As the Greek philosopher Socrates once said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” (Socrates). The ability to adapt to change and have faith in others are two traits necessary for success. Barbara Kingslover’s The Bean Trees emphasizes these two crucial skills. A novel centered around a woman named Taylor, her daughter Turtle, and her close friend Lou Ann, The Bean Trees follows along on the difficult journey these characters face. Taylor and Lou Ann encounter many obstacles, including acquiring a child, divorcing a spouse, moving away from home, finding a new career path, and discovering new friends they could have never imagined. In Barbara Kingslover’s The Bean Trees, similes, …show more content…
Many times, miracles can show up in the oddest of places. While spending time at what they call “Dog Doo Park”, Taylor and Lou Ann notices the wisteria vines are starting to bloom. They are both pleasantly surprised, as Taylor states, “It reminded me of that Bible story where somebody or other struck a rock and the water poured out. Only this was better, flowers out of bare dirt. The Miracle of Dog Doo Park” (152). An expression like this is important to the story since it describes one of the main themes of the book, having faith in friends. Lou Ann has always promised Taylor the usually brown wisteria vines would bloom, but Taylor has always been skeptical. Lou Ann keeps her promise, when one day they find wisteria vines blooming out of the ground at Dog Doo Park. Taylor calls it a miracle, but Lou Ann knew it would happen all along. This is just one of the many examples when Taylor has faith in a friend, and it ends up beneficial for her. For instance, Taylor looks to Mattie for help with her car, and finds a lifelong friend full of wisdom. Secondly, Taylor has faith in Estevan and Esperanza when she decides to take them north of the border to a safer place. She knows they were trustworthy, smart, and would be able to avoid trouble if necessary. Kingslover incorporates a metaphor through Taylor’s statement, comparing a popular biblical story to the miracle Taylor and Lou Ann found at Dog Doo Park. Overall, this …show more content…
Oftentimes, people have more forms of support than they are aware of. This is no different for the characters in The Bean Trees as well as wisteria plants. While at the Oklahoma City Library, Taylor and Turtle find a book about Horticulture. As they look closer, they find an article about wisteria plants, and Taylor reads, “ . . . Wisteria vines . . . often thrive in poor soil, the book said. Their secret is something called rhizobia. These are microscopic bugs that live underground in little knots on the roots. . . . The rhizobia are not actually part of the plant, they are separate creatures, but they always live with legumes: a kind of underground railroad moving secretly up and down the roots” (305). Many people in this story have support that they may not always realize, just like these bean plants that have rhizobia helping them out. For example, Taylor and Lou Ann both have each other, since both share responsibility for Turtle and Dwayne Ray. Additionally, they both have Edna and Virgie, who are always willing to give them a helping hand. Rhizobia, described as an underground railroad system moving secretly up and down roots, functions similarly to Mattie when she secretly helps illegal immigrants. Mattie is the one working behind the scenes to make sure all immigrants that come to her for help get the best opportunity possible. Kingslover incorporates a metaphor into the story when