Bean Trees Chapter 05


Chapter 5

  1. What simile does Kingsolver use to describe the railroad track?
  2. How long does Taylor last at the Burger Derby?
  3. According to Taylor, what was the favorite TV show of the really high-stung horses?
  4. How impressed is Taylor by the establishment run by F-E-I?
  5. How does Taylor react to Lou Ann?
  6. What is one of Turtle’s normal positions?
  7. Why is Lou Ann smiling at the end of the chapter?
  8. What is the significance of the title of this chapter, “Harmonious Space”?

New Characters

  • Jerry Speller
  • Jessie
  • Aimee
  • the father of Sandi’s baby
  • Fei
  • La-Isha
  • Timothy

Idioms, Slang, and Difficult Words

  • gussets
  • punked-out
  • being flex

Cultural and Historical Allusions

  • Train whistle
  • tea kettle whistle
  • Bob Seger
  • plane crash into the D.C. river
  • Dixie
  • Kermit the frog
  • Miss Piggy
  • Knox gelatin
  • paisley
  • boxcars
  • Ripley’s Believe It or Not
  • Lazyboy recliner
  • army cot
  • Mr. Ed
  • jockey cap
  • the madonna
  • Virgo
  • wind chimes
  • beachcomber
  • sarong
  • Beach Blanket Bingo
  • clarinet

Medical, Natural, and Geographic Allusions

  • Tucson train station
  • albino
  • soybean curd
  • teething
  • homeostasis
  • newborns with flat heads
  • nitrates
  • split personality
  • artery
  • chest cavity
  • auricles
  • ventricles
  • hardened artery

Great Quotes

  • “‘You’ll have to excuse Timothy; he used caffeine yesterday and now his homeostasis is out of balance.’ I presumed they were talking about his car, although I was not aware of any automotive uses for caffeine.
    ‘That’s too bad,’ I said. ‘I wouldn’t do anything with caffeine but drink it.’”