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38. Blame
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 August of 1934, Billie Jo celebrates her birthday by walking to town where she can listen to Arley play music. On her way there, she does her best to put what happened out of her mind. At this point, all of her father’s wheat is gone—the land looks desolate. As Billie Jo walks, her “lumps of flesh that once were hands long enough to span octaves” swing by her sides.
Listening to Arley play music is both a blessing and a curse. Billie Jo loves music, but the “lumps of flesh” (her hands) are a constant reminder that she cannot create it herself. The way Billie Jo speaks of her hands in this chapter suggests that they no longer seem like a part of her.
Themes
