Kristin McCurdy

English 4 H

9-15-01

There was one theme in The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingslover which I felt I really

could not relate to. This theme was that Taylor Greer and her mother did not have a

strong relationship after Taylor moved away. My mother and I are very close, and I can

not imagine not talking to her often at any point in my life. Taylor sent her mother one

postcard in the beginning of the book, and did not talk to her again until her mother

called to tell her she was getting married. The last time Taylor speaks to her mother is

months after the wedding, just to tell her that she has custody of Turtle. I felt very

much that I was looking through a window in these sections of the book. I have a hard

time understanding that there are people who have very little, if any, relationship with

their mother of guardian. Neither of the women, Taylor or her mother, had any other

mentionable family. I was very surprised by the fact that they did not stick closer

together, especially as Taylor struggled with money, and most of all, custody of Turtle.

 

http://www.kingsolver.com/