There'll be no "home, home on the range" jokes here, dear Shmoopers: we promise. Oh wait, that's what we just did. And we're not gonna stop yet: even though Taylor might roam through Kentucky, Oklahoma, and eastern Arizona before settling in Tucson for good, there's nary a deer or buffalo in sight. Okay, we're done now. So, we know it's a total cliché to say that home is where the heart is, but The Bean Trees is so chock-full of wholesome, good-for-you messages that it's hard not to believe it's true. For Taylor and Turtle, home is where you make it—and where the friends you know and love reside.
Questions About The Home
- Lou Ann often thinks of Kentucky as "home," even after years spent living in Tucson with Angel. Does Taylor feel the same way about Pittman County?
- Many characters in The Bean Trees have been uprooted from their homes: some by choice, some by necessity, some by force. Who seems to have experienced the most, or the worst, dislocation?
- Which characters in The Bean Trees seem the most firmly rooted in their homes (i.e., their home towns, home states, ancestral lands, etc.)? Is that rootedness always represented positively? And are we using the word "root" on purpose (remember our fave set of symbols)?
Chew on This
Up-rootedness, dislocation, and forced removal are serious topics in The Bean Trees, and many of the novel's characters struggle with feeling out of place where they are. But, although the novel acknowledges the hardships that come with being uprooted, it also puts a lot of faith in the power of transplantation. According to The Bean Trees, anyone can make a new "home" wherever they're able to put down roots. Gosh, the plant metaphors just don't stop blooming. Doh!
Okay, let's try for some other allusions. "A house is not a home when there's no one there to hold you tight," sang Luther Vandross (it's a start). But even without strong men in their lives, Lou Ann and Taylor manage to do a-okay. Together, the two friends make a safe and happy home for themselves and their children, proving that the modern-day model of Husband, Wife, and White-Picket Fence isn't the only option on the market.