Full of Beans

“When someone says they’re gonna help you, they’re just waiting to stick their hand in your pocket and take your last penny. I should know. I got relatives.”

Beans’s character voice is strong throughout the narrative; these lines are a strong example. His diction is slightly ungrammatical, and his tone is cynical; he is, however, a likable character whose bluntness adds to his charm. These lines of interior monologue contribute to the theme of “Deceit and Distrust in Hard Times.”

“Move to New Jersey? I couldn’t imagine living anywhere but Key West! It was the only home I’d ever known.”

These lines of interior monologue from Beans let the reader know that he is a life-long Key Wester and that the possibility of his family moving to New Jersey takes him by surprise. It also contributes to his belief that grown-ups, even his parents, lie, as Beans pointedly asks his father if they might move away. Poppy tells Beans no—although Beans heard otherwise clearly the night before.

“But the kid wasn’t easy to brush off. If the dog was a termite, Too Bad was a flea.”

In these early chapters of the novel, the author “plants” several details that build in importance later. The dog that follows the Curry brothers, Beans and Kermit, will play a role in Beans’s character development late, as he comes to represent Beans’s conscience and his internal battle between good and bad choices. The introduction of Too Bad shows readers another example of a token Key West nickname, contributing to the character and flavor of the town, and establishes a minor personal conflict for Beans with a boy for whom he has little respect.