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86. The Visit
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
James Kingsbury, the photographer who took the pictures of the Dionne Quintuplets, comes to Joyce City to take photographs in the aftermath of the latest dust storm. Billie Jo knows Kingsbury’s photos turned the Dionne family into a “freak show,” and she worries his pictures will do something similar to her hometown.
Billie Jo feels the same way about James Kingsbury’s photos as she does when people look at her hands. She does not mind genuine empathy, but she does not want to be pitied and turned into some kind of “freak show” for people who cannot do anything to help.
Themes
