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29. Hope in a Drizzle
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
A woman who lives in Canada, Elzire Dionne, gives birth to five children at once. News travels all the way to the Panhandle, and Billie Jo asks her mother if she could imagine such a thing. Billie Jo’s mother says nothing—she simply sits down and cries at the thought of it.
Elzire Dionne is a real woman who did, indeed, give birth to five children at once. Billie Jo’s mother cries at the thought of Elzire’s situation because she knows she could never take care of so many children under the circumstances. In fact, her tears suggest she is unsure whether she will be able to take care of two.
Themes
