Barbara Ellen Kingsolver was born April 08, 1955 in Annapolis, Maryland, United States. Kingsolver grew up in a rural environment, she was not exposed to many things because of that. Kingsolver was a sensitive and intelligent kid but an outcast socially. She was interested in writing and reading from an early age and was a fan of the writings of Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor when she was young. Kingsolver's experiences in Kentucky later influenced the topics and characters she explored as an adult author. Even though Kingsolver knew she wanted to be a writer, she took only one creative writing course however she often wrote poems in the margins of her textbooks. She knew she wanted to be a writer after she graduated but didn't know how she could make a living off of it. While pregnant with her daughter, Camille, Kingsolver suffered from insomnia, a condition that actually helped her write her first novel, “The Bean Trees”, which was somewhat based on her own life. Although the author protects her name undoubtedly, she still considers getting rid of it even though she needs to carry it on because it is who she is, but also it is keeping her …show more content…
She guards her name closely, wanting to stay closely affixed with her heritage. Kingsolver uses the simile “I have guarded my name as people in other times kept their own clipped hair,” (Line 1) to describe how intensely she guards her very own name, saying if she disowns her name dreadful things could happen. Kingsolver believes her heritage and ancestors would never be a part of her once more and they could be lost forever if she were to lose connection to them through their shared name. Just how people back then assumed if one's own lipped hair was scattered about then your soul would be scattered and lost as well. Causing one to take very good and cautious care of their hair clippings as the author does with her
They say that growing up is hard to do, and it certainly was for Taylor Greer, which is why she couldn't wait to leave her home in Pittman County, Kentucky. The novel, The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, follows Taylor's story of growing up, leaving home, and accepting responsibility. Along the way Taylor is given a child, Turtle, and she struggles with accepting the responsibility of raising a child. Kingsolver's choices for point of view, setting, conflict, theme, characterization, and style throughout the plot help create an uplifting story about love and what it means to be a family.
Sharon Creech’s childhood memories, college experiences, and creative brain significantly affected her writings. She rarely thought of being an author growing up, but as time progressed, she began to really think about it. Creech first became interested when she entered college and something sparked her career. She wrote multiple books with her much thought and creativeness leading her to an outstanding writing career.
In consideration, many unexpected events can occur to us, which helps to shape one’s belief in something that they should avoid having. The novel, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver portrays the life of Taylor Greer, a young and spirited woman who is brave enough to move out of a rural home in Kentucky with the goal of avoiding pregnancy. Little did Taylor know, she faces a human condition of accepting a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle. Throughout her journey, she creates many friendships with other people and love toward Turtle so there are many things that
Abandonment is a feeling known to many people. There are different types and levels of abandonment. In The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, many characters have been introduced to the feeling of abandonment. Abandoning or being abandoned is constant in the novel and Kingsolver uses it to link all of the characters together.
Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn presents the problems of a young girl coming of age, a time when she is faced with new challenges and must overcome obstacles. Throughout the book the protagonist, Francie Nolan discovers herself maturing as she struggles with loneliness, the loss of innocence and a life of poverty in a Brooklyn slum. This theme is evident in (1.) her love for books which she uses as companionship, (2.) her outlook on the world as she matures and finally, (3.) her realization that in order to succeed in life she must obtain an education and work hard to do it.
Joyce Carol Oates was born on June 16th, 1938, in Lockport, New York. Raised on her parent’s farm in a rural area that had been hit by the Great Depression, she attended the same one-room school house as her mother. As a young child, Oates developed a love of literature and writing well beyond her years. She was very encouraged by her parents and grandparents to pursue her love of writing and as a teenager she was given her first typewriter. This was when her passion finally came to life. In 1953 at the age of only 15, she wrote her first novel about the rehabilitation of a drug dealer, which was later turned down by the publisher because the topic was not suitable for a young audience. Although her novels do focus on the horrors of society, her childhood growing up was no reflection of that. Oates has admitted that her childhood was “dull, ordinary and nothing people would be interested in. Oates continued writing throughout high school and earned a scholarship to attend Syracuse University. There she graduated at the top of her class in 1960, and in...
There were many sacrificial elements that existed in The Bean Trees. Sacrifices that the characters in the novel made for the benefit of others or themselves. These sacrifices played a role almost as significant as some of the characters in the book. Some prime examples of these sacrifices are Mattie’s will to offer sanction to illegal immigrants, the fact that Taylor sacrificed the whole success of her excursion by taking along an unwanted, abused Native-American infant, and Estevan and Esperanza’s decision to leave behind their daughter for the lives of seventeen other teacher union members.
In the book, The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, the notion of a quest is very prevalent. According to Thomas Foster, a Quest consists of five things a quester, a place to go, a reason to go there, challenges and trials, and an actual purpose (Foster). Taylor Greer’s journey in The Bean Trees embodies Foster’s ideals through which she gains self-knowledge, learns to thrive and finds her place in the world.
Diane von Furstenberg once stated “I wanted to be an independent woman, a woman who could pay for her bills, a woman who could run her own life.” Independence plays a big role in being able to be successful in life. Taylor, a girl that can be described as “different ,” is a person who is a strong believer in doing things by herself. She moved out when she learned how to drive and never went back. She gains a child and soon settles down in Tucson Arizona, where she starts her own life. In the novel The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, there are many obstacles Taylor goes through to set the theme of independence.
Kingsolver develops the story of a strong young woman, named Taylor Greer, who is determined to establish her own individuality. The character learns that she must balance this individualism with a commitment to her community of friends, and in doing this, her life is immeasurably enriched. Many books speak of family, community, and individuality. I believe, however, that the idea that Barbara Kingsolver establishes in her book, The Bean Trees, of a strong sense of individualism, consciously balanced with a keen understanding of community as extended family, is a relatively new idea to the genre of the American novel.
Head, Bessie. “Life.” Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahn, et al. 6th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002. 349-355.
The Bean Trees is a novel which shows Taylor’s maturation; it is a bildungsroman story. Taylor is a developing or dynamic character. Her moral qualities and outlook undergo a permanent change. When the novel begins, Taylor is an independent-minded young woman embarking on an adventure to a new world. She has no cares or worries. She is confident in her abilities, and is determined to make it through life on her own. As she discovers new things and meets new people, Taylor is exposed to the realities of the world. She learns about the plight of abandoned children and of illegal immigrants. She learns how to give help and how to depend upon the help of others. As she interacts with others, those people are likewise affected by Taylor. The other developing characters are Lou Ann Ruiz, Turtle, and Esperanza. Together they learn the importance of interdependence and find their confidence.
There was a time many years ago when the passing of a relative always seemed to be the eldest member of the family such as the grandmother, grandfather, great-grandmother or great-grandfather. Not too many times would one see a young person die or being killed very often. In the song “The Leaning Tree”, gospel artist Win Thompkins addresses this as no longer being true because young people are dying just about everyday. Throughout the song , he states that “the leaning tree” ,symbolizing an older person, is not always the first to fall or in other words die. Thompkins also states throughout the song that anyone’s time could be soon no matter the age or condition. He then shares a brief story about a righteous old man who saw his children pass
As every well-read person knows, the background in which you grow up plays a huge role in how you write and your opinions. Fuller grew up with a very strict education, learning multiple classic languages before she was eight years old. Fern grew up with writers all throughout her family and had a traditional education and saw first hand the iniquities of what hard-working had to contend with. Through close analysis of their work, a reader can quickly find the connections between their tone, style, content, and purpose and their history of their lives and their educational upbringing.
The emergence of black women writers on the American literary scene was not a sudden or a fortuitous event.Their bursting on to the scene was a result of the new found consciousness of black American women.They were increasingly becoming conscious of the racist and patriarchal oppression that they were being subjected to in America.By the 1970's the black women had the knowledge that both-The Civil Rights Movement and The Feminist Movement were neglecting the issues relating to black women.Despite being active participants in both the move...