Outside Reading

     When we were told to select a outside reading book, The Bean Trees by Barbra Kingsolver definitely stood out to me. I had wanted to read this book ever since middle school but had never gotten the chance. Now that we have to read it for an assignment, it seemed like a even more appealing idea. When I finally got myself settled and had the book at hand I read the first chapter and had already put down seven sticky notes with literary annotations on them. I guess this had to do with the fact that the novel is so full of literary strategies that make it the wonderful book it is. Not only this, but The Bean Trees also has an extremely page-turning plot outline, that makes you want to keep on reading.
     The Bean Trees compared to other, more modern realistic fiction books that I have read seems much deeper in its development of theme and other literary devices. Specifically comparing this novel with To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both have many meaningful themes and have all used literary devices that are helpful to the development of the novel. Also, both novels have the tight ideas of family and friends. In The Bean Trees the idea is more focused on friends, and in To Kill a Mockingbird the ideas are more focused on family.
     I haven't gotten loads of time to think about what I plan to do for the creative project, but from what I see so far in the plot, the theme is finding home and a place that you feel comfortable in. During the course of the plot so far, the main character has gone from one home to another trying to find a place where she feels comfortable to settle down. An idea for my project could be to draw a road map to home. While doing this, I would highlight the main theme (the literary element that will be included in my project) and develop a storyline with a map of Taylor's life. Of course this is just a temporary idea, as I read on, I might come up with a sudden burst of light and have a brilliant idea.