Critical Analysis of the Bean Trees

The title of the novel describes the use of wisteria, the seeds that resemble beans. Barbara Kingsolver addresses three main themes; friendship, parenthood as well as social injustices. The idea of fatherhood is based on the experiences of Taylor and Turtle, Lou Ann, and Dwayne Ray (pg. 67). Lou and Taylor are single mothers that struggle to raise their children in a place where it is looted and no guaranteed support for them. Taylor grew up trying to be a better mother, and the responsibility that she has is thrust open in Oklahoma. Before she gave birth, Lou was left by the husband, and she remained on her own suddenly. She is young to know her roles as a young woman. The dilemma haunted both of them, and then trying to come into terms with this dilemma is the center of the novel.

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There is an organic metaphor that is present in the book. For instance, the garden described as being unstructured behind Mattie's tire shop spills into the Lee Sing yard. It is similar to the character on a friendship that is constructed without a boundary artificially. The relationships are described to grow naturally out of mutual interests and needs. The final chapter of the book describes the concept of microscopic organisms aiding in the fertilization of wisteria as detailed as the turtle. The mutual support and interdependence have allowed the characters to flourish in ways that they could not have done on their own.

The second and fourth chapters are in the third party and an omniscient point of view. There is a view and focus on the Lou before her meeting Taylor which is a novel that is told from the first-person point of view. She is the central focus and an outsider and transplanted in Tucson, where she met a different kind of people. That was from the people that she knew from home as well as those from different ethnicity. She is also sharing her struggles and concerns as a working-class woman.

There is a theme of friendship described in different stories, and all have different descriptions. There is a description of the friendship between Lou and Taylor, who are the main characters and exhibit intertwining characters in different ways. They have a complicated kind of relationship (pg. 46). Lou loves him and wants him, although she respects Esperanza and is kept from following her desires. Mattie, on the other hand, is a maternal figure to most of the characters

The aspect of motherhood is described as all the women in the novel are seen as single mothers. We encounter Taylor's mother, who worked as a housekeeper, raising her alone. Taylor takes care of the turtle with love as a natural-born child. Lou is described as being overprotective to the son Dwayne as she tries to get and become the best mother as she can.

The women here have little to offer to the children, but they shower them with love, security, stability, and family (pg. 34). The women in the novel can learn the benefits of identifying the neighbors and the development of a community. The creation of a community by Kingsolver in the book makes the reader alert of the impact of the community and their contribution that it brings to the lives.

References

Kingsolver, B., & Wragge, E. (2009). The bean trees. Harper Collins Publishers. https://www.tpet.com/content/PHSamples/BeanTreesAPTUs.pdf