Friendship
Central to the novel is the theme of friendship, portrayed as a powerful force that can transform even the most isolated and broken lives. At the beginning, the main characters—Taylor, Turtle, Lou Ann, Estevan, and Esperanza—are shown as being financially struggling, hurt, lonely, scared, or simply unfortunate. Yet, as their friendships and steadfast loyalty to each other grow, these connections start to sustain them. Separated from their roots in a distant city, Taylor and Lou Ann establish a new home by forming a family-like bond with each other and their children. Upon their arrival in Tucson, Mattie offers Taylor and Turtle kindness and a job, saving them from their predicament. She also provides shelter and safety for Estevan and Esperanza. Virgie Mae and Edna Poppy look after one another and help Taylor and Lou Ann with their children. Throughout the novel, the characters forge strong bonds by supporting each other in a world filled with challenges. The community they create thrives in the dry Arizona landscape, much like the flowers and vegetables in Mattie's garden.
Choices and Consequences
Learning to survive involves making wise decisions and recognizing that every choice has consequences. The novel demonstrates how each character encounters crucial decisions and must then cope with the resulting outcomes. The decisions a character makes also help shape their personality, indicating whether they are, for instance, generous or selfish, strong or weak.
Key moments in the novel include Taylor deciding to leave Pittman County, her spontaneous choice to keep Turtle when Turtle's aunt insists she "take this baby," Estevan and Esperanza's refusal to betray their friends to the authorities and their decision not to chase after Ismene following her abduction, Lou Ann's choice not to go back to Angel after he abandons her, Taylor's decision to transport Estevan and Esperanza to a new safe house in Oklahoma, and her resolution to adopt Turtle permanently. Each decision is challenging, with a feasible alternative available in every situation, but a choice must be made. Each decision has profoundly affected the character's life and defined their identity.
Human Rights
Human rights include personal safety and freedom, which are privileges often taken for granted by many citizens in the United States. In the novel, Latin American refugees Estevan and Esperanza represent the denial of these rights, as they have lost their personal safety and freedom in Guatemala. Additionally, Turtle, an abused member of the Cherokee Nation, symbolizes two groups frequently deprived of human rights: abused children and Native Americans. However, Taylor, the caring and empathetic narrator, does not get bogged down in politics when facing these injustices—she simply focuses on the well-being of those she cares about. Her story is filled with a concern for human rights that surpasses nationality or political affiliations. As Taylor becomes more aware of human rights violations, her view of the world shifts. She feels a profound sadness for what Turtle, Estevan, and Esperanza have suffered, telling Lou Ann, "There's just so damn much ugliness. Everywhere you look, some big guy kicking some little person when they're down ... it just goes on and on, there's no end to it... the whole way of the world is to pick on people that can't fight back." Taylor's frustration with this "way of the world" pushes her to resist it, ultimately leading her to adopt Turtle and risk her own safety to assist Estevan and Esperanza. Her anger and despair over human cruelty fuel her determination to fight against oppression and cruelty.
Human Condition
Although not every character in the novel encounters violations of human rights, each one endures personal struggles. None of them have led an...
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easy life: Taylor has constantly battled poverty, Turtle has endured abuse and abandonment, Lou Ann grapples with feelings of inadequacy, and Estevan and Esperanza have suffered the loss of their child while fleeing political persecution in their homeland.
Nevertheless, the novel delves deeper into the human experience than simply showcasing life's difficulties. The humor and camaraderie among the characters prevent the story from adopting a pessimistic view of life. The narrative suggests that friendship and the support it provides can ease life's challenges. Mattie offers shelter, employment, love, and moral encouragement. Taylor takes care of Turtle. Lou Ann and Taylor share moments of laughter and support one another in raising their children. Taylor and Estevan find appreciation in each other's command of the English language. Virgie Mae and Edna assist by looking after Turtle and Dwayne Ray for Taylor and Lou Ann.
In the midst of struggles with poverty and safety, the novel illustrates that even the most difficult lives can be uplifted by a supportive community of friends.
Coming-of-Age and Quest Narrative
The Bean Trees combines two traditional storytelling styles: a coming-of-age story and a quest narrative. In the first chapter, we learn about Taylor's early life and teenage years. It is only by the end of the novel that she reaches full maturity, discovering her purpose and direction. Taylor's story can also be interpreted as a quest, which includes a physical journey, a pursuit for something mysterious, and a series of adventures, challenges, and dangers encountered throughout.
Significance of Community
The primary theme of the novel is the importance of community. In her hometown of Pittman, Kentucky, Taylor feels like an outsider. The local children, who are poor, are called "Nutters" because they pick walnuts to buy school clothes. The walnut oil stains their hands black, branding them as outcasts. Although Taylor is one of the Nutters, she feels distant from her rural peers, who have limited ambitions beyond marriage and farming. Yearning for an indefinable "something else," Taylor eventually discovers a surrogate family and a sense of belonging by the novel's conclusion.
The book's central metaphor, reflected in the title, highlights Kingsolver's message. The "bean trees" in Mattie's garden are actually wisteria vines, which, as Taylor learns from a horticultural encyclopedia, "often thrive in poor soil." This metaphor fittingly represents both Taylor and Turtle. Rhizobia, tiny organisms that transform nitrogen into plant fertilizer, enable the wisteria to grow. The novel demonstrates that depending on others is vital for a fulfilling and joyful life through various supportive relationships.
Responsibility
Another significant theme in the novel is responsibility. At the beginning, Taylor reluctantly accepts the duty of caring for Turtle, yet she is hesitant to commit to being her permanent guardian. Her reluctance is partly because she hadn't planned on becoming a mother at this point in her life and partly due to her feelings of inadequacy and lack of preparedness. Before Taylor decides to adopt Turtle, Mattie advises her that no one ever feels completely ready for parenting. Instead, she suggests considering whether "it would be interesting, maybe even enjoyable in the long run, to share my life with this kid and give her my best effort and maybe, when all's said and done, end up with a good friend." Taylor's decision to take responsibility for Turtle is closely tied to her choice to assist Estevan and Esperanza, taking on the duty to support a cause she believes in. By helping them relocate to a safer place, Taylor evolves from someone who merely sympathizes with the world's issues to someone who actively strives to make a difference. Once again guided by Mattie's influence, Taylor embraces the responsibility of improving life for others.
Struggles of American Life
The novel is about the struggles of American life for the vast number of people for whom the rags-to-riches dream is never realized. This is the real America, the America of unskilled labor, low levels of education, and limited access to the perks of American society. Yet in Kingsolver’s novel there is no bitterness, no petty jealousy or envy, no crime, merely an easy acceptance of the way things are and an appreciation of life’s good parts.
Growing Up
The novel is also about growing up. While the device of the journey has often been used to focus such a theme, Taylor’s growing up comes not so much as a result of her experiences traveling as a result of her attempts to deal with the new and unexpected responsibility of a needy child. Taylor must learn how to be a mother—how to provide for Turtle’s physical needs and, even more important, how to provide for Turtle’s emotional needs. Slowly, she becomes committed to satisfying those needs, to being a real parent for Turtle.
Women's Strength
Another theme of the novel is women’s strength. All the major characters are women, and they form a community of support for one another. They accept one another’s weaknesses, helping one another to change what can be changed and to work around what cannot. This is a story of women who are not empowered in any way but who nevertheless have the will, the spirit, and the commitment to find the resources within themselves to do right individually.
