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The Bean Tree Character Analysis

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In The Bean Tree, Taylor grows as a person through the choices she makes.(how do these things help Taylor grow as a person) Taylor is talking about how she doesn't want to be like anyone else in her town and wants to make her own path."I stayed in school. I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble and I intended to finish. This is not to say that I was unfamiliar with the back seat of a Chevrolet. I knew the scenery of Greenup Road, which we called Steam-It-Up Road, and I knew what a pecker looked like, and none of these sights had so far inspired me to get hogtied to a future as a tobacco farmer's wife. Mama always said barefoot and pregnant was not my style. She knew." (Kingsolver, ch.1) …show more content…

After turtle is attacked in Roosevelt Park, Taylor doesn't think she can give turtle the stable home she deserves. Mattie explains to Taylor, “You’re asking yourself, Can I give this child the best possible upbringing and keep her out of harm’s way her whole life long? The answer is no, you can’t. But nobody else can either. Not a state home, that’s for sure. For heaven’s sake, the best they can do is turn their heads while the kids learn to pick locks and snort hootch, and then try to keep them out of jail. Nobody can protect a child from the world. That’s why it’s the wrong thing to ask, if you’re really trying to make a decision.”(Kingsolver, ch.13) The advice that Mattie gives Taylor helps her decide that the love she gives turtle will be better than what the state will give turtle. Also the quote states that “For heaven’s sake, the best they can do is turn their heads while the kids learn to pick locks and snort hootch, and try to keep them out of jail” this is saying that the state will just turn there backs on the kids and not show them any affection. Through Taylor's decisions early on in the novel and towards the middle of the novel it shows Taylor growth as an adult. For instance Taylor didn't think she could take care of turtle after the accident that happen in the park but she realizes no one is perfect and that she could take care of turtle. Though the way Taylor’s mother raised her and circumstances, Taylor wanted much more in life than to be “Barefoot and Pregnant”. This kinda to relates to most people in the world and how they want much more in

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