Bean+Trees+1

//The Bean Trees//, group 1. Jill, Stacy, Dom, Elena and Lydia.

Authors Attitude

The author, Barbara Kingsolver has the attitude of a realist who easily connects to the people reading her book, //The Bean Tree.// She portrays a since ( sense ) of dry humor throughout the book that, when understood or noticed by the reader, adds depth to the book. Also, she shows that she is against the discrimination of Mexicans by describing different events that take place involving Mexican discrimination, which helps to convince readers of her side of the argument-taking place. Overall, the attitude of The Bean Trees is convincing, comical, engaging, and straight up.

Foundation Of Discrimination

Discrimination of minority groups, such as Mexicans and Indians, are based on long held opinions rather then current knowledge. Mexicans, which are the main focus of //The Bean Trees// by Barbara Kingsolver followed by Indians, are discriminated against throughout the book and are looked down upon by many; some even calls them “heathen Mexicans” (page 58) meaning an uncivilized or barbaric person. One example of discrimination can be found on page 136 which talks about a town of citizens in Guatemala that was ambushed by neighboring people, killing many innocent Guatemalans. This shows how Guatemalans were treated unfairly for no reason whatsoever. The book often mentions immigration and shows how some people are willing to step in and help those being discriminated against while others are not.

Overview (Why isn't this at the top?)

Missy, who later changes her name to Taylor, grows up in Pittman County, Kentucky and decides to leave town once she graduates from High school. She left in her ‘55 Volkswagen, headed west. On the way she ends up being given a Native American child who barely speaks. Taylor later names the child Turtle, after the way she grabs on to everything she can get her hands on which reminded her of a snapping turtle. Taylor ends up living in Tucson, Arizona and moves in with her new roommate Lou Ann, who also has a child named Dwayne Raye, and also finds work at a tire shop called “Jesus is Lord’s used Tires”. Together, they face many challenges and work together to overcome them.

Victories

Through out the book, Taylor has many “victories” despite her challenges. Taylor is quick to make friends with the locals, including a woman named Mattie from the tire shop, and Lou Ann, her new roommate. She also got a job at “Jesus Is Lord’s Tires”, which is owned by her friend Mattie. Another major victory Taylor has is learning how to take care of her adopted daughter named Turtle, and how to hold down a job long enough to support herself, and her new child.

Challenges

Through out the book Taylor faces many challenges. Taylor starts out the book with serious money issues, considering she just graduated High school and this is her first time out on her own. On her way west to her new life, Taylor ends up with her major challenge- a three-year-old child, who was completely dumped on her with no warning. Taylor had to find a way to keep her child, with out having to hide her from the law- which meant adopting her legally. SHe also has to deal with having little money, and having a broken down car. Despite all that happens, Taylor stays strong and never gives up.

Advice to take from reading

Some advice we can take from reading this book is that discrimination is everywhere and that at some point you may be faced with a huge event that can change your life forever. People judge others based on their race, personality, social status, and things like that, rather than the person themselves, which leads to conflict between groups of people, rather than the people with in them. Next, it can be seen in this book that everyday people must face new obstacles that they have no choice but to overcome. The main piece of advice we can take from this book is that ultimately, the more positive you are about any situation handed to you the easier it will be, and the better the outcome will be.

You have some good content. The writing is a bit choppy and seems rushed. Take the time to have your entire group proofread, note several spelling/mechanics issues as well.