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
It is Billie Jo’s father’s birthday, and her mother wants to bake him a cake. She gets out 50 cents she’s been saving and sends Billie Jo to a local shop. The owner, Mr. Hardly, carefully scrutinizes Billie Jo as she walks around his shop and gets what she needs. When Billie Jo gets to the counter, she reminds herself to keep an eye on Mr. Hardly because he likes to give the wrong amount of change when he can get away with it.
50 cents in 1934 is the equivalent of around $11 today. Given the level of poverty in the Panhandle, it is a significant amount of money for Billie Jo’s mother to have saved. Her willingness to do so shows how much she cares about Billie Jo’s father. Meanwhile, Mr. Hardly is the opposite of Billie Jo’s mother; he seeks to capitalize on others’ vulnerability.
Themes
Mr. Hardly bags Billie Jo’s groceries and, as he does so, Billie Jo lets her mind wander. On her way home, she realizes her mistake and hopes she did not get cheated. As it turns out, Mr. Hardly accidently cheated himself and gave her four cents extra. When Billie Jo tells her mother what happened, her mother asks her to take the four cents back to Mr. Hardly. Billie Jo does as she asks, wishing she could use the four cents to buy music instead. When Billie Jo returns the money, Mr. Hardly does not thank her or give her anything for her trouble. Billie Jo figures it is for the best because her mother would not let her keep anything he gave her for free anyway.
Here, Billie Jo’s mother extends charity to someone who would never do the same for her. Charity is an important concept in the novel and this scene demonstrates how Billie Jo and her family think about it. For them, charity is always about giving without expecting anything in return, even if the outcome harms the giver. Their underlying assumption is that, if someone cheats them, it is because they had to—not because they are inherently a bad person.
Themes
