The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver

\\Author's Note: 
SACRED -adjective- Devoted or dedicated to a deity or religious purpose
PROFANE  -adjective- Characterized by irrelevance; irreligious
This book response is devoted to the prompt "Describe how the events and specifically the description of the park and activities that take place there could be seen in a relationship to the theme.  Can we tell the difference between sacred and profane?"


Dog Doo Park, in your mind you see a dog park filled with dogs scattering every which way. Or maybe a park filled with young children screaming and teenagers sitting in corners plotting evil things. What you actually see is winter.  Dead, dried out vines creeping along the ground.  They ruin the park.  They make it ugly and useless.  And yet, people still have hope.  You wait for spring to arrive and then you visit the same place, but it is now filled with happy people and beautiful colors and plants.  Everywhere you look the vines have bloomed into flowers and the grass is long and thick.  That is why people wanted to live here, because of the beauty.

The park was once called by its actual name, Roosevelt Park.  After Elenor, not Franklin.  It was relaxing, and possibly even breath taking.  Beauty, especially in nature, is sacred.  We need that beauty to remember why we are here.  Without people to steady the park's growth, the park would fall to pieces.  We can look at this in our own lives, but twist it a bit.  The park could represent anything that is beautiful to you.  Some example's would be a newborn child, a cool place to sit on a summer day, or maybe even a warm brownie straight from the over.  Without a caring parent, the newborn could not grow.  Without sweaty joggers, the spot in the shade would be forgotten, or unnoticed.  Without a skilled baker, the brownie would burn.  We like to take these things out of our mind and focus on the beauty.  But they are still there, waiting to happen if no one's  standing by to help.

This brings me to a new theme that can be found in the story.  We wouldn't be where we are now without the help of others.  To put it simply,we wouldn't prosper.  We would simply wilt away and die, like a vine in winter time, sitting alone cold and ignored.  The vine wasn't the miracle of Dog Doo Park, the people were.  The people who visit the old in the nursing homes.  The people who cheer on their favorite team, no matter how bad they are. The people who continue to watch the vine and it's beauty.  Because to them, its beauty is sacred.


February 1, 2011

Author's Note: Today I am continuing my thought on the theme of the novel, The Bean Trees.  I think the theme is where we would or wouldn't be without the help of others.  I was inspired to write about what I read in chapter ten about Edna being blind.  Please look for my voice and use of Climatic Patterns.

We need each other.  We wake up to a family and spend the morning in their company.  Then, we come to school, driven by a friendly bus driver or sort of chauffeur.  When we arrive at school we are greeted by friends, helped by teachers, served by cafeteria staff, and driven home by someone who cares about getting us there safely.   Going through this day alone is possible, but would be difficult, slow, and awfully lonely.

If others presence is necessary in your day, imagine the life of someone handicapped in some way.  The elderly cannot work quick and precise, and they need youth to do difficult tasks for them.  Those who are deaf cannot understand others, and they need people skilled in sign language to help them learn.  I can honestly say that I was not thinking about any of this while reading.  Not until I reached the part about Edna, who is blind.

People who are visually impaired, or cannot see are considered blind.  They rely on others to guide them.  A close friend, family member, aid, or guide dog will help them to do simple tasks that they cannot do on their own. Walking across a busy street or down a flight of stairs without sight could be dangerous or result in serious injuries for a person who cannot see.  When Taylor saw how Edna Poppy always wore the same colored clothes, she found it strange, but when she noticed that Virgie Parsons always had a tight grip on her elbow it lead to one conclusion; Edna was blind.

This detail really interested me because it is one of many examples that I have found in the story that demonstrates my idea for a theme.  When you see simple types of things, like guiding a blind person, being done, it teaches you a lesson that you aren't even aware of learning. People helping out and relying on others is shown outside of The Bean Trees as well, which in my opinion makes it worth writing about.

February 3, 2011

Author's Note:  The prompt today was to write about how they eat in heaven and how this relates thematically to the novel. I know it's short but I didn't feel like there was much information given about this part of the story.  I am continuing my theme of our need for others.  Please tell me if I have any unnecessary information that I could take out of my response.

As Taylor, Turtle, Lou Ann, Dwayne Ray, Virgie, Edna, Esperanza, and Estevan are sitting at the dinner table, Estevan tells the a South American story about Heaven and Hell.  It was about how people in hell must sit in a room filled with the best food. The people in hell could not eat and it drove them to madness.  The people in heaven were always well fed and happy.  When I read this story,  instead of paying attention to people from heaven while they were eating, I tried to think about why the people from hell were were suffering.

After thinking about it for a while and looking for clues in the text, I came to the conclusion that the people from hell really suffered because of their own asininity.  They scream in pain to each other, none of them bothering to help another.  They have mop length spoons for themselves alone.  My point may be hard to understand so let me compare them to the people in heaven.  They sit around  a table just like the one in hell and they eat the soup, smiling and laughing with each other.  Although the soup is described as delicious, Estevan still asks at the end of the story why everyone thinks that these people are so happy.  You could say because they are never hungry, or you could say that it is because they are all in each others company.  That is how they eat in heaven, not only do they have good food that they can eat, but they have a good community to share it with.  

February 15, 2011  Stream of Consciousness Poem 

Author's Note:  This was a stream of consciousness until I turned it into a poem.  It takes place in a library when Turtle and Taylor were on their way home.  Please criticize me on any extra words or phrases I could remove.
 

Building of wonders.

 Books in never ending aisles

Intense stares  at  encyclopedias

Without  destination

Slam!

Your hand flies down

"Shhhh!" someone whispers

Silence is necessary,

A calm aura

Rests your mind

Allows focus

Develops  feelings  when you walk inside

Overpowers  your senses  

Your nose-

 smells unopened books

Your fingers-

Wait

Urging you to turn crisp delicate pages

Your mouth-

 doesn't open once

Everything you ever need

 and more

 lay ahead

You  didn't come searching

As it always will,

 it found you.  

You  pull yourself away,

You must

This piece of information

This tiny detail

 will forever stay with you.