Blindness In Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees

With the exception of Angel and Lou Ann’s relationship, it seems like every personal interaction in The Bean Trees is equal parts of give and take. For example, Virgie Mae helps Edna Poppy who is blind, while Edna Poppy runs interference on Virgie’s inappropriate remarks. Lou Ann teaches Taylor how to hone her abilities, and Taylor calms and reassures Lou Ann. Even Estevez and Esperanza are symbiotic; they have been through so much, with their illegal immigration that they cannot function outside of one another. In what ways do these relationships, and the other, less prominent relationships in The Bean Trees promote a network of reliance?

When reading Stereo Sue by Oliver Sack in 2006, I realized how important our vision is in multiple ways. The memory of a close friend that passed a few years ago continued to come to mind. My friend named Bill Vickery lost his vision after a surgery on his optic nerve where the nerve was beyond repair and completely damaged. Shortly after his surgery and the loss of sight be started to fall into depression and I was able to see he really needed some help.

In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to.” This is a common stereotype that the narrator uses in the story leading his character down a path of misunderstanding.

The definition of motherhood is “the state of being a mother.” Throughout the novel, The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, Taylor Greer learns the simple things about motherhood when a toddler, Turtle, is thrown in her car. Learning to raise the child brings up many tough decisions and obstacles, letting Tayor experience what love really is. Readers get to see everything Taylor does, reading through her eyes and getting to watch her mature into a young, independent individual. In the book, the storyline revolves around Taylor Greer’s growth, as she explores motherhood through love, maturity, and sacrifice.

You will feel that you are missing on things. Going blind is harder than being born blind. Less older you are it feels much normal to you. Some blind people are different from other blind people because they see differently. They either legally blind or completely blind.

Keller states, “I was so entranced ‘seeing’ that I did not think about sight” (p. 4). Despite not being able to understand vision, she is able to depict her awareness of her surroundings figurative language. Through her uncanny use of humor, the reader can understand that Keller shows her awareness by using the analogy of “sight” to describe her experience of blindness. The author shows awareness of her disability, but interprets it as a new perspective that can provide her with a keen imagination.

This opened a door a new religious faith for her, one that she was extremely curious about. Within months of her returning to Charleston, she had a mental breakdown that left her unable to do anything. Her mother sent her to North Carolina where she began learning more about Quakers and she soon

Literal blindness can be seen in “Cathedral” as Robert was introduced to the narrator. Although he was blind, Robert was a sympathetic man who was insightful. He also demonstrates wisdom and friendliness. This characterization is important, because ironically, the narrator himself was figuratively blind. His blindness was caused by ignorance, prejudice, and social awkwardness.

It has often been said that once you spend enough time with someone and create a strong bond with them, you end up becoming very close and considering them family. What has also been said is that we find friendships when we need it most. As important as family is in real life, it is often shown that in literature, authors use this concept to offer a clear understanding on how close an individual can get to someone within months. Barbara Kingsolver demonstrates the importance of family through Taylor in her novel The Bean Trees, as she creates strong relationships on her way through life.

The narrator specifically obsesses over the fact that he was blind throughout the text. The main themes in this story

I'm just waiting for God to tell me what to do... I want to do something like I'm doing now---serving God and helping people" (222). This part of the story establishes that she's accepted the way things turned out and is looking at a new life full of different possibilities because she has overcome her limitations. The conflict is solved and her whole life is ahead of her. "

The narrator said he remembered reading that blind people didn’t smoke, which is a stereotype. After reading a little more into the story you can figure out that the narrator didn’t have a name, readers knew

“I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew. And being blind bothered me” (104) The narrator has no knowledge of experiencing seeing a blind person. “My idea of blindness came from the movies” (104).

However, the story takes an unpredicted and meaningful turn at the end when the narrator see things from a blind man’s standpoint. Since the beginning of the story, the narrator does not like the idea of having in his house a blind man. He does not know how to socialize with blind people because his idea of blindness came from the movies. He thinks blind people move slowly and they never laugh.

Helen Keller was an extremely courageous woman. She did some great things in this world while trying to overcome many challenges and turned out to be an amazing inspiration to many people. Her lifetime was filled with many exciting things from the beginning to the end. Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama.