Bean Trees Chapter 11-13

1. Bean Trees Chapter 11-13

2. Discussion Questions: Basic stuff • What small changes do we see in Lou Ann in chap 11? • What happens at the park in chapter 12? Explain the situation. • Why do you think Taylor decides to chase the bird out of the house instead of holding and comforting Turtle? • Why does Turtle stop talking? When does she start again?

3. More Discussion Questions (Basic) • Who is Cynthia and what bad news does she deliver to Taylor in Chap 13? • In what ways does Cynthia help Taylor look for a way to adopt Turtle? • Where are Esteven and Esperanza going? Who is taking them and why? (Chap 13)

4. Digging a bit deeper • Kingsolver incorporates important political and social issues into the plot of this novel. What facts does she reveal to the reader about child abuse in this country? • Kingsolver gives the reader a vivid description of a night-blooming cereus. Lou Ann thinks the cereus blooming just before Taylor leaves on her journey is a sign of good luck. Taylor believes it is an omen of good weather. In what ways does the story of the cereus help the reader understand the reasons for the journey Taylor, Turtle, Esperanza, and Estevan are about to undertake? • What do you think the dead blackbird mentioned in the last paragraph of this chapter might represent in this story?

5. Analysis • How does the trapped bird in the house in chap 12 help add a layer of meaning to the scene? • What ironic advice does Lou Ann give Taylor in Chap 12 after the incident? Is Lou Ann right? • Is Taylor an optimist or a pessimist? Come a conclusion about this and prove it with examples.

6. Who stands up for the little guy? • Everywhere you look, some big guy kicking some little person when they’re down…How can I just be upset about Turtle, about a grown man hurting a baby, when the whole way of the world is to pick on people that can’t fight back?”(170). What theme is Taylor touching on here? How does it connect to your thoughts on what Kingsolver wants her readers to take away from the novel?

7. Parenting • “You can’t promise a kid that. All you can promise is that you’ll take care of them the best you can, Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise, and you just hope for the best. And things work out, Taylor, they do. We all muddle through some way”(168). • “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. …Nobody can protect a child from the world.” Instead ask, “Do I want to try? Do I think it would be interesting, maybe even enjoyable in the long run, to share my life with this kid and giver her my best effort”(178). • Who says these quotes and what kernels of insight about parenting does Kingsolver deliver here? What qualities does a strong parent have?

8. Easy question? • Taylor says, "If I saw somebody was going to get hit by a truck I'd push them out of the way.  Wouldn't anybody?"(188). Answer her question.

9. Plant/Flower symbolism • “It was a huge, sprawling plant with branches that flopped over the porch railing and others that reached nearly as high as the eaves. I had certainly noticed it before, sanding in the corner in its crumbling pot, flattened and spiny and frankly extremely homely, and it had crossed my mind to wonder why Virgie Mae didn’t throw the thing out” (185). Why doesn’t Virgie Mae throw it out? And, what is the symbolism of this plant? Really look closely at who discovers it, how the characters respond to it, and what it might represent.