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
In March of 1934, Billie Jo’s father thinks about taking a loan out from the government so he can plant some new wheat. However, when he proposes the idea to Billie Jo’s mother, she warns him it is a bad idea. There hasn’t been enough rain for several years to grow wheat, and she is skeptical that this is the year things will turn around. Billie Jo’s father storms off, irritated with her response. Billie Jo asks her mother why her father is so convinced it will rain. Billie Jo’s mother explains that he has to have hope because he is a farmer.
Billie Jo’s father is optimistic about the future, while Billie Jo’s mother is not because of how the last few years have turned out. Indeed, dust storms ravaged the Panhandle in the early 1930s, so it is no surprise Billie Jo’s mother feels the way she does. However, the problem is that they do not know what else to do if they don’t plant wheat. Billie Jo’s father has been a farmer all his life, so he either needs to plant his crops or pick up and move.
Themes
