The Path to Maturity in Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees:

How Taylor Changes from Start to Finish

Few novels are as extraordinary as Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees, which revolves around Taylor Greer's adventures from Kentucky to Arizona as she putters around in her ‘55 Volkswagen bug. The Bean Trees is a poignant novel about Taylor transcendence from a sassy Kentucky girl to a mature, respectable woman. 

The first indication that Taylor is maturing is her decision to work at the Pittman County Hospital and her composure amidst the emergency room drama. When her science teacher, Mr. Walter, tells the class that his wife, a nurse at the local hospital, is offering an odd job after school and on Saturdays, Taylor mentions the opportunity to her mother. Despite Taylor's doubts, her mother is sure that her daughter is qualified for the position. 

Coming from a town where a steady job at the gas pump is considered respectable, it would be impressive for Taylor to work at the hospital, especially in her senior year of high school. While most of Taylor's female classmates are shy about asking handsome Mr. Walter for the job, Taylor will not allow a pretty face to get in the way of her ambitions. She stays after class the next day to ask for the job and, to her surprise, it has not already been taken. Because Taylor refuses to let her infatuation with Mr. Walter prevent her from asking for the job like the other girls, Taylor is expressing serious interest in her future.