In Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees, Taylor Greer does her best to be a good mother to Turtle even though she is not perfect. Let's look at this in more detail to get you started on this assignment.

First, you should think about Taylor's decision to accept Turtle. Taylor never intends to be a mother. In fact, she is just setting out on the road for an adventure. She is not ready to settle down, and she is tired of her boring life. But then something strange happens. At a little restaurant in Oklahoma, a woman thrusts a baby at Taylor and then quickly drives off. Taylor makes the decision to take the child with her.

We might wonder if this is a good decision or if Taylor should have done something different. A little while later, when Taylor stops at a motel, she learns that the baby is a girl and that she has been horribly abused. The child clings to Taylor, and Taylor calls her Turtle.

As the story progresses, Taylor adjusts to motherhood, even taking a job at a tire-repair business (getting over her fears to do so) to be able to support Turtle. Taylor grows to love the little girl, but she does make some mistakes, as all mothers do. For one thing, she neglects to take Turtle to the doctor for quite some time, and when she finally does, she learns that Turtle is about three years old and that her situation is worse than Taylor imagines. Yet Turtle slowly begins to speak and interact with people.

Taylor makes another mistake, though, when she leaves Turtle with Edna, who is blind. Edna cannot protect Turtle, and the girl is badly frightened in the park and returns to her silent state. The social worker who visits Taylor and Turtle reveals that Taylor has no legal claim to the little girl, and Taylor must fight for the daughter she has come to love.