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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 goes to a show at the Palace Theatre. When she leaves, she gets caught in a terrible dust storm. She slowly makes her way home while making sure she does not inhale too much dust. The storm is so bad that it is difficult to see the road, and Billie Jo has a hard time staying upright. After three hours, she finally makes it home. However, when she gets there, she discovers her father went out looking for her.
Previously, the dust storms occurred when Billie Jo and her family were relatively safe in their home. However, part of the reason why dust storms are so dangerous is because they can show up at any time. People regularly died in them, so Billie Jo has good reason to be concerned for her father.
Themes
Terrified for her father’s safety, Billie Jo stands on her porch and screams her father’s name, hoping he will hear her and come home. At four in the morning, Joe De La Flor stops by and tells Billie Jo that two young boys died in the dust storm. Finally, at six in the morning, Billie Jo’s father returns, covered in dirt. He is a pitiful sight, and Billie Jo has a hard time looking at him. Billie Jo tries to fix breakfast, but everything is covered in dust. As they chew their dust-covered food, Billie Jo thinks about everyone who has died because of the dust. She looks across the table and cannot even recognize her father. After breakfast, she goes upstairs and sleeps.
Since the death of Billie Jo’s mother, her father has been largely absent as a parent. However, he still loves his daughter enough to put his life on the line for her. Unfortunately, his love does not translate to emotional availability, as even after such a harrowing event, Billie Jo and her father cannot converse with each other. Billie Jo’s failure to recognize her father is both literal and metaphorical—his physical appearance is altered from the storm, and she does not recognize the person he has turned into since her mother’s death.
Themes
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