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.