If you check out our section on the theme of "injustice" in The Bean Trees, you'll see that the novel has one or two (or five or a hundred) critical things to say about American history, culture, and policy. But, mixed in with those criticisms is a vision of America as a truly wonderful, diverse, and beautiful country—definitely in terms of its landscapes, but in terms of its people, too. Although The Bean Trees isn't afraid to point a finger at injustice, it also represents America in some of its best lights too.
Questions About Visions of America
- The Bean Trees includes many vivid descriptions of landscapes, natural wonders, and local flora and fauna. What geographical areas are described most vividly? What does the focus on landscape have to do with the occurrences in each of those spots?
- By heading west when she leaves her old Kentucky home, Taylor participates in a longstanding American literary tradition in which characters head out west to seek adventure and independence. What sets Taylor's journey apart from other, more classic frontier narratives?
- Although The Bean Trees describes American landscapes very vividly, it also describes American cultures and communities in great detail. What are some defining traits of American culture, according to the novel?
Chew on This
Although Taylor heads west in The Bean Trees, the novel doesn't reproduce typical frontier narratives. Rather than facing adventure in the wild unknown, Taylor joins an established community, and learns what it means to act as a responsible citizen, neighbor, and friend.
Despite its criticisms of certain aspects of American history, culture, and policy, The Bean Trees can't conceal its deep and abiding love for the U.S. of A. The novel's America is an enormous, diverse, and wondrous country—one with some bad points, for sure, but plenty of redeeming features and real beauty too.