The Bean Trees: Notes on Chapter 1

"The One to Get Away"

My mama said the Hardbines had kids just about as fast as they could fall down the well and drown. This must not be have been entirely true, since they were abundant in Pittman County and many survived until adulthood (Kingsolver 2).

The young narrator struggles to understand the IMPLIED meaning of her mama's story of the PROLIFIC (fertile) Hardbine clan.

You could smell leaves rotting into the cool mud and watch the Jesus bugs walk on the water, their four little feet making dents in the surface but never falling through (Kingsolver 3).

ALLUSION: Jesus bugs--reference to the biblical tale of Jesus walking on water. These insects/spiders are light enough to skim and skip across the water without sinking.

This is not to say that I was unfamiliar with the back seat of a Chevrolet (Kingsolver 3).

IDIOM: The IMPLIED message here is that the narrator has had sexual experiences.

He came high-railing in there like some blond Paul McCartney (Kingsolver 4).

ALLUSION: The Beatles' Paul McCartney, famed for making teenage girls (1960's) scream and swoon.

More notes for chapter one

Images:

Water Bug: http://fig.cox.miami.edu/~cmallery/150/chemistry/c3x3waterbug.jpg

Screaming Fans: http://www.cluas.com/indie-music/Portals/0/blog-images/Sound-Waves/screaming%20fans.jpg