Summary:
Reviews the novel Out of the Dust. Provides a plot summary and review of major characters. Examines the symbolism of the dust bowl and describes the importance of the setting in the book.
The story "Out of the Dust", takes place in Oklahoma from the winter of 1934 to the winter of 1935 during the Dust Bowl. The Dust bowl was an ecological and human disaster that took place in the U.S. in the 1930's. It was caused due the misuse of land.Since the land continued to dry up and there was nothing to grow, people left the area as great clouds of dust would form up and destroy the the houses and cattle.
The story is about Billie Jo, her mother and her father who are struggling to survive the hard financial times on the farm. Billie Jo's father is very connected to the soil so he can't think of leaving the place whereas her mom comes from a
more refined background. Billie Jo loves to play the piano a trait that she got from her mom. However, Billie Jo ends up making herself fit to her father as he always wanted a boy and he saw his boy in her, but soon he stops expecting that out of her when he figures out that his wife is preganent.
They are all eagerly waiting for the arrival of the baby. Before the baby arrives, however, the dust does. The fierce dust storms and the lost of the cattle and food drives their neighbors and Billie Jo's best friend Livie Killian off to another place. They all are headed to California where things are much better. But Billie Jo's father wouldn't want to move as he has lived through hard times before and believes that they can survive this dust storm too so they are going to stay.
Then a tragedy strikes when Billie Jo's father leaves a pail of kerosene by the stove (we never learn why) and her mother thinking it to be water, throws it on the stove. When she catches fire she runs out of the front door calling for her husband and Billie Jo picks up the rest of the kerosene and throws it out of the door just as her mom was coming back in. Her mom immediately gets killed and so does the baby. Billie Jo tries her best to save her mom and in the process she ends up burning and scaring her hands making it impossible for her to play the piano.
After the tragedy Billie Jo and her father continue to live in the dust passing by each day without talking to each other. They both began to live a life that has no meaning since they won't share their feelings with each other. Her father begins to dig his own grave and the people nearby think that he has gone crazy. And he starts to get skin cancer. Also, the dust continues to blow and destroy the fields. Finally, after a long period of drought and unhappiness rain comes changing the whole situation around. Billie Jo's father turns his grave into a pond. He begins to grow different crops in his fields and starts to work as he did before.
But even though all this has happened after the rain came Billie Jo is still miserable about not being able to talk to her father about the stuff she wants to and wants to get away from the dust. So she runs away on a train. After spending a few days on the train she realises that during the hard times her dad had never abandoned her even though he could have. He never broke the bond between them but she did. She feels that she has been very selfish as she only thought about herself and never thought twice about her dad. She realises that she was trying to get away from the dust that had become such an important part of her life just as it had become important to her father. So she decided to go back and live with her father.
When she reaches back home her father is waiting for her and they finally talk about stuff that they had been holding back since so long. Then they go to the doctor and get medicine for her father's skin cancer and her hands. After that her father meets this wonderful lady Louise who seems interested in her father. She helps them out with their living. In her Billie Jo sees hope and a better life in the future.
I like this book as it was different and made me aware about the terrible lives that the people had to lead due to the Dust Bowl. It gave me a new meaning to accept the relationship between me and my parents and what they have done for me. Also, the story took me into it and i actually felt the pain that Billie Jo was feeling and hoped that her life would become better as I continued to read the book. Plus, it taught me to be happy with what I have and never to run away from my parents.
This is the complete article, containing 829 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).
