The Bean Trees Study Guide

1. Of what does Taylor Greer have an unnatural fear?

• childbirth
• blood
• wisteria vines
• tires

2. Which character is not matched with another name that they use during the novel?

• Turtle: Ismene
• Taylor Greer: Marietta Greer
• Mama Greer: Alice Elleston
• Esperanza: Hope

3. Which of the following is not true about Hughes Walter?

• He resembles a blond Paul McCartney
• He is a northerner.
• He questions Marietta about why she wants the job at the hospital.
• He is a senior science teacher.

4. Which of the promises that Marietta makes does she not keep?

• She keeps both promises.
• She promises to go west until her car stops running.
• She breaks both promises.
• She promises to choose a new name.

5. What is one of the objections that Taylor raises to taking the Indian child?

• She doesn't have any legal papers or claim to Taylor.
• She doesn't know how to raise a child.
• She believes that the child needs medical attention first.
• She doesn't want to be a mother.

6. On what day does Angel Ruiz leave his wife?

• Halloween
• Christmas
• Good Friday
• New Year's

7. Why does Lou Ann decide to give Dwayne Ray a Catholic baptism?

• She would rather anger her mother, who lives far away, than her mother-in-law, who lives nearby.
• She cedes to Angel's wishes, believing that he might stay with her if she does not argue with him.
• She has converted to Catholicism since moving to Tucson.
• She adheres to an angel's prophecy in a dream and believes that he must be raised Catholic.

8. What is Lee Sing's opinion about female children?

• A baby girl is a drain on resources, for she cannot contribute to the household as a worker.
• The work that a baby girl demands is worth it, for it is they who become the center of the family.
• A baby girl will always be devoted to her mother, while a boy will want to venture out from his family.
• In the end, the work that a mother puts into a baby girl simply goes to another family.

9. What is the reason that Angel Ruiz appears to be so bitter?

• He married Lou Ann because she got pregnant and is now stuck in a loveless marriage.
• Because of his race, he does not have the opportunity that white Americans have.
• He lost his leg in an accident.
• He cannot fulfill his dream to become a rodeo clown.

10. Which of the following characters is not a single mother?

• Taylor
• Esperanza
• Sandi
• Lou Ann