Lessons for Life from The Bean Trees
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver is one of those books that you can read on vacation, lounging in the sun or cozing up to a warm fire or flying cross country. The story is a treat; a brief synopsis is this: A young woman, Taylor Greer, from Kentucky decides to find a new life for herself, takes off in her beat-up Volkswagon, is given an Indian toddler to take care of, and ends up in Tucson, Arizona. Not only is the story enjoyable reading with humor and pathos, but there are also themes and recurring images that add depth to the novel.
Jumping in With Both Feet
I am intrigued by the question of why Taylor keeps the Indian girl Turtle. If we think about it logically, Taylor is in no position to accept such responsibility. She is traveling, has no current home, very little money and no job. How could she possibly take care of a young child? And yet it fits. Are you really surprised? We’re prepared for this, since we know Taylor already doesn’t follow the normal pattern of life in Pittman County, Kentucky. After all, she gets a good job at the hospital rather than accepting teen pregnancy or an early marriage. Then she decides to leave Kentucky and seek something new. She just does things differently.
In the novel’s sequel, Pigs in Heaven, Taylor appears on the “Oprah” show, and Oprah asks her, “‘You could have walked away. Why did you take her?’” And Taylor answers thoughtfully, “‘I felt like I had to take her’” (53). Have you ever done something that you felt you had to do, perhaps with no logical explanation attached? We talk of this as following our intuition or our heart. This could also be described as following the light that connects us to others. After all, what a blessing it is to both Taylor and Turtle, as well as others they meet, that they stayed together. Perhaps there is a lesson here for us. We can spend too much time analyzing something we’d like to do and end up talking ourselves out of it. Sometimes it’s best to just jump in with both feet.
*Personal Application: Dive in and do something you’ve been wanting to do for a while. Overcome obstacles of time, money, fear and other’s objections. You’ll get a real energy boost!
Of Plants and Growing Things
My favorite image is that of plants, which adds vitality and energy to the novel. A description of Maddie’s garden (who runs the Jesus Is Lord Tire Store and becomes Taylor’s boss and friend) illustrates a quirkiness that runs throughout the story. It is “a bright, wild wonderland of flowers and vegetables and auto parts. Heads of cabbage and lettuce sprouted out of old tires. An entire rusted-out Thunderbird, minus the wheels, had nasturtiums blooming out the windows like Mama’s hen-and chicks pot on the front porch at home. A kind of teepee frame made of CB antennas was all overgrown with cherry-tomato vines” (45 -46). Even our first view of Turtle, the little Indian girl, includes this image, as she attaches herself to Taylor “by [her] little hands like roots sucking on dry dirt” (22). Here the great need the little girl has for love, support and especially nurturing is almost overwhelming.
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