Character Description

Bean:

Bean is a young girl throughout most of the novel, but she gets older as the story goes on. Bean's universe is very similar to ours, the only real difference being what the people look like. There are boys and girls, men and women, even though at times it is hard to distinguish between the two. Everyone wears cloaks that covers their entire body except for their faces. In Bean's part of the world, known as Timaginoan, spoken words are rarely used as usually the people's faces convey what they are thinking. People in Timaginoan have stopped thinking for themselves and conformity is rewarded. Children are meant to learn the rules and a trade, but nothing else. Bean's problem is her insatiable curiosity. It is the reason she cannot sleep at night. She knows there is more to learn than what she is taught and there is more to see than what is around her. The books at the school full fill Bean's thirst for knowledge for the time being, but when she leaves she gets that nagging to find something new again. Bean's restlessness only increases with the knowledge that there is something beyond her small part of the world. She has a good sense of adventure and can tell stories at the drop of a hat.
The people of Timaginoan eat very bland foods pureed together into a sort of mush. (It is called moosh). It is a blend of cabbages and potatoes, on special occasions carrots are used. Bean discovers other foods while on her travels, some as exotic as pomegranates and avocados.