Best Friend

One of my best friends, Kate, is a very interesting person. She has wavy shoulder length dark brown hair, that she usually wears down. She is about 5'3' but slouches to about 5 foot. A lot of her time is spent running and playing soccer, she's super athletic. Her voice is amazing and she does Capital Playhouse every summer to show off her theatrical talents. Her sense of humor is strange; she laughs at EVERYTHING. (She's laughing right now.) Kate's smart and I don't believe she's ever had a grade lower than and A+. Most people would describe Kate as a natural beauty.

Kate is an optimist, a glass-half-full kind of gal. She puts others before herself, a true altruist. Kate's indecisive, she can never decide what kind of candy to buy at Safeway. Not only that, but she is extremely gullible. She is an ambivert who prefers to be home alone, but has a million friends.

Earliest Memory

When I was about three years old my family still lived in Seattle, and I shared a room with my big brother Dominick. Our beds were right next to each other; mine a crib and his a big-boy bed. Dominick was five at the time, and was scared of everything. He had a special nightlight so the Boogy Monster would stay far away from his bed while he slept. I on the other hand, was a fearless baby would liked to inflict pain on my poor brother.

One night, while my unsuspecting brother snoozed in his cozy bed, I got bored in my crib. I had recently figured out how to crawl up the side of my crib and look at Dom over the top. I scrambled up quietly, made the scariest face I possibly could, and banged on my crib to wake him up. Startled, his eyes opened only to see my evil face glaring down at him. He let out a screech and ran right to our parents room. Needless to say my crib was moved across the room the next day.

The Bean Trees: Imagery

For this project I chose to read The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. It became clear to me early on in the book that imagery was the main literary element. I believe the author used imagery frequently throughout the book for two main reasons; to describe the characters physical appearance, and the unique setting. Kingsolver clearly described every character Taylor encountered no matter how important to the plot they were. She did this to give the reader a feel for what kind of person they were without having as much dialogue. For example, Turtle's doctor was described as fifty-ish and a little tired looking with slumped shoulders and socks with tiny sea horses on the ankles. This gives the reader a picture in their mind, as well as an opinion on the character. His slumped shoulders and tiredness indicate that he works hard, and his socks could be a sign that he is fun-loving, or wearing them because he is a children's doctor.

Meanwhile, Kingsolver illustrates the setting in great detail. Throughout the book, Taylor is far from her home in Kentucky, and not accustomed to her surroundings in Arizona. The author uses imagery to make the setting come to life, so that the reader understands how strange and beautiful the new sights must be for Taylor, even if the they have never been there. Not only this, but the descriptions help the reader get lost in the book and escape from reality. Kingsolver paints a picture of every person and every scene, drawing you deeper into Taylor's world.

Outside Reading

So far The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver has been really intriguing. From the first page I liked Kingsolver's writing style filled with imagery and detail. The events in the beginning of the book grabbed my attention, as well as the shifting point of view in the first few chapters.

The dominant literary element so far has definitely been imagery. Each page has at least one great description, and I constantly have a clear visual of what's happening in my mind. I think the author specifically focused on this literary element because the setting and surroundings are a very important part of the story. A big part of the plot is that Taylor left Kentucky to go to Arizona, and creating contrast between the two places is important for understanding that she wanted change. Also, sometimes there are moments in the book where not much action is happening, but the imagery enriches those moments and keeps you interested in the book. The tone of the book so far has been vague. From what I've read I would say it's satirical because it is humorous but in a sarcastic way, and sometimes at other characters expense.