Out of the Dust

Out of the Dust

by

Karen Hesse

Billie Jo’s Father Character Analysis

Billie Jo’s father is a solemn man who loves Billie Jo but often has a hard time demonstrating it. Billie Jo knows her father would have rather had a son than a daughter, and it shows: he raises Billie Jo like a son and teaches her to do all the things a man would traditionally do around the homestead. Despite the time they spend together, Billie Jo and her father have a hard time connecting emotionally, especially after the death of Billie Jo’s mother. Because he blames himself for Billie Jo’s mother’s death, Billie Jo’s father resorts to drinking and working himself to death. He develops spots on his skin that he knows are cancerous but refuses to go to the doctor because he has given up on life. Nevertheless, it’s clear that Billie Jo’s father still loves his daughter, and he risks his life to save Billie Jo when she gets caught in a dust storm. Eventually, Billie Jo’s father emerges from his grief and starts acting like a father again after meeting Louise. Louise partially fills the hole that Billie Jo’s mother left and turns Billie Jo’s father back into a respectable man. Billie Jo’s decision to run away from home also helps trigger this transformation.

Billie Jo’s Father Quotes in Out of the Dust

The Out of the Dust quotes below are all either spoken by Billie Jo’s Father or refer to Billie Jo’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Nature, Survival, and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
).
1. Beginning: August 1920 Quotes

Daddy named me Billie Jo.
He wanted a boy.
Instead,
he got a long-legged girl
with a wide mouth
and cheekbones like bicycle handles.
He got a redheaded, freckle-faced, narrow-hipped girl
with a fondness for apples
and a hunger for playing fierce piano.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Apples
Explanation and Analysis:
14. Debts Quotes

I ask Ma
how,
after all this time
Daddy still believes in rain.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Rain
Page Number: 27
Explanation and Analysis:
17. Fields of Flashing Light Quotes

He ran into the storm,
his overalls half-hooked over his union suit.
“Daddy!” I called. “You can’t stop dust.”

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
21. Give Up On Wheat Quotes

But Ma says, “Can’t you see
what’s happening, Bayard?
The wheat’s not meant to be here.”

And Daddy says,
“What about those apple trees of yours, Pol?
You think they are?
Nothing needs more to drink than those two.
But you wouldn’t hear of leveling your apples,
would you?

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father (speaker), Billie Jo’s Mother (speaker)
Related Symbols: Apples
Page Number: 40-41
Explanation and Analysis:
24. World War Quotes

Daddy was just seventeen
when he fought in the
Great War off in France.

There’s not much he’s willing to say about those days, except about the poppies.
He remembers the poppies,
red on the graves of the dead.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
34. Nightmare Quotes

Daddy called to me. He asked me to bring water,
Ma was thirsty.
I brought up a pail of fire and Ma drank it. She had
given birth to a baby of flames. The baby
burned at her side.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother, Franklin
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis:
38. Blame Quotes

“Billie Jo threw the pail,”
they said. “An accident.”
they said.
Under their words a finger pointed.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
40. Roots Quotes

My father will stay, no matter what,
he’s stubborn as sod.
He and the land have a hold on each other.
But what about me?

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
49. Those Hands Quotes

My father used to say, why not put those hands to good use?
He doesn’t say anything about “those hands”
anymore.
Only Arley Wanderdale talks about them,
and how they could play piano again,
if I would only try.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Arley Wanderdale
Page Number: 89
Explanation and Analysis:
79. Heartsick Quotes

My father and I,
we can’t soothe each other.
I’m too young,
he’s too old,
and we don’t know how to talk anymore
if we ever did.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Mad Dog Craddock
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
80. Skin Quotes

My father has a raised spot
on the side of his nose
that never was there before
and won't go away.
And there’s another on his cheek and two more on his neck,
and I wonder
why the heck is he fooling around.
He knows what it is.
His father had those spots too.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Doc Rice
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
84. Migrants Quotes

Don’t forget us, they say.
But there are so many leaving,
how can I remember them all?

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Livie Killian
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
89. Let Down Quotes

I thought maybe if my father ever went to Doc Rice
to do something about the spots on his skin,
Doc could check my hand too,
tell me what to do about them.

But my father isn’t going to Doc Rice,
and now
I think we’re both turning to dust.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Doc Rice
Page Number: 174-175
Explanation and Analysis:
97. Midnight Truth Quotes

My father’s digging his own grave,
he calls it a pond,
but I know what he’s up to.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Apples
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
98. Out of the Dust Quotes

How I slip under cover of darkness
inside a boxcar
and let the train carry me west.
Out of the dust.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Livie Killian
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:
102. Met Quotes

My father is waiting at the station
and I call him
Daddy
for the first time
since Ma died,
and we walk home,
together,
talking.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Page Number: 205
Explanation and Analysis:
104. The Other Woman Quotes

We both stared in wonder
at the pond my daddy made
and she said,
a hole like that says a lot about a man.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Louise, Mad Dog Craddock, Arley Wanderdale
Page Number: 213
Explanation and Analysis:
111. Finding a Way Quotes

Sometimes, while I’m at the piano,
I catch her reflection in the mirror,
standing in the kitchen, soft-eyed, while Daddy
finishes chores,
and I stretch my fingers over the keys,
and I play.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother, Louise
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Out of the Dust LitChart as a printable PDF.
Out of the Dust PDF

Billie Jo’s Father Quotes in Out of the Dust

The Out of the Dust quotes below are all either spoken by Billie Jo’s Father or refer to Billie Jo’s Father. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Nature, Survival, and the Dust Bowl Theme Icon
).
1. Beginning: August 1920 Quotes

Daddy named me Billie Jo.
He wanted a boy.
Instead,
he got a long-legged girl
with a wide mouth
and cheekbones like bicycle handles.
He got a redheaded, freckle-faced, narrow-hipped girl
with a fondness for apples
and a hunger for playing fierce piano.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Apples
Explanation and Analysis:
14. Debts Quotes

I ask Ma
how,
after all this time
Daddy still believes in rain.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Rain
Page Number: 27
Explanation and Analysis:
17. Fields of Flashing Light Quotes

He ran into the storm,
his overalls half-hooked over his union suit.
“Daddy!” I called. “You can’t stop dust.”

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
21. Give Up On Wheat Quotes

But Ma says, “Can’t you see
what’s happening, Bayard?
The wheat’s not meant to be here.”

And Daddy says,
“What about those apple trees of yours, Pol?
You think they are?
Nothing needs more to drink than those two.
But you wouldn’t hear of leveling your apples,
would you?

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father (speaker), Billie Jo’s Mother (speaker)
Related Symbols: Apples
Page Number: 40-41
Explanation and Analysis:
24. World War Quotes

Daddy was just seventeen
when he fought in the
Great War off in France.

There’s not much he’s willing to say about those days, except about the poppies.
He remembers the poppies,
red on the graves of the dead.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father
Page Number: 44
Explanation and Analysis:
34. Nightmare Quotes

Daddy called to me. He asked me to bring water,
Ma was thirsty.
I brought up a pail of fire and Ma drank it. She had
given birth to a baby of flames. The baby
burned at her side.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother, Franklin
Page Number: 64
Explanation and Analysis:
38. Blame Quotes

“Billie Jo threw the pail,”
they said. “An accident.”
they said.
Under their words a finger pointed.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
40. Roots Quotes

My father will stay, no matter what,
he’s stubborn as sod.
He and the land have a hold on each other.
But what about me?

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father
Page Number: 75
Explanation and Analysis:
49. Those Hands Quotes

My father used to say, why not put those hands to good use?
He doesn’t say anything about “those hands”
anymore.
Only Arley Wanderdale talks about them,
and how they could play piano again,
if I would only try.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Arley Wanderdale
Page Number: 89
Explanation and Analysis:
79. Heartsick Quotes

My father and I,
we can’t soothe each other.
I’m too young,
he’s too old,
and we don’t know how to talk anymore
if we ever did.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Mad Dog Craddock
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:
80. Skin Quotes

My father has a raised spot
on the side of his nose
that never was there before
and won't go away.
And there’s another on his cheek and two more on his neck,
and I wonder
why the heck is he fooling around.
He knows what it is.
His father had those spots too.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Doc Rice
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
84. Migrants Quotes

Don’t forget us, they say.
But there are so many leaving,
how can I remember them all?

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Livie Killian
Page Number: 161
Explanation and Analysis:
89. Let Down Quotes

I thought maybe if my father ever went to Doc Rice
to do something about the spots on his skin,
Doc could check my hand too,
tell me what to do about them.

But my father isn’t going to Doc Rice,
and now
I think we’re both turning to dust.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Doc Rice
Page Number: 174-175
Explanation and Analysis:
97. Midnight Truth Quotes

My father’s digging his own grave,
he calls it a pond,
but I know what he’s up to.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Related Symbols: Apples
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
98. Out of the Dust Quotes

How I slip under cover of darkness
inside a boxcar
and let the train carry me west.
Out of the dust.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Livie Killian
Page Number: 198
Explanation and Analysis:
102. Met Quotes

My father is waiting at the station
and I call him
Daddy
for the first time
since Ma died,
and we walk home,
together,
talking.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother
Page Number: 205
Explanation and Analysis:
104. The Other Woman Quotes

We both stared in wonder
at the pond my daddy made
and she said,
a hole like that says a lot about a man.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Louise, Mad Dog Craddock, Arley Wanderdale
Page Number: 213
Explanation and Analysis:
111. Finding a Way Quotes

Sometimes, while I’m at the piano,
I catch her reflection in the mirror,
standing in the kitchen, soft-eyed, while Daddy
finishes chores,
and I stretch my fingers over the keys,
and I play.

Related Characters: Billie Jo (speaker), Billie Jo’s Father, Billie Jo’s Mother, Louise
Page Number: 227
Explanation and Analysis: