A major theme throughout The Bean Trees is the power of resiliency and the extent to which both humans and their environment can cope with harsh conditions and eventually thrive. The novel explores this theme primarily through Turtle’s gradual return to a healthy childhood after undergoing extremely traumatic events as an infant. While Turtle begins the novel in a state of silence, unwilling to speak or interact with the world, she begins to talk, play, and engage with her caretakers after living in a stable and loving environment. Most of Turtle’s progress is filtered through Taylor’s observations, and she often uses the metaphor of desert ecosystems to represent the notion of resiliency.

When Taylor takes Turtle to a pediatrician for the first time, he diagnoses Turtle with failure to thrive due to abuse, noting that her physical and mental development has stalled. However, the pediatrician reassures Taylor that this damage is reversible now that Turtle is in a healthier home and that she’ll likely grow up at a rate similar to other children. As Taylor looks at emotionally devastating X-rays that show Turtle’s numerous bone fractures, she finds hope by observing the natural world outside: