The Bean Trees

A secondary character in the novel, Lou Ann Ruiz is Taylor’s friend and confidante. She’s a young mother from Kentucky who has been living in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband Angel, who recently left her after the loss of his leg caused him to emotionally withdraw from her and lash out at others. Lou Ann is blonde and highly anxious about the weight she gained during her pregnancy with her son, Dwayne Ray. Her personality at the beginning of the novel is neurotic and passive. She spends most of her time searching the newspapers for stories of disasters and freak accidents, convincing herself that one might happen to her or to her son. She doesn’t drink alcohol because of an intense fear of losing control. Taylor observes that Lou Ann constantly worries that she’s offending people by merely existing. After a conversation about a popular hairstyle during Lou Ann’s high school years, Taylor thinks, “She would have been too concerned with having the wrong kind of this or that […] I’m certain Lou Ann never even noticed that for one whole year her hair was utterly perfect” (132-33). Lou Ann’s lack of confidence and fear of disaster causes her to feel helpless and dependent on her husband, Angel, causing a crisis of identity when he leaves her and decides to end their marriage.

Lou Ann is a dynamic character who grows to be more self-sufficient and self-accepting as she grows closer to Taylor. At the beginning of the novel, Lou Ann lives in isolation; she’s far away from her family back in Kentucky and doesn’t want to return there to live with them. However, when she meets the fellow Kentucky-raised Taylor, Lou Ann feels relieved that she’s no longer out of place. She tells Taylor, “It’s been so long […] You talk just like me” (102), before inviting her to move in as a roommate. Throughout the novel, Taylor positively reinforces Lou Ann’s best qualities. When Lou Ann is upset that something must be wrong with her given her constant anxiety and dread of disaster, Taylor tells her that her anxiety reflects her deeply caring and compassionate nature. Taylor notices that for the first time, Lou Ann is seeking affirmation, noting, “Usually Lou Ann spit out compliments you tried to feed her like some kind of nasty pill, but […] her blue eyes were practically pleading with me” (210). By the end of the novel, Lou Ann is able to reject Angel’s offer to move to Montana and get back together. Instead, she gets a job, is promoted to a manager because of her dedication, and begins dating another man, who treats her with respect. At the end of the novel, she tells Taylor that she wants them to remain roommates, signifying that she can balance her romantic relationship with her newly found independence from male domination.

Given the name April at birth, Turtle Greer is a child who was abandoned and given to Taylor. After the death of her mother, a member of the Cherokee tribe in Oklahoma, Turtle was put into an abusive situation where she was physically and sexually assaulted. Her unnamed aunt took her to a roadside restaurant along the highway, where she gave the child to a passing motorist, who happened to be Taylor. Turtle is initially described as a baby, but a doctor later determines that she’s approximately three years old and that her physical development was stunted as a result of her abuse.

Turtle is initially silent, nonverbal, and nonreactive. Taylor discovers that the only thing that Turtle seemingly does is cling to objects and people, observing, “The most amazing thing was the way that the child held on” (29). During times of stress, Turtle clings to Taylor or other caretakers. Aside from that, Taylor recounts that “Turtle’s main goal in life, other than hanging on to things, seemed to be to pass unnoticed” (105). While Turtle is clearly having dreams, when she’s awake, she just sits quietly in one place and stares at nothing. Consequently, outside observers often assume that Turtle has a developmental delay.

Eventually, Turtle begins to speak and develop like a healthy child because of Taylor’s competent caretaking. Her first word is “bean,” and she has a fascination with the names of vegetables and plants in the garden. Turtle learns the names of Taylor’s friends and neighbors and eventually begins to play with toys and speak in full sentences. Lou Ann notices that she responds to the word “April” whenever it’s mentioned in conversation, leading her to deduce that this was Turtle’s original name. At the end of the novel, Turtle is legally adopted by Taylor, and “Turtle” becomes her official middle name.