Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse essays

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse essays Out of the Dust is a story about a girl, Billie Jo, her mother and father are struggling through financial hardship on the farm. The setting is Oklahoma, in 1934, and as we know, life in the thirties is very tough. The book doesn't say much about her father, but in the book, it gives me an impression that he feels a strong connection to their homeland. Her father always wanted to have a boy, so he named his daughter Billie Jo. Her mother comes from superior background. Her mother plays the piano beautifully and, whenever she plays, Billie Jo's father stands in the doorway and watches her with something in his eyes Billie Jo hardly ever sees. Billie Jo also plays piano, but not as good as her mom, and as she says in the book, she wishes she can get her fathers attention, too, like her mom does. Billie Jo's mother is pregnant and they're all looking forward to the baby's arrival. However, before the baby arrives, there is a dust storm. It kills many of their neighbors. So they decide to move to California where things are seems to be better. However, Billie Jos father refuse to move, he says that he has lived through hard times before and he makes his family to stay, too. The climax is the tragedy. Unfortunately, one day, her father leaves a pail of kerosene by the stove and her mother thinks that is water and throws it on the stove. The flames blow out; they kill her mother and the baby. They also burn Billie Jo and permanently leave a scar on her hands, so that playing the piano becomes impossible for her now. Life becomes miserable to Billie Jo's. She has always thinks it is hard to communicate with her father, plus after the death of her mother and the baby, her father becomes more unreachable. Therefore, Billie Jo decides to run away home to get away from the dust and leaves behind everything she has ever loved. ...