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102. Met
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Out of the Dust, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Nature, Survival, and the Dust Bowl
Poverty, Charity, and Community
Coming of Age
Family and Forgiveness
Summary
Analysis
Billie Jo and her father go to see Doc Rice. Doc Rice chastises Billie Jo’s father for waiting so long to see him. The spots on his skin are cancerous, and Doc Rice does the best he can to cut them out. Billie Jo thinks her father waited so long because he wanted to die. Doc Rice also tells Billie Jo her hands will get better if she stops picking at them, applies ointment, and uses them regularly.
Billie Jo and her father finally get the medical attention they need, although the results are uncertain on both fronts. Neither are guaranteed a normal, healthy life in the future because of their decisions in the past. However, it is a start to getting their lives back on track.
Themes
When Billie Jo and her father return home from Doc Rice’s, they go through what remains of Billie Jo’s mother’s things. After looking through them, they decide to keep almost everything except a few broken dishes. Afterward, Billie Jo fixes dinner, and her father tells her about how he used to fantasize about running away from the Panhandle. However, he says he never did because he did not have Billie Jo’s courage. In this moment, Billie Jo sees depth and complexity in her father—and in herself—that she never knew existed before.
Their willingness to go through Billie Jo’s mother’s things suggests they are finally starting to accept what happened and move on. Previously, Billie Jo could barely bring herself to look at the boxes. Additionally, Billie Jo and her father are talking to each other again, which leads Billie Jo to realize she misjudged him. Previously, she mistook his reticence for shallowness. Now she sees she was wrong.
Themes
