Comparing the Family of Kingsolver’s Bean Trees with the Ideal Family

Comparing the Family Presented in Barbara Kingsolvers The Bean Trees with the Ideal Family of Socrates In The Republic, Socrates idealized the perfect city. one and only(a) of the aspects that he deliberated on was the raising of children and family structure. The conclusion reached by Socrates is that no parent will know his own offspring or any child his parents (457 d). It was Socrates picture that the best atmosphere would be created in a communal upbringing of the citys children. In the same sense, he believed that they should take every precaution to insure that no mother knows her own child (460 c). Not even the mother, the traditional child-rearer, would be permitted to know or have a say in the lives of her own children, however in all of the children as a whole. Likewise, Barbara Kingsolver presents many similar ideas of family in her novel, The Bean Trees. While Kingsolver values the communal family, she differs from Socrates in that her primary focus is on the maternal force that drives the family. Socrates idea of the collective family is evident in Barbara Kingsolvers work, as well. In The Bean Trees, Kingsolver illustrates the many different families that can be present in ones life, and the importance of that communal role. As Maureen Ryan points out, in the different world that Kingsolver envisions throughout her fiction, wed all care for everyones child (81). In Kingsolver vision, Taylor, Lou Ann, Turtle, and Dwayne Ray can live in concert as a family, supporting each other physically, spiritually, and mentally. Kingsolver also makes a point to include Taylor befriending Sandy, and how they help each other out by checking up on each others kids at the mall day-care (67). Sandy is not the only on... ...and, does not acknowledge or consider the good that is to be gained by the undying bond of mother and child, nor does he consider this bond when speculating on the possibility of his city. Kingsolver creates a much more reali stic image of an ideal family - one that is nurturing and loving, charm also teaching the child the basic necessities for survival. While his idea of a communal role is emphasized, Socrates idea of how motherhood should be handled is debunked by the powerful notification by Kingsolver in The Bean Trees. Works CitedKingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. New York Harper, 1988. Plato. The Republic. Classics of Moral and Political Theory. 2nd ed. Michael L. Morgan. Indianapolis Hackett Publishing Company, 1996. 32 - 246. Ryan, Maureen. Barbara Kingsolvers Lowfat Fiction. Journal of American conclusion 18.4 (1995) 77 - 82.