The Bean Trees is a coming-of-age novel.
Barbara Kingsolver uses a nonstandard perspective to share the characters' adventures and the world they live in. The use of nonwhite mythology, anti-western sentiment, and not using the typical form of male adventure, allowed the author to explore the world where women were powerful and had a voice.
The novel shares negative traumatic experiences of the characters and people they meet, like Native Americans and Guatemalan refugees. While those scenes demonstrate qualities like sympathy and concern, they contribute to the overall spirit of the story being positive and uplifting.[4]
The protagonist is raised by a single mother, which helps to develop themes of motherhood and nontraditional family values throughout the story, as Taylor, herself becomes Turtle's parent.[3] The novel further explores nontraditional extended family through the relationships between the members of the community. It conveys the idea of interdependence and interaction, community's importance to each individual's life, and balance between independence and a sense of belonging.[3] It also addresses the issue of parenthood through adoption.[5] The novel makes reference to the issue of Native American parental rights as well.[5]
The Bean Trees also portrays the effects of child abuse.[3]
It portrays undocumented immigration from Latin America as some characters facilitate immigrants' escape from persecution.
At least one reader, familiar with Native American adoption rights, thought that the sequel, Pigs in Heaven, was written to correct misconceptions in the first book by Barbara Kingsolver. Themes of love and nurturing emerge from the violence and poverty that the characters face. The book conveys multiple symbolic meanings about shared motherhood, life and death, and beauty. The underlying themes not always recognized include those about mockery toward the judicial system, the flawed coping strategies of current-day issues, and the strength of friendship.
