Dan Black, Summarizer/Word Watcher, Pd. 3
The Bean Trees begins with the main character, Taylor, who lives in Kentucky. She stresses that she wants to avoid pregnancy, and get out of the town. One thing that scares her are tires because of what happened to a classmate of her’s. She begins to work at a hospital, a job that her science teacher offered. Another classmate of her’s was Jolene, who she saw in the hospital with a bullet wound. This affected her, but she said to herself, “this is the worst I’m going to see, so I won’t quit my job.” She then buys herself a Volkswagen “bug” and leaves Pittman for good. She was searching for a new life. She decided whatever town she ran out of gas in would be her new name. The town was called Taylorville, thus making her name Taylor. When her car breaks down in the Cherokee Nation or Oklahoma, a women gives her a baby and tells her to keep it. She doesn’t, and takes the baby to a motel, convinces the lady to let them stay there, and gives her a bath. She saw that the child had been sexually abused and feels for her. The next chapter goes to a new character’s perspective. Her name is LouAnn, and she is a similar character to Taylor in the fact that she is a single mother. Her husband Angel has just left her. After his leg was amputated he accused her of wanting to sleep with other men. She goes to the doctor and wants to make sure that her baby would not be born on Christmas. The doctor informs her that she needs to lose weight.She stops at a Market to get food, and someone says that she will have a baby girl. They say that she is rasing a child that will go into someone else’s family. She is offended and left. She goes home very sad and realizes who Angel really was with the items he took with him. Her feet hurt a lot and she cries as the chapter ends. Taylor stays at the motel through Christmas, and names her child Turtle, due to her firm grip. They reach Arizona, and she likes the view so much, she decides to stay. Taylor and her baby go into the tire store and have something to eat. Taylor does not like the bad pictures and mug that she drinks out of. An Indian priest comes in, seems nervous, and leaves pretty fast. Taylor admires the owner Mattie, who owns her own store, and runs a business. They see the garden she has out back, and like it. Tucson seems like a distant country to Taylor. She stays at a cheep hotel and looks at a museum. Taylor was interested in a job at the hospital, but was turned down. A women named Sandi loves the Kentucky Derby and was fascinated by Taylor being from Kentucky. In chapter four, LouAnn is narrating again. Her mom and grandma have come to visit her. Angle moves back in as a cover up to make it appear that they are still together. Her grandmother takes out water that she was baptized with and tells her to use it to baptize Dwayne Ray. The two women leave, and she imagines herself going back to Kentucky with them. She is agitated by the fact that she kept a lie the whole week to her mother and grandmother. She nurses Dwayne Ray when she gets home. Angle walks in, smelling like beer, and when he asked what was in the bottle, LouAnn tells him it is water to baptize Dwayne Ray. After hearing it was from Kentucky, he pours it down the drain. Key terms:
Taylorville- I think this is important to the story because it is the name of the town she ran out of gas in. It is also the name that she chose, and I thought it was a unique way of doing this.
Turtle- Once again, she named something that had meaning, and her child was named Turtle. Instead of picking a common name, she chose one that related to the baby. This reveals a lot about Taylor.Moony- This was used by Taylor to describe what she felt about her teacher. I thought it was interesting because I’ve never heard that before. It means that they are crazy about him.
Rocker arm- Taylor said this when the man “straightened out my rocker arm.” This was after her car broke down and it means her broken car. Once again, I had not heard this before.
Doohickey- Taylor said this about the thing that the air goes in on the tire. I found it funny because that is how they talk, and we sometimes make fun of that.
Some questions I have are how does the plot affect how the book is understood? There are two different points of view, in two different stories. Why would the author do this? Do you think that they will overlap; the characters seem very much alike. What are some predictions that will happen next to either LouAnn, Taylor, or even Turtle?
-Dan
Category: Per 3 TBT Sum/WW | Tags: pd.3, Summarizer, word watcher 4 comments »
February 14th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Those are interesting words. Taylorville is obviously where she got her name. This shows a strong bond with her home and that she holds many memories there.
Turtle is an uncommon name and it stands out. While in school, Taylor stood out too. She stayed in school and didn’t get pregnant like everyone else. This also shows her desire to be different and follow her own beat.
As for the plot, I don’t think that book is terrible. The book is okay and for being a book that we’re forced to read, it’s not bad. It’s hard to figure out what will happen next. I haven’t read any book like it before. The dual plot line is interesting. It kept me hooked, even when I was reading at 11 o’clock at night, I was still able to keep an interest. Will Taylor meet LouAnn? It seems like that is what eventually will happen.
-Brandon Greer
February 14th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Well, the plot definitely has some influence on how the reader would enterperate the story. Not all people are prone to reading stories about a girl finding her way in the world so there will be very biased opinions on how the story is viewed.
To answer the rest of your questions, save the last one,I think that the stories will overlap. There would be no point in adding a second point of view if the opinion is never used. Usually, the reason that an author will write with another point of view is to show hidden parts of the main character’s life and personality. It can also be used to contrast the main character and make the main character stand out more.
For a prediction of what will happen next, I think that Lou Ann and Taylor will definitely meet up and become friends. All the evidence in the story leads up to that at the moment. WHen it comes to Turtle, I think that she might become friends with Lou Ann’s baby, once the two adults meet up anyway.
That’s all I have for you!
Jenni Kantor
February 15th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
I think that the plot affects how the book is understood by showing us the book through the perspective of two women who don’t only have many things in common but also know how to get through life’s struggles. The plot in a way creates a type of imagery that not only succeeds in helping the reader understand the book but also helps us understand the emotions of the characters while they try to provide a better life for themselves and each other.
The author probably shows us the book through two different points of view mainly to give us a better understanding of how the characters relate to one another. Also, to show the readers the two girls struggles and how they have different ways of getting through life and how we are allowed to scrutinize their life through their eyes.
I definitely think that the two stories will overlap and become one; I think that’s why we are learning both sides of the stories about the girls through their perspectives which will eventually come together and amalgamate into one another’s lives. The characters are very much alike; they are dealing with mainly, the same predicament and they will find a way out of it with each other’s help.
A prediction I can make about LouAnn is that she will at a point, tell her mother and grandmother the truth about Angel because she seems like the type of person that cannot disclose something for too long and can trust people easily which might have led to mistakes in the past and might help her in the future. A prediction that I can make about Taylor is that she will become friends with LouAnn seeing that they have much in common and she will be the one who will point out that they are not that unlike each other. A prediction that I can make about Turtle is that she will accept Taylor as her mother and come to love her promptly.
February 15th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I agree with what everyone has to say. I think the plots of the two stories will overlap, but still seperate into chapters. We will hear the same story from two different points of views.