Abstract
This paper examines the true meaning of family as the overriding subject in the book "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver. The paper explains that throughout the novel, 'family' is a major theme for nearly all of the characters. The paper points out that all the characters in the book did not actually have to be blood kin to be family. The paper then notes that this knowledge is an incredibly assuring thing for them to realize; even if one thinks he or she is alone in the world, with no one to care for them, they have support through their closest friends, in other words, their family.

From the Paper
"When the novel first begins, the only thing Taylor wants is to get out of the small Kentucky town in which she grew up. When she was ready and able, she hopped into her car with the hopes of finding somewhere better, and never looking back. To her misfortune, a tiny Indian baby was left in her care, unwanted by everyone else in the world (24). However, a baby was the last thing Taylor wanted as well. Both she and the baby were alone at that point, despite the fact that they were driving in the same car. This all changes when Taylor begins to take care of the child. She starts to care about her, even gives her a name, Turtle. Now, instead of having no one, they become a small family. Despite of this, the pair still seemed to be on their own."

Tags:family, friends, child, world, Indian, baby

Abstract
This essay examines the social behavior between the characters in Barbara Kingsolver's novel, "The Bean Trees." The author details the individual characters personalities and problems, and then proceeds to demonstrate how each character in the story relies upon the other for their very survival. These interdependent relationships provide the support needed to accomplish tasks they never could have accomplished alone.

From the Paper
"Edna is a kind, sweethearted, elderly woman who is blind, and Virgie Mae is her rather rude and obnoxious lifelong friend. Together, these women are the epitome of interdependence. Virgie Mae provides the blind Edna with guidance and help, while Edna serves as a buffer against Virgie Mae's often-harsh attitude. Just like Taylor and Lou Ann, these women serve as a balance to one another. If one did not have the other to depend on, one or the other may not survive. But, together they have overcome enormous hardship. Even Taylor begins to comprehend the importance of this interdependent relationship. One day, after helping a lone Edna decipher a lemon from a lime while shopping in Lee Sing's market, Taylor realizes for the first time that Edna is blind."

Tags:characters, relationships, interdependent, thrive, problems, abuse, depend, support, love, grow, survive, blind, encounter, unselfish, communal, safe, house, refugees, friend, journey, adopt, event

Abstract
This paper discusses that in "The Poisonwood Bible", Barbara Kingsolver uses Biblical references to delineate the differences in her characters' relationship to religious faith as they deal with their father's participation in the Western assault on the Congolese. The paper author believes that these differences in levels of faith are Kingsolver's primary method of characterization in the novel. The paper presents each character and concludes that while the final images of light contain some Biblical flavor, the dense allusions of the earlier part of the novel are lost; and a kind of secular hopefulness remains in the survivors.

From the Paper
"In "The Revelation," Leah experiences her first "stirring of anger" against her father, but is still faithful to her image of her father and the Bible. She earnestly remarks that "The Lord is our Shepherd and the very least we sheep can do is keep up with the flock." By likening herself to one of the sheep, she describes herself as a noncritical believer and literal follower of her father's teachings. She also suggests the similarity she experiences between her father and Jesus. More broadly, her remark shows that she continues to analogize aspects of her life to Biblical sayings and events."

Tags:congolese, father, testament, linguistic, evangelism

From the Paper
"Barbara Kingsolver's novel The Bean Trees exhibits a feminist consciousness concerning the meaning of family, which emerges in this novel on several levels. The main character, Taylor Greer, leaves her own family behind as she strikes out on her own to find a more fulfilling life, but along the way she develops a new family group in Arizona. The idea of family projected in this novel is associated with a concept of community, and the latter centers on a group of women demonstrating their growing sense of personal power and identity in a world that often requires them to sublimate both in service of a patriarchal family structure.

Nancy Chodorow notes the way the family structure developed through history and the fact that the Western family has been largely the nuclear family for centuries, being households which..."

