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 May of 1935, snow falls and covers the dust. After some snow has settled on the ground, it starts to sleet and then rain. It is the perfect type of rain—soft and good for the crops and soil. Eventually, the rain starts to fall harder, but the soil is ready for it at that point. It rains for three days, which has Billie Jo’s father jumping for joy. When the rain finally stops, Billie Jo’s father goes out to the barn and gets their tractor working, certain this will be a good year for his crops.
Again, hope comes in the form of rain and although there is more rain than usual, it is hard to be too optimistic. Billie Jo’s father holds on to what little hope he can get, but this is a story that has played itself out many times before—the rain provides hope, but the dust storms then come to whisk it away.
Themes
