Question

Please explain the symbolism found in the following quote from The Bean Trees:

He told me that the national symbol of the Indian people in Guatemala was the quetzal, a beautiful green bird with a long, long tail. I told him I had seen military macaws at the zoo, and wondered if the quetzal was anything like those. He said no. If you tried to keep this bird in a cage, it died.

Accepted Answer

In order to best understand the quote that you have given us, you need to think about the overall themes of this work and about the passage that comes just before the part that you quote.
First of all, let us look at the themes of the novel.  As the eNotes discussion of the themes (link below) says, one of the themes of the novel is human rights which

... involve personal safety and freedom, which most United States citizens take for granted.

The passage you cite is making this point.
Before the part you quote, Esteban asks Taylor if the national symbol of the US is an alligator since so many people wear it on their shirts.  This is a reference to materialism since this book was written in the '80s when Izod shirts with their alligator logo were very popular.
By contrast, Esteban says, the Indians of Guatemala had as their symbol a bird that dies in captivity.  This is symbolizing their fierce desire to be free.  This desire for freedom and human rights is why Esteban and Esperanza -- whose name means "hope" -- are in America in the first place.
So the discussion of the alligator and the quetzal is meant to symbolize the differences between complacent Americans who have their rights and care only about material goods and the oppressed, like the Indians in Guatemala, who value freedom so highly that they die without it.

Answer

One of the main themes in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees is freedom. Kingsolver tells the story of Taylor Greer, born Marietta Greer, who has left her hometown in search of freedom from the typical life she sees all around her. Girls in her hometown didn’t generally have adventures; they got pregnant and dropped out of high school, tied to a life of poverty and motherhood. Taylor is determined not to forge the same path. She graduates high school, works and saves money, and then leaves her old life behind.
Taylor meets the couple Estevan and Esperanza, undocumented immigrants from Guatemala who are frightened and traumatized by their experiences back home. They fled their home country to protect themselves and other members of an undocumented teachers’ union. Leaving Guatemala meant leaving their daughter behind, but staying there would have put the lives and freedom of their group members at risk.
Referring to Estevan's conversation with Taylor, Kingsolver writes,

He told me that the national symbol of the Indian people in Guatemala was the quetzal, a beautiful green bird with a long, long tail. I told him I had seen military macaws at the zoo, and wondered if the quetzal was anything like those. He said no. If you tried to keep this bird in a cage, it died.

Kingsolver uses the image of the quetzal to symbolize freedom. Its beauty and spirit cannot be contained in a cage, or the quetzal, like freedom itself, will die.

Answer

While traveling in a car, Taylor, a woman from the US, is having a conversation with Estevan, a man from Guatemala. Talking about characteristics of their different countries, one subject is their national symbols. Estevan asks about the alligator logo on his polo shirt, something he is just becoming familiar with, as he is new to the US. He thinks that could be the US national symbol and thinks it might be appropriate because alligators harm people—a characteristic he associated with US military policies. The quote about the quetzal bird comes next.
The conversation between Taylor and Estevan highlights differences in their knowledge about each other’s countries. Taylor mentions another bird she saw, thinking that the substance of their conversation is animals. But Estevan is more concerned with the symbolic meaning. He is trying to find out what Taylor thinks her country stands for. Rather than ask about the physical characteristics of the macaw that he might compare with the quetzal’s long, green tail, Estevan picks up on the fact that Taylor mentions the zoo. Freedom, contrasted to being in a cage, is what matters to Estevan. Having a freedom-loving bird as a symbol corresponds to the Guatemalan people’s hope for freedom. If US people already have freedom, then they do not need a symbol of hope.

The Bean Trees

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