22
“But I stayed in school. I was not the smartest or even particularly outstanding but I was there and staying out of trouble and I intended to
finish……..Mama always said barefoot and pregnant was not my style.” Kingsolver, 1988:3
At that time, money was the most important thing for society. Boys should help their father look for money, while girls got married as soon as possible.
However, Taylor’s mother always supports her to go to school and says that barefoot and pregnant are not her style. It means that her mother wants Taylor to
be a successful person. She does not want her daughter to live in poverty like most of the people in their town.
Taylor also has a high spirit to study in school. She has motivation for changing her life. She believes, by having good education, she will have a nice
job. Taylor has proved it when she was in high school. Before she graduates from high school, she has worked in Pittman County Hospital. It is really a good work
for her. It also shows that Taylor uses her opportunity to work after her teacher offers a job to her. She thinks that good opportunity will not come to her twice.
Therefore, she does not want to waste the opportunity. From this job, she can buy a car, although it is only an old car, but it brings Taylor to new experience by
leaving Kentucky and moving to Arizona. It shows that education is really important in Taylor’s life. Taylor can prove that education can change her life.
2. Courageous
Taylor is very courageous. She braves to take a risk in her action. She decides to leave her mother to drive west to gain a brighter future. She goes to a
23
place which she never knew before. Her promises when she starts her adventure are to drive west until her car broke down and to change her name.
“In this car I intended to drive out of Pittman County one day and never look back, except maybe for Mama. When I drove over the Pittman line I
made two promises to my self. One I kept, the other I did not. The first was that I would get myself a new name. The second promise, the one that
I broke, had to do with where I would end up.” 10-12
It shows Taylor’s high spirit to change her life. She never doubts to start a new thing she never knew before. She is not afraid if someday she will fail and
nobody helps her because she will be far away from her mother. It also shows Taylor’s maturity, she is very independent. She does not depend to her mother
although she loves her mother very much and has lived with her mother since she was child.
“Listen, I’ve made up my mind about something. I’m going to drive Esperanza and Estevan to a safe house in Oklahoma. And while I’m there
I’m going to see if I can find any of Turtle’s relatives.” 183
It shows us that Taylor has a very determined will to go to Oklahoma. Although there will be great danger if the police know that she brings Estevan and
Esperanza who are an illegal refugees and Turtle, her illegal adopted daughter. However Taylor will solve the problem she may face during the trip to Oklahoma.
She will take a risk of her actions. She is very sure that she can protect her three beloved people, Turtle, Estevan and Esperanza. Her courage is also stated in the
quotation below.
