Out of the Dust

Out of the Dust

by

Karen Hesse

Themes and Colors
Nature, Survival, and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
Poverty, Charity, and Community Theme Icon
Coming of Age Theme Icon
Family and Forgiveness Theme Icon
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.
Coming of Age Theme Icon

Out of the Dust follows 14-year-old Billie Jo as she comes of age during the Dust Bowl. Billie Jo’s life centers around the concerns one would expect from a girl her age: she thinks about friends, boyfriends, what she wants to do with her life, and playing the piano. However, regularly, she has to set these quotidian concerns aside to fight for her survival as dust storms threaten her life and the lives of those she holds dear. To make matters worse, Billie Jo is involved in an accident that ends up killing her pregnant mother and mutilating Billie Jo’s hands. As a result, she spends much of the novel trying to come to terms with her mother’s death while also figuring out whether she can forgive her father, who was partially responsible for the accident. The novel links Billie Jo’s eventual maturation to her increasing willingness to accept and work through life’s challenges, rather than running from or avoiding them.

As a young girl, Billie Jo prided herself on her ability to play the piano. However, her injured hands make playing the piano an excruciating exercise, so she stops doing it for a long time—a form of avoidance that the novel frames as childish. Similarly, Billie Jo later decides to run away from home without saying goodbye to her father. She gets all the way to Arizona before realizing she has made a mistake and that she doesn’t want to live a lonely life on the road. It is an important moment for her, as this is when she starts to accept her home’s flaws and those of her father. She returns home as a smarter, more mature young adult. As she starts to come to terms with her life, she also begins accepting herself, and eventually, she starts playing the piano again. During her coming-of-age, Billie Jo learns that she can never run away from home because where she grew up will always be a part of her. As such, the novel argues that maturation occurs once one accepts their situation in life and moves to meet it head-on rather than trying to run away.

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Coming of Age ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Coming of Age appears in each chapter of Out of the Dust. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Out of the Dust PDF

Coming of Age Quotes in Out of the Dust

Below you will find the important quotes in Out of the Dust related to the theme of Coming of Age.
1. Beginning: August 1920 Quotes

Daddy named me Billie Jo.
He wanted a boy.
Instead,
he got a long-legged girl
with a wide mouth
and cheekbones like bicycle handles.
He got a redheaded, freckle-faced, narrow-hipped girl
with a fondness for apples
and a hunger for playing fierce piano.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Apples
Explanation and Analysis:
3. Losing Livie Quotes

Now Livie’s gone west,
out of the dust
on her way to California
where the wind takes a rest sometimes.
And I’m wondering what kind of friend I am,
wanting my feet on that road to another place,
instead of Livie’s.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Livie Killian
Page Number: 9
Explanation and Analysis:
16. State Tests Quotes

I wish she’d give me a little more to hold on to than
“I knew you could.”
Instead she makes me feel like she’s just
taking me in like I was
so much flannel dry on the line.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Mother
Page Number: 30
Explanation and Analysis:
49. Those Hands Quotes

My father used to say, why not put those hands to good use?
He doesn’t say anything about “those hands”
anymore.
Only Arley Wanderdale talks about them,
and how they could play piano again,
if I would only try.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Arley Wanderdale
Page Number: 89
Explanation and Analysis:
82. Fire on the Rails Quotes

No one talks about fire
right to my face.
They can’t forget how fire changed my life.
But I hear them talking anyway.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Mother, Franklin
Page Number: 157
Explanation and Analysis:
86. The Visit Quotes

Mad Dog scooped a handful of dust,
like a boy in a sandpit.
He said, “I love this land,
no matter what.”

I looked at his hands.
They were scarless.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Mad Dog Craddock (speaker)
Page Number: 169
Explanation and Analysis:
98. Out of the Dust Quotes

How I slip under cover of darkness
inside a boxcar
and let the train carry me west.
Out of the dust.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Livie Killian
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis: