Bean Tree Symbolism
Many objects are considered a symbol of life. The sun, a circle, or children are a few examples that writers most commonly use. Barbra Kingsolver wrote the book The Bean Trees and uses many symbols for life. She not only uses symbols throughout her book, but also throughout each chapter. In chapter 8, titled “The Miracle of Dog Doo Park”, she brings life out of many unexpected places, including places that resemble hell itself. Many symbols are also used in this book also for death. Dog Doo Park is one of them. The main character, Taylor Greer goes on many adventures and comes across death-like places filled with life. She goes to Dog Doo Park on a walk with her roommate, Lou Ann, and her daughter, Turtle, expecting a regular green park. She comes across a park filled with nothing but dried up plants. What she finds in that park and other places as well is the best thing of all: life. Through the skillful use of characterization and symbolism, Kingsolver shows that people stumble upon life in the most unlikely places. Taylor, the character who stumbles upon the majority of objects that can be connected with life, is the main character. When Taylor, Lou Ann, and Turtle make their way down to Dog Doo Park for the fir
From the beginning, Taylor knows that there is something different about Turtle. Because she was sexually assaulted at such a young age, she tended to behave like a statue. Over time, that changed with the encouragement of Taylor. The three of them, Taylor, Turtle and Lou Ann, took a trip to the park, “Turtle was pounding the dirt with a plastic shovel” (111). Turtle used to be a non-talkative toddler, but now she was acting like a jubilant child full of life. Even through trying times, Turtle manages to stay a little child. But just to be safe and sure, Taylor decides to take Turtle to the doctor for a check up. The doctor does his routine first check, and says that “she seems to be a healthy two-year-old” (122). To the best of Taylor’s knowledge, she explains Turtle’s abusive past to the doctor, so he runs more tests to see if she really is healthy. They take extensive x-rays only to find her “thin white bones and her skull” (123). The x-rays showed “…healed fractures, some of them compound” (123). Through the examination, they learn that Turtle’s age is actually closer to three years, instead of the twenty-four months they had previously guessed. They call that condition a failure to thrive. This all happened prior to when Taylor got her. Once in Taylor’s care, Turtle thrives. Since Turtle is growing quickly, Taylor has to buy her many new clothes for her. In this circumstance, Taylor takes over the role of a giver of life. All Turtle needs is love to grow, and that is what she receives from Taylor. Turtle’s life was postponed for most of
Some topics in this essay:
Lou Ann,
Taylor Turtle,
Barbra Kingsolver,
Doo Park”,
Pittman County,
Taylor Taylor’s,
Taylor Turtle’s,
Park Taylor,
Bean Trees,
,
dog doo,
lou ann,
taylor turtle,
pittman county,
doo park”,
doo park,
barbra kingsolver,
symbol life,
dog doo park,
life taylor,
miracle dog doo,
miracle dog,
dog doo park”,
main character taylor,
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Approximate Word count = 1076
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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