English: Book Report:
                     resourcefullness as it relates to the novel 
                                                                                         February 23, 1999

                     Personal resourcefulness throughout the journey of life and all of its trials is
                     essential to achieve oneÕs goals or to be successful. Being resourceful simply
                     means that a person can use personal judgement and intuition along with any
                     available resources to achieve a goal or goals that would otherwise have
                     proved more difficult or impossible. The root of the word resourceful is
                     Òresource" which is simply something someone has available to them (literal
                     meaning: stock or supply) , it can be said that Barbara kingsolverÕs character,
                     Taylor Greer, uses her supply of wit and wisdom along with a never give up
                     attitude as her resources and is truly intuitive and is resourceful in their use.
                     Whether it is to simply survive on the road or overcome the red tape and
                     legalities and win back ÒherÓ daughter, April. Or build strong lasting bonds with
                     others. Right from the beginning we see a spark in Taylor's personality that is
                     absent in all the other residents of Pittman County (with the possible exception
                     of Taylor's mother). We see by Taylor's volunteering for the job at the
                     hospital, a much sought after position by all the pitman girls, that she takes
                     the incentive to do things on her own no matter whether sheÕll win or lose. We
                     see her expectations of the job being taken by someone else are false when
                     the teacher whom is looking for the helper informs her that nobody else even
                     tried to get the job (presumably because they all had the same expectation as
                     Taylor). This truly emphasizes one of the themes in the novel, that you have
                     to try to do things because if you donÕt even try here is no possibility of
                     success. It could also be taken to mean that laziness never gets us what we
                     want. I think that the author, in this case, wants us to see this side of Taylor's
                     personality and see her as someone whom will not be pushed around or bend
                     to pressures. Determination as it relates to Taylor's resourcefulness is
                     another key idea in this novel. We see Taylor in the beginning as a poor white
                     girl from the south with only 2 specific goals (one general goal) the goals she
                     has are 1. get out of pittman county as far and fast as she can 2. change her
                     name One might be able to summarize these as both being the same goal.
                     Which is to make a clean break. Her resourcefulness and determination come
                     into play when we see her put the things she has to use. She buys a used car
                     (1950s VW), with the money she earned from working at the hospital. This was
                     a smart move for Taylor because it left her with extra money to use on her trip.
                     She also had acquired knowledge about possible obstacles and problems that
                     might occur on the road such as flats and other tire damage. She learned
                     before she left how to change all the tires on the car (should they ever fail
                     her). This may not seem like determination to some, but we must remember
                     that it must have taken a lot of courage for this character to do this because
                     she was deathly afraid of tires exploding. Turtle is given to Taylor part way
                     through her cross-country trip. Turtle, it seems, brings out a motherly side of
                     Taylor, which becomes more evident later in the novel. This seems like a great
                     opportunity to interject some irony into this situationÉ which could or could
                     not be taken as humor, depending widely on the reader. The irony to which I
                     am referring is the much emphasized fact that Taylor spent all of her life trying
                     to avoid becoming a mother and now she is one. A short while later Taylor
                     arrives in Tucson Arizona and at this point the author starts using parallels to
                     nature to represent things happening in Taylor's life or to highlight underlying
                     themes in the book. The first vivid example of this is the rainbow that appears
                     after the hailstorm. Which represents a rebirth or renewal of hope. In Taylor's
                     life this could not be truer, because she is in a new place with a new name with
                     new responsibilities. Mattie is one of the other characters in this novel that is
                     extremely resourceful. Mattie is manager of a place called ÒJesus Is Lord Used
                     TiresÓ (JIL for short) this place is a sanctuary for refugees from war torn
                     countries, a garden wonderland in the middle of urban Tucson and lastly a
                     place of business. I believe this to be the order of emphasis used by the
                     author to show us what Mattie was up to and how her time money and other
                     resources such as her incredible kindness was being used. Taylor finds a
                     place to live, which is fairly close to JIL and decides to use her skills to make
                     money working at a Òburger derbyÓ. She meets another woman there that
                     teaches her how to obtain babysitting services every day for free at the local
                     mall in a place called Kid Central Station. But MattieÕs tendency to stand up for
                     herself cost her this job. Sort of a curious event considering that a theme in
                     this novel is that we should use these attributes we are blessed with to better
                     our lives and get ahead. Mattie finally ends up finding permanent residence
                     with another character named Lou Ann. The two characters meet through an
                     ad in the paper and decide to become roommates, because neither could
                     really afford to live well on their own. We see that people need others in their
                     lives to be truly happy, and since they had so much in common they were all
                     the better suited to live together. We later see Taylor working at JIL which
                     seems to be another perfect example of her resourcefulness in that she used
                     her connections, one might say, to acquire a position and gain money and
                     develop a closer relationship with Mattie, Estevan and Esperenza. Her attitude
                     throughout the book is always one that seems to say she is willing to help
                     wherever possible. This, I believe, is not only due to her meeting Mattie who
                     has similar values, but just a part of her personality which tends to be a great
                     attribute to her. When Lou Ann is having troubles with her husband who has
                     recently moved to Montana to become a rodeo clown. She consoles her friend
                     and tells her "it will all be alright", she uses her charm and confrontability as
                     assets to better her relationship with Lou Ann and perhaps to better help
                     understand herself and her feelings at the time. The later events of the book
                     seem to really bring Taylor's resourcefulness to the test as well as her
                     personality and perseverance. When turtle, (her daughter 'April turtle Greer')
                     is almost taken away from her and put up for adoption by the state. Her
                     attitude and persona seem to bend and yield under the pressures and
                     stresses. She is finally convinced into fighting to get back her daughter after
                     being convinced by Lou Ann. Who, perhaps, was just returning a favor that
                     Taylor did for her earlier. TaylorÕs relationship with Estevan and Esperenza
                     had become much closer by this time and she had learned about their
                     problems and wanted badly to help. It seems that they were illegal immigrants
                     to the united states and would be deported back to their native country if
                     caught. This bothered Taylor because this would mean that Estevan and
                     Esperenza would face certain death. Taylor consults with Mattie, Estevan, and
                     Esperenza And they decide that it would be best if Taylor brought Estevan
                     and Esperenza with her to Oklahoma. Taylor leaves Tucson with MattieÕs car,
                     which she has managed to borrow. This car is much better suited for the
                     journey that her old VW. She tries to remain inconspicuous and keep a low
                     profile on the highways to keep Estevan and Esperenza safe from possible
                     checkpoints set up by the department of immigration. We see that Taylor does
                     not know very much about the practices of the department, but we see that
                     the little she does know she manages to stretch to the limit in order to save
                     her friends. Taylor applies herself and her resources most when she has to
                     save her daughter, turtle. Since they had given up any hope of finding turtleÕs
                     parents or relatives ti was decided that she would try to pull off an elaborate
                     scheme, wherein Estevan and Esperenza wouls pretend to be Cherokee
                     Indians and act as TurtleÕs biological parents. This plan ends up working, and
                     Taylor is left in legal custody of Turtle. This is where the plot basically ends
                     with her leaving her friends in Oklahoma, making a few phone calls then
                     heading back to Tucson. We see in this novel that personal resourcefulness
                     can help us overcome obstacles and better our lives. Taylor Greer is just one
                     of the many examples of a resourceful character, we see in her actions that
                     what we want and what we get or what happens to us can be different. The
                     only way we can turn what we desire into what is real and what happens is to
                     use the things afforded to us to their maximum. 1999 InfinateZer0