A Turtle and Some Beans
Anais Nin, a renowned author, once wrote, “And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” (“Quotes About Growth”). In the story, The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, the courage to bloom is one of the many themes. Taylor, a young woman travelling westward, is unwillingly given a child. Taylor and the child, Turtle, eventually settle in Arizona. They live with a woman named Lou Ann, and Taylor works at an auto shop owned by a woman named Mattie. Taylor, Turtle, Lou Ann and Mattie all go through their own hardships; the hardships ranging from being a single mother to hiding illegal citizens. Throughout the story The Bean Trees, the use of the bean plant develops …show more content…
While Taylor and Lou Ann were sitting at Dog Doo Park, Turtle mentions the wisteria plant. Taylor looks at the plant and says, “‘Will you look at that,’ I said. It was another miracle. The flower trees were turning into bean trees” (194). Dog Doo Park is very barren other than the wisteria vines and a few shade trees. The park is very desolate and dreary. The fact that these wisteria vines grow and produce beans is a miracle, considering the other foliage in the park. These beans exemplify new beginnings and perseverance. Taylor, Turtle and even Lou Ann endure so much together. These plants mentioned throughout the story are a constant reminder of their trials and tribulations. The plant signifies their collective and individual growth. As Catherine Himmelwright writes in her article “Kingsolver’s Merger of American Western Myth and Native American Myth in The Bean Trees, “Although Kingsolver focuses on the relationships that occur in the human world, she describes these relationships in terms that reflect the natural world... Whether between people and plants or between soil and animals productivity only occurs through relationship (Himmelwright, 130). This quote brings the story to another level. Not only do the bean trees symbolize the miracle of life, but human growth. As the plants grow, so does the relationship between Turtle, Taylor, and Lou Ann. The analogy of the bean plant is used to reference both their individual and collective
Anais Nin, a renowned author, once wrote, “And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” (“Quotes About Growth”). In the story, The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, the courage to bloom is one of the many themes. Taylor, a young woman travelling westward, is unwillingly given a child. Taylor and the child, Turtle, eventually settle in Arizona. They live with a woman named Lou Ann, and Taylor works at an auto shop owned by a woman named Mattie. Taylor, Turtle, Lou Ann and Mattie all go through their own hardships; the hardships ranging from being a single mother to hiding illegal citizens. Throughout the story The Bean Trees, the use of the bean plant develops …show more content…
While Taylor and Lou Ann were sitting at Dog Doo Park, Turtle mentions the wisteria plant. Taylor looks at the plant and says, “‘Will you look at that,’ I said. It was another miracle. The flower trees were turning into bean trees” (194). Dog Doo Park is very barren other than the wisteria vines and a few shade trees. The park is very desolate and dreary. The fact that these wisteria vines grow and produce beans is a miracle, considering the other foliage in the park. These beans exemplify new beginnings and perseverance. Taylor, Turtle and even Lou Ann endure so much together. These plants mentioned throughout the story are a constant reminder of their trials and tribulations. The plant signifies their collective and individual growth. As Catherine Himmelwright writes in her article “Kingsolver’s Merger of American Western Myth and Native American Myth in The Bean Trees, “Although Kingsolver focuses on the relationships that occur in the human world, she describes these relationships in terms that reflect the natural world... Whether between people and plants or between soil and animals productivity only occurs through relationship (Himmelwright, 130). This quote brings the story to another level. Not only do the bean trees symbolize the miracle of life, but human growth. As the plants grow, so does the relationship between Turtle, Taylor, and Lou Ann. The analogy of the bean plant is used to reference both their individual and collective