Changeable Nature of Life

Changeable Nature of Life

The Bean Trees Essay

The only thing that is constant in life is change. Seasons change, weather changes, people grow and change and as years go by, families change. Life is constantly changing, and with these changes people adapt and adjust their lives. In Barbara Kingsolver's novel "The Bean Trees" the plot focuses on the lives of four women, how their lives are intertwined and how their lives change.

Everyone is affected by the changeable nature of life. Children grow up and make decisions about their future. Some go to college and others decide to start working. Most people eventually marry and some couple chose to have children. Through this maturing people have to adjust to change. Some move to a different location; when people marry and have a child their life changes immensely. When parents or grandparents die, a family suffers a loss and again they learn to adjust to this devastating change.

The main character in "The Bean Trees" is Taylor Greer. When we first meet her, her birth name is Marietta. She graduates from high school and gets a job, but she feels trapped. Bravely she sets out on a trip to escape Pittman, Kentucky. When she runs out of gas in Taylorville, Illinois, it is here that Marietta changes her name to Taylor. She feels this gives her a fresh start. On her journey she ends up with a child of Cherokee decent. This is quite a change for Taylor, adjusting to motherhood, especially when one of the reasons she left Pittman was to avoid getting pregnant at a young age.

The child's name is unknown to her and she eventually names her Turtle because of her tight grip. This poor little girl has been abused physically and sexually and as result does not talk. Turtle slowly changes, falling in love and trusting her new mom, and by the end of the novel she has begun to talk. Her first word is "bean". She loves playing with seeds and dirt and this ties in with her Cherokee heritage of her ancestors.

Taylor and Turtle build their new lives in Tucson, Arizona. The land and climate are a huge change for Taylor. She moves in with a woman named Lou Ann. They form a bond quickly. Lou Ann is adjusting to being pregnant and to a husband that has left her. This is an enormous change for Lou Ann because she believes that marriage should last forever. She becomes depressed. Once her child, a boy she names Dwayne Ray is born, the four settle in and become a family. Lou Ann transforms from a dependent housewife to a strong independent mother.

Taylor meets a couple from Guatemala through her friend Mattie. Estevan and Esperanza are illegal immigrants. They have fled their country. Leaving one's country is hard enough but when you are in a new country illegally the change would be very stressful. When Esperanza tries to commit suicide