The Bean Trees Character Analysis

Taylor in The Bean Trees and Peter in A Walk Across America encountered many interesting people. Taylor met Turtle and Peter met Mary Elizabeth and her family. Turtle has a significant and positive impact on Taylor as well as Mary Elizabeth’s family’s impact on Peter. Both of the main characters were on a journey to find themselfs, and through it they met people that helped them do just that.
In the book A Walk Across America Peter goes on a journey to rekindle his love for America. After about a year of being unhappy he decided to leave the country, but his friend told him to give it a second chance, so he chose to walk across America. His walk was to discover his country and himself. During his walk he met Mary Elizabeth and her family. Her and her family had a positive impact on Peter, making him change his mind about America.
They made him feel like he was part of the family. He stayed with them long enough to get a job at the lumber mill, and make a few hundred dollars for the rest of his walk. While he was there he really felt at home, even though they were African American. In chapter 18 Peter felt he was so much a part of the family that when he looked in the mirror he surprised himself when he saw he was white. Spending time with them helped him see that the world is not as bad as it seems. Another event that changed his mind was in chapter 17. In that chapter a lot of white people helped the black community by donating money to fix the church that was destroyed by the storm. He loved the whole community so much that he was sad when he had to leave. Peter found this kind, religious, African American friend made him realize that America was better than he