The Bean Trees

Final Piece

Author's Note: I have finally finished the book The Bean Trees. For my final piece I am going back to a quote that I have written about before. I chose "My instinct was to step on the brakes, but of course there is no earthly reason to stop for a dead bird". I think that I can write more in depth with this piece and explain more about what it means to me. In this piece I am working on transitions.

I open the door to the basement. It's spring cleaning time, and I couldn't be more devastated. I take a look at all of the stacked boxes in front of me. I start with the boxes to my left. When I open the first one it was mainly old books that had no value to me. I toss it to the donate pile and move on to the next one. I take a second look at it because it looks so new. It has almost no dust on it at all. I open it up and look inside. The items before me bring back tears and memories. In the box is pictures and cards from my father. I take a look at each one and study the faces of the people in them. They all look so happy and innocent. I feel a tear stream down my face. I then decide that it is time to put it away. I slide it over to the save pile and try to pull myself together. After all, he died over five years ago; it is time to move on.

As people we start off life as innocent, but as our life goes on we become experienced. We go through changes that are first hard to deal with, but then they get easier with time. Think of these changes as experiences. Without these experiences life would be boring; we would have nothing to learn. Once we finally deal with a change we move on to the next one. The way that we deal with the experiences is what makes us who we are.

One of the experiences that we need to go through is having a family and knowing what that word means to you. In the book Taylor left her old life and old family to create a new one. As the story goes on Taylor learns that her new family are the  people that got her to where she is. When you think of the word family you normally picture a dad, mom, and a kid or two. Taylor learns that you do not have to be biologically related to be a family. It should be made up of the people who care about you and help you through life in different ways.

Love is another experience that we have to go through. When we are young we think of love as an easy thing to find and keep, but the truth is that it takes work and trust. Taylor learns to love the child that was given to her at a bar. When she first received her, she believed that she would never mean more to her than a simple child off the street, but they went through a lot together and learned to love each other. Love is not forced and does not randomly appear. It takes work and belief.

Another important experience is death. Sooner or later we all lose someone that was close to us. In the book Taylor lost a person who wasn't the closest to her but helped her find her way. Mrs. Hoge gave Taylor a nice and warm place to sleep even though  she had no money. Of course Taylor was appreciative but soon moved on and forgot about her. Near the end of the book Taylor learns that Mrs. Hoge passed away. She may not have cried on the floor and screamed put she still was sad. That nice old lady that helped her with her first night with Turtle was gone.

It's hard to get over someone who was close to you and is gone the next minute. It almost feels like there is a part of you missing, but this is the way life is meant to be lived. We go through ups and downs all the time, whether they are major or small, but there is always one thing to remember: In the midst of bad, there will always be good. 

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Author's Note: I wrote this piece because of the quote, "My instinct was to step on the brakes, but of course there was no earthly reason to stop for dead bird." I think that it has a quote that has a lot of meaning behind it. It this piece I am working on conclusion.

I pass the neighborhood and church that I grew up with. It's hard to pass without thinking about all of the memories. A lot of stories are hidden in those walls. Two years ago I buried my best friend in the cemetery behind the church with all of her closest relatives and friends. I can still remember how I had I hard time believing she was really gone. I look back to the road and see a dead bird in the middle of the road. I get ready to step on the brake but I realize there was no good reason to stop for a dead bird.

In the course of life we start off as innocent and turned into a more experienced human being.  Through this long journey we need to understand some things in life. If these things are forced upon a person to early they will come to resent it during the rest of their life. If it is forced upon a person to late, they could go through the rest of their life thinking about it and never moving on. One of these things is death. We all have or will go through a passing of a friend or family member. The important thing to remember is that everyone goes through with it and everyone makes it out okay. There is a time for mourning, but you still have the rest of your life ahead of you.

It's hard to get over someone that was close to you and was gone the next minute. It almost feels like there is a part of you missing, but this is the way life is meant to be lived. We go through ups and downs all the time, whether they are major or small, but there is always one thing to remember.  In the mist of bad, there will always be good. 

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Author's Note: In this piece I used q quote from the the book The Bean Trees. The quote that I choose was "You never knew what kind of thing could be down there underwater". I think that this quote has a lot more meaning to it if you think about it more. In this piece I will be working my middle paragraph.

We stop at the beach to cool off in the hot heat. We race to the shore and start splashing around. Many people stare and talk about how inappropriate we are being for two grown beings, but we don't care, we just keep laughing. We then settle down and sit in the water. I dunk my head underwater and try to open my eyes to see anything. After many fail attempts I come up and stay up. He looks at me add asks me why I do that. I simply reply, " You never know what kind of thing could be there underwater".

In this book there is a lot of mysteries and unanswered questions. Each character seems to have there own list of secrets. As the book goes on Taylor seems to get more and more curious about Estevan's past. He seems to be hiding a lot behind his perfect personality. He seems to change the subject from himself to another person in the conversation. I predict that as the book goes on more secrets will come out.

It's hard for us to believe in something that we cannot see. That is why we always want to understand what we don't normally see. In many ways this is our relationship with God. We can would like to see Him, but we need can. He stays hidden from us for reasons that are beyond our knowledge. Unfortunately, we must accept that. 

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Author's Note: I wrote this piece on the relationship between Taylor and Mattie. When they first met they both started talking like they had known each other for years. I thought that that kind of relationship is rare and special. In this piece I am working on my introduction. 

I push on the gas petal as my old rusty car makes its way down the road. With two of my tires flat, I jerk up and down like I'm on a rollercoaster. There are not many cars on the road right now, but every now and then a car drives past me and gives me a harsh look. After 20 minutes I finally reach a little town. I keep driving until I see a sign that is a sight for sore eyes.  Jesus Is Lord Used Tires is written on a beat up old sign. I pull into the driveway where I see a lady stacking some tires. She then turns around and waves at me. I then get out of my car hopeful for some help.

Taylor and Mattie relationship was a little odd. Mattie, who was old enough to be Taylor's mom, was keeping on a conversation with her like they were best friends and they could tell each other everything.   Taylor was new in this town and needed someone like this to talk to. This is why they became good friends. Taylor was able to opened up to a stranger because Mattie had that personality that you can just open up to. She really listen and gave her advice every now and then because she cared and wanted to help.

The relationship that Mattie and Taylor had is a rare one. It's hard to meet someone that you can trust right away, but when you do it can really help you. Mattie's and Taylor's relationship will keep growing with the book . I predict that Mattie will help Taylor in some way whether its to have somewhere to sleep, or just by giving good advice.  

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Author's Note: I starting reading and talking about The Bean Trees with Kiley and Mr. Johnson. I enjoy reading in a group more because you can see other people's perspective and it can help you see the book in a different way. In the piece I am going to talk about a specific scene and how it relates to the theme of the book, the journey of  a hero.

Taylor just wanted to get something to eat and somewhere to clear her head, but before she left that bar she had a baby in the seat next to her. She had barely enough money to keep herself going, let alone two people. The small child stays silent but watches her with intent eyes as she drives around the country. They then arrive at a hotel were they stay for a few weeks. Taylor couldn't pay much, but she helped with the cleaning. On the first night at the hotel Taylor realized that it was a good thing she that she actually took the baby because it was covered in bruises. This child had not had a great time at her last home.

I think that this relates to the theme because it is all apart of the journey of a hero. To take care of this child is a major obstacle in her journey altogether. She must now not only worry about herself, but another person that she just met. That's a lot of pressure on someone who is looking to start over with a whole new life somewhere else. I think that by the end of this book she will agree with me that taking that baby was one of the best decisions that she has made.