The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver -- 17 chapters reviewed = Taylor Turtle Estevan Mattie Lou Ann

3-minute guide to The Bean Trees, a novel by Barbara Kingsolver. I review the 17 chapter titles. Students might look at this AFTER they have finished reading the novel and are ready to assess the work as a whole or look at parts very carefully. This is meant to give a helpful review of the novel's action, provide fun visuals, and supply a little analysis/commentary. In a mere 3 minutes, this video cannot say all that I wish to say, so forgive me if I skip over great bits. Some Discussion Questions for The Bean Trees INSTRUCTIONS: prepare answers in advance. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper (handwritten or typed, about 20 to 30 words per answer). I’ll collect your written answers after the seminar. I’ll also collect notes you took as other students were speaking during the seminar. You need not prepare answers for all. Pick 7 Find evidence in the text supporting your answer, having a page number and/or quote ready to cite. 1) What evidence suggests that Taylor is fit to raise Turtle? (It seems easier to find ways Taylor is unfit.) 2) What is the most serious mistake Taylor makes while raising Turtle? 3) A Border Patrol officer asks, “All U.S. citizens?” Taylor answers with a lie: “Yes...This is my brother Steve, and my sister-in-law.” Turtle is in the car and can hear this. Is Taylor being a good or bad role model for Turtle? Does Turtle now have permission to lie to her mom? 4) Taylor commits felonies by transporting illegal immigrants and signing a document of lies. How much time should she serve in jail for illegal activities? If no time, explain why Taylor should not be punished after breaking laws. 5) In the last 3 paragraphs of Chapter 9,. Taylor sleeps with a married man, whose hand is “just under my breast.” Taylor kisses the man’s palm and goes into her bedroom. Who is more to blame for Taylor and Estevan being so inappropriately intimate at the end of Chapter 9? (Is she hoping he’ll wake when she kisses his palm?) 6) Taylor wants to drive two illegal immigrants to Oklahoma in Two-Two–that’s the name of her VW with a broken ignition (“no starter”), no back seats, “no windows to speak of.” Does the word “stupid” accurately characterize Taylor? If yes, where else in the novel is she stupid? If no, what is an accurate adjective? 7) At the end of “How They Eat in Heaven,” Estevan tells how people eat in heaven. What is the point of his story? How is his story related to actions in the novel? Is Estevan implying that Virgie Mae Valentine Parsons belongs in hell? 8) The last chapter has 7 sections. At the end of the 4th section Estevan “kissed me very, very sweetly”–appropriate? 9) Females in The Bean Trees range from strong to weak in the sense of confidence or self-esteem. Who is strong, and what is evidence of strength? Or who is weak, and what is evidence of weakness? 10) The Bean Trees is loaded with symbols. What functions as a symbol in the novel? (Hint: consider birds, dolls, plants, names.) 11) In much of the novel, characters put down other humans, such as when Lee Sing conveys that having a girl is a waste. But in other parts of the novel, the opposite happens--a few strong people build up the esteem of other characters by uttering kind or wise statements. Find a fresh example of a character harming the self-esteem of another person. Then do the opposite: find an example of a character building up the esteem of another person. 12) Is it better that Lou Ann married Angel though she lost him, or would she have been better off never meeting Angel? Should they work harder at the marriage before turning to divorce? The divorce has not gone through--how offended are you that Lou Ann acquires a boyfriend? In other words, are you for or against adultery here?