, by other women, because she is not married (or really, she doesn’t care nor needs the

Barbara Kingsolver, author of The Bean Trees, emphasizes her societal views throughout the novel and tells the story in the first person narrative of Taylor Greer, a practical but spirited girl trying to escape her simple and somewhat boring life to a more exciting one. Taylor’s character reflects Kingsolver in the way that they both focus on creating a more just society in which women are treated as equals and have the same rights as men. They both share a pride of being female and attempt to better the lifestyles of other women in their societies. Barbara Kingsolver writes novels which focus on social justice and she often writes about situations that are familiar, basing much of her writing on places or experiences that are personal to her. Kingsolver’s early life experiences in Arizona influence the characters, such as Taylor, who are developed in The Bean Trees and she connects these life experiences to the characters to express her feminist views and inform the reader of her concerns on this topic and demonstrates ways through her literature in which people can help solve the societal problems that women face.

Mattie is the older character in this book that was owned “Jesus is Lord Tires” and was a character that acted as a mother to multiple characters. “She looked at me the way Mama would have,” (Kingsolver 252). This quote was found near the end of the book that signified Mattie looking at Taylor and Taylor observing that look and thinking that it is similar to her real mother’s. Mattie gave some money to Taylor for the trip and Taylor refused to take it, so Mattie said that it was for everyone in the car and gave her the look that reminded Taylor of her biological mother. “’I’ve got some peanut butter crackers,’ Mattie said leaning over Turtle. ‘Will she eat peanut butter?’,” (Kingsolver 252). Mattie seemed worried about Turtle and offered her something to eat. She acted as a mother figure to Turtle because she fed her and gave her more food when Turtle hinted for it. Mattie was the one that fit as a mother figure to a lot of characters in the book. She was the person that led a sanctuary and was the one who took care of the many.

The theme of The Bean Trees is: Single motherhood is accompanied with struggles and hardships nevertheless, in the end; the love for their child outweighs all. Taylor begins her journey with distaste for the idea of motherhood and how one’s life has to change for that child. In spite of that, when she is forced into the role of Turtle’s mother, her viewpoint begins to change from a negative perspective to a positive one as she starts to care about the child. By the time the finale of the novel comes to be Taylor does not just care for Turtle but loves her with all her heart and shows that by adopting her as her own child.

Life is constantly changing, like clouds in the sky; always shifting and turning. People never really know which way life will turn next, bringing them fortune or failure. When you look at how things change it is best to compare it to something that you can relate it to. The changeable nature of life can be related to the novel 'The Bean Trees.' This is a book written almost entirely on dealing with changes in the characters lives.

The women of these novels showed feminine empowerment. Although they had obstacles that could have over come them they still stood against them and showed that females can be strong and independent too.

In the book, Mattie starts out as a lazy teenager who needs to be told what to do by her over controlling mother, but throughout the story, she becomes more responsible and adult-like. For

“You have a face only a mother could love” Although a harsh insult this is for most mothers a very true statement. A mother’s love is something that you will probably not experience until you have your very own children. Motherhood can be a very sentimental topic in literature, especially when there is conflict with a child and their mother figure. In the book The Bean Trees there are several mother figures that each express their love for their child, even going great lengths for them. Throughout the many great themes of The Bean Trees this one by far sticks out the most because the book is mainly about a mother taking care of her child, that isn’t even hers, making many sacrifices to give her the best life possible. The main character,

However, there are many female characters in the novel and we can divide them into those who are caretakers and those who are fully dependents. The Women’s role can be independent and self-sufficient when she is an individual character, while women in groups seem to be lower than men. The individual women, such as the Aunts, Miss Watson, and Widow Douglas, were all self-sufficient, hard working women. They were all educated, and have high morels. None of them could easily be scammed; although Aunt Sally was mislead, she questioned the actions of Huck and Tom. On the other hand, Women in groups were portrayed as simple, unwise and overly trusting. The Wilks sisters, Joanna, Susan and Mary Jane, when their father died, put total trust on their uncles, who were two con men trying to take advantage of them. Enough trust to give the uncles all their money to be invest. They were dependent because they had never been without who protect them and have no way of knowing what to do in that kind of situation.

Author use many symbolism in the book The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. She uses symbolism because it makes it easier for readers to understand the deeper meaning or feeling of the character or the events that are happening. For example, author uses the symbolism of bean trees as transformation and Ismene as the abandoned children to show the deeper meaning of them.