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5. Permission to Play
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 Mad Dog play piano for the people at the Palace Theatre. Billie Jo feels alive while playing piano, as she gets lost in the rhythm and sensation of it all. The audience sways and snaps their fingers as she plays. Billie Jo cannot believe how much fun she is having; she feels like she is in heaven.
Billie Jo loves playing the piano more than anything. When she is onstage, she feels like she is where she is supposed to be. The early passages where Billie Jo plays music are important to the overall structure of the novel because they set up one of its central conflicts later on.
Themes