From the Paper
"Barbara Kingsolver's novel The Bean Trees presents a number of fictional examples of ecriture feminism, particularly as that feminist theory is described by French writer Helene Cixious. This study will examine ways in which Kingsolver's novel reflects the ideas of Cixious. Specifically, Cixious argues, as in her essay "The Laugh of the Medusa," that it is up to women to define themselves in their lives and in their writing, without the restrictions placed on them by men in this patriarchal society or even by history:

Woman must write her self: must write about women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies---for the same reason, by the same law, with the same fatal goal. Woman must put herself into the text---as into the..."

Abstract
The paper asserts that although Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible's Nathan Price began his preaching career as a strict Baptist minister, it was his cowardice in the Philippine Jungle during the war that caused him to become the unrelenting, non-negotiable minister he is after the war. The writer then posits that although not a recognized diagnosis in the timeframe of this story, he believes that the fictional Nathan Price suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After his experience in the Philippine jungle, the writer believes that the only way Nathan Price thought he could find piece and acceptance from God, was to return to the "jungle" to finally prove his worth in battle.

From the Paper
"Though Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible's Nathan Price began his preaching career as a strict Baptist minister, it was his cowardice in the Philippine Jungle during the war that caused him to become the unrelenting, non-negotiable minister he is after the war. Though not a recognized diagnosis in the timeframe of this story, I believe that the fictional Nathan Price suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After his experience in the Philippine jungle, I believe that the only way Nathan Price thought he could find piece and acceptance from God, was to return to the "jungle" to finally prove his worth in battle."

Tags:kingsolver, nathan pierce, congo

Abstract
?We aimed for no more than to have dominion over every creature that moved upon the earth.? These words, spoken by Orleanna Price, wife of missionary Nathan Price, serves as a precise outlook on the ?unmissionary? view of ethnocentrism in Barbara Kingsolver?s "The Poisonwood Bible". The paper shows that, throughout the novel, Kingsolver emphasizes the rampant ethnocentrism that occurred from 1959 through the early 1960s in the Congo. Ethnocentrism reflects the belief that one?s culture is superior to all other cultures and that their culture is the only culture to live by. The paper shows how the character of Nathan Price, Methuselah, the Parrot, and Nathan?s demonstration garden are all symbolic and supportive of the novel?s central theme of ethnocentrism.

From the Paper
"Methuselah, the Parrot, is symbolic of the doomed Republic of Congo, as the vulnerable nation is predated by the U.S. in its ethnocentric efforts to "right the wrongs" of the elected government of the Congo. Methuselah is denied freedom for most of his life, and while he is kept in a cage and fed by humans, he loses the ability to fend for himself. Even after Nathan sets him free, Methuselah continues to stay close to the house he has been accustomed to, dependent on humans for food, also sleeping in their latrine at night, for fear of predators. Inevitably, Methuselah is caught by a cat and killed."

Tags:Kilanga, Congolese, Adah

Abstract
In this article, the writer provides an analysis of how Barbara Kingsolver's protagonist in 'The Bean Trees' is able to meet the challenges of her new found independence and responsibility of motherhood.

From the Paper
"In her desire to avoid the destiny of other young girls in her small hometown in Kentucky pregnant and living in a trailer Marietta Greer strikes out West to discover her own destiny. When her rundown Volkswagen breaks down in Taylorville Illinois Marietta renames herself Taylor and continues her journey undaunted. Before she can arrive in Tucson Arizona with two flat tires a Cherokee woman drops a toddler that is catatonic in her passenger seat. With nowhere to return the baby and discovering ..."

Tags:maternal instinct, love, nurturing, novel, motherhood, family ties

Abstract
This paper is an examination of the relationship between the twins, Adah and Leah, and their father in Barbara Kingsolver's novel, "The Poisonwood Bible". It focuses on the metaphorical comparison to Cain and Able in their relationship to Adam and on the rites of passage of youth in relation to the control of the parent.

Abstract
This paper relates that the natural world plays an important and intricate role in Kingsolver's writing. The author believes that this may be at odds with the majority view in the U.S..