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14. Debts
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
Arley asks Billie Jo to play piano for a show called Sunny of Sunnyside that will take her out of school twice per week. Billie Jo wants to play the show, but her mother says she is not allowed because school is more important. Billie Jo does what her mother asks because she knows her mother is under a lot of stress due to her pregnancy. However, internally, she questions her mother’s motivations. Billie Jo wonders if her mother is secretly jealous, or if she worries that one day Billie Jo will move far away to pursue her music career.
Again, Billie Jo is mindful of her place in the household and does not push her mother after receiving a firm “no,” even though the opportunity would mean a lot to her. Because the novel is told entirely from Billie Jo’s perspective, it is hard to discern her mother’s true motives, though Billie Jo seems to think there is some selfishness hidden in them.
Themes
