49 pages • 1 hour read
Barbara KingsolverA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
A major theme throughout The Bean Trees is the power of resiliency and the extent to which both humans and their environment can cope with harsh conditions and eventually thrive. The novel explores this theme primarily through Turtle’s gradual return to a healthy childhood after undergoing extremely traumatic events as an infant. While Turtle begins the novel in a state of silence, unwilling to speak or interact with the world, she begins to talk, play, and engage with her caretakers after living in a stable and loving environment. Most of Turtle’s progress is filtered through Taylor’s observations, and she often uses the metaphor of desert ecosystems to represent the notion of resiliency.
When Taylor takes Turtle to a pediatrician for the first time, he diagnoses Turtle with failure to thrive due to abuse, noting that her physical and mental development has stalled. However, the pediatrician reassures Taylor that this damage is reversible now that Turtle is in a healthier home and that she’ll likely grow up at a rate similar to other children. As Taylor looks at emotionally devastating X-rays that show Turtle’s numerous bone fractures, she finds hope by observing the natural world outside:
By Barbara Kingsolver
Animal Dreams
Animal Dreams
Barbara Kingsolver
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Barbara Kingsolver
Demon Copperhead
Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver
Flight Behavior
Flight Behavior
Barbara Kingsolver
High Tide in Tucson
High Tide in Tucson
Barbara Kingsolver
Pigs In Heaven
Pigs In Heaven
Barbara Kingsolver
Prodigal Summer
Prodigal Summer
Barbara Kingsolver
The Lacuna
The Lacuna
Barbara Kingsolver
The Poisonwood Bible
The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
Unsheltered
Unsheltered
Barbara Kingsolver
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection
View Collection