THE BEAN TREES
By Barbara
Kingsolver
Jiyu Lin
BARBARA KINGSOLVER
 Born in 1955 in Annapolis, MD, but grew up in
rural Kentucky
 Loved outdoor adventures and reading books
 Lived in the Republic of Congo, France, and the
Spanish Canary Islands.
 Graduated from DePauw University and the
University of Arizona
 Started freelance writing in 1985
 Works include Pigs in Heaven (1993), The
Poisonwood Bible (1998), and The Lacuna
(2009).
 The Bean Trees was her very first novel,
published in 1988
 Kingsolver lives in VA with her husband Steven
Hopp, and has two daughters – Camille and
Lily.
SETTING
 Southern and western parts of the United States .
 Starts in Kentucky  Midwestern bread basket Oklahoma
plains  Tucson, Arizona.
 The novel was written in the 1980s, but its events could also
occur today.
MAIN CHARACTERS
 Taylor Greer (originally Marietta Greer)
 A spunky girl in her early 20s, leaves her hick town in Pittman County,
Kentucky, for the adventure of a lifetime.
 Smart, sassy, and full of life, she adopts an orphaned Indian girl
 finds refuge in a vegetable garden behind a used tire shop and
becomes best friends with a recent divorcée named Lou Ann.
 Turtle
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Taylor’s nickname for the little girl she finds at a bar in Oklahoma
Her name comes from a type of mud turtle that clings to rocks.
Physically and sexually abused as a baby, is
Very afraid, silent, and detached.
Slowly opens up to Taylor and inspires everyone around her to forgive,
trust, and love
MORE CHARACTERS
 Lou Ann Ruiz
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starts searching for a roommate when her husband walks out
Very similar to Taylor
Has many fears; is extremely protective of her son
becomes Taylor’s mentor and friend
 Mattie
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Owns the mechanic shop near Lou Ann’s home called Jesus Is Lord Used Tires.
Also a safe-house for Native American/Hispanic refugees
a model of strength and wisdom in Taylor’s life.
Introduces Taylor to her garden of “bean trees” and the hope they represent
 Estevan and Esperanza
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Young Guatemalan couple
Their daughter was kidnapped by a corrupt government terrorist association.
Taylor falls in love with Estevan
She also learns from his gentle wife Esperanza what it is to lose a loved one, and
how one must forgive to live again
PLOT
 Taylor Greer leaves home
 She doesn’t really know where she is going, or why she
is going at all, but she goes with determination and
spirit.
 She is also given a small child, Turtle, by a strange
Native American woman sitting in a bar. Taylor discovers
the toddler had been abused and takes her with her to
Tuscon, Arizona.
 There she meets Lou Ann and Dwayne Ray, Estevan and
Esperanza, Mattie, and many other characters.
 Helps Lou Ann get over her ex-husband
 She also helps Estevan and Esperanza, two fugitives
from Guatemala, find a home on a Native American
reservation.
 Legally adopts Turtle as her own daughter
CENTRAL THEME
 Growing up and Friendship
 Taylor is barely twenty years old; just finished high school and a job
at the local hospital
 The biggest worry up until that point in Taylor’s life was avoiding
pregnancy
 Just wants to “get away”
 First time away from home; forced to learn the responsibilities of
motherhood
 surrounded by strong women who all mentor her and encourage her.
 remains close to her mother Alice; they have a warm and supportive
relationship
SELECTION
 Page 3
 But I stayed in school. I was not the smar test or even
par ticularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of
trouble and I intended to finish. This is not to say that I was
unfamiliar with the back seat of a Chevrolet. I knew the
scener y of Greenup Road, which we called Steam -It-Up Road,
and I knew what a pecker looked like, and none of these
sights had so far inspired me to get hogtied to a future as a
tobacco farmer’s wife. Mama always said barefoot and
pregnant was not my style. She knew.
RECOMMENDATION
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Well-written and Inspirational
Readers of all ages
Easy to read
Clear narration and symbolism
Very genuine, relatable characters