Previous
51. Dance Revue
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 few girls stand around Mad Dog and ask him how he got his name. He explains that his father gave him the nickname when he was a child because he used to bite everything. Billie Jo goes home and asks her father to tell her Mad Dog’s real name. Her father does not know what she is talking about.
Billie Jo’s father’s response to her question shows how disconnected he is from the larger community. It is unclear whether he would have ever known the answer to her question, as he was fairly reclusive even before the accident.
Themes
