Out of the Dust p. 3-33: Sketch to Stretch
"He ran into the storm, his overalls half-hooked over his union suit. "Daddy!" I called. "You can't stop dust." Ma told me to cover the beds, push the scatter rugs against the doors, dampen the rags around the windows. Wiping dust out of everything, she made coffee and biscuits, waiting for Daddy to come in."- page 32
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
I chose this passage out of the book because it depicts their life during the dust bowl. Their lives with dust was like fighting a losing battle. When Billie Jo told her dad you can't stop dust, that really got to me. The dust had taken over their whole world. She had come to terms with living this way. It is sad a young child had gotten used to living with dust that way. They could not grow any crops as they had before. They could barely feed their family. They were to the point of pondering whether they should take out a loan for crops or not. Not only had it eliminated their way to make a living, it was taking over the only thing they had to protect them from the dust, their home. They would have to constantly clean the dust. It was to the point that they had to turn their plates face down and their glasses bottom up or they would be covered in dust before they were able to eat. Once they had food on their plates, their food would be covered in dust. The dust was taking over their lives. I chose this picture because it shows a huge dust cloud completely covering all buildings and land to where you can't even see them through the dust. This is what their lives were like on a daily basis during this time.
http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Ddust%2Bbowl%2Bovertaking%26ei%3Dutf-8%26y%3DSearch%26fr%3Dsfp&w=309&h=204&imgurl=blogs.discovery.com%2F.a%2F6a00d8341bf67c53ef0120a8621f54970b-800wi&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.discovery.com%2Fearth%2Fthe-big-el-nio-that-nobody-saw.html&size=60KB&name=Dust+storm+overt...&p=dust+bowl+overtaking&oid=8eae2fb79eee4133ae56919dc6738b49&fr2=&no=2&tt=4&sigr=123oub47r&sigi=11vb60ll5&sigb=12sq3d5ue
Out of the Dust- Wordle
I chose these five words because this was the one thing that Billie Jo's mom kept alive. It was kind of a symbol of Billie Jo's mom's perseverance. She never gave up. Even though she had lost babies, she didn't give up on that. Even through the dust bowl she didn't give up on crops. Even though the crops were not making it, because of her they had this apple tree that looked as though there were no dust bowl. Billie Jo was given hope from this tree. She was looking forward to all the treats they were going to have from this tree. They would have pies, pudding, dumplings, cake and many more things just from this tree. She liked just eating the apples straight off the branch. Right before Billie Jo's mom died, the apple tree was completely ruined and Billie Jo did not have the heart to tell her mom.
Dear Mrs. Roosevelt,
My name is Billie Jo. I am 13 years old. I have heard that you are a kind woman and try to help those that are in need. I don’t need clothes or anything. I don’t even want toys. I play piano pretty good and I have been playing for some extra money until the accident. I accidentally threw burning kerosene on my momma and the baby and it burned my hands too. I haven't been able to play the piano because of the burns but I don't really want to. My momma and baby brother died because of that kerosene. I want to ask you to be my friend. I don't have anyone to talk to anymore. Daddy is always out trying to dig that pond and when he is with me he won't talk to me. If I could just have someone to write to and listen and give me advice it would be nice. I would love to be able to play the piano again. My burns begin healing but then I have to do something that hurts them again. It would really be neat if I could come play the piano for you and Mr. Roosevelt. I am sure the White House is not full of dust like our house. When we set the table, we have to turn the plates and cups over until we are ready to eat or they will be covered in dust. Daddy used to joke with us and say we had peppered our food or had chocolate milk because of the dust. It was only dust. The dust was and still is everywhere. It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to because things are worse now. Things are worse than only having dust to worry about. I really hope you find it in your heart to help me. I can be your friend too, if you need one.
My name is Billie Jo. I am 13 years old. I have heard that you are a kind woman and try to help those that are in need. I don’t need clothes or anything. I don’t even want toys. I play piano pretty good and I have been playing for some extra money until the accident. I accidentally threw burning kerosene on my momma and the baby and it burned my hands too. I haven't been able to play the piano because of the burns but I don't really want to. My momma and baby brother died because of that kerosene. I want to ask you to be my friend. I don't have anyone to talk to anymore. Daddy is always out trying to dig that pond and when he is with me he won't talk to me. If I could just have someone to write to and listen and give me advice it would be nice. I would love to be able to play the piano again. My burns begin healing but then I have to do something that hurts them again. It would really be neat if I could come play the piano for you and Mr. Roosevelt. I am sure the White House is not full of dust like our house. When we set the table, we have to turn the plates and cups over until we are ready to eat or they will be covered in dust. Daddy used to joke with us and say we had peppered our food or had chocolate milk because of the dust. It was only dust. The dust was and still is everywhere. It doesn’t bother me as much as it used to because things are worse now. Things are worse than only having dust to worry about. I really hope you find it in your heart to help me. I can be your friend too, if you need one.
Billie Jo
I Poem-Out of the Dust
I Poem-Out of the Dust
I am lonely.
I wonder if I will be able to play the piano again, painlessly.
I hear the sound of Mad Dog’s singing in the Palace.
I see the dusty rain fall from the sky.
I cry for my mother’s comfort.
I am lonely.
I pretend I do not have scars on my hands.
I feel sorry for the immigrants.
I touch dust, everywhere.
I worry about my father.
I am lonely.
I understand my father’s pain.
I say I want to get out of this place.
I dream that Mad Dog would court me some day.
I want to still believe in hope.
I am lonely.
Double Entry Diary
I wonder if I will be able to play the piano again, painlessly.
I hear the sound of Mad Dog’s singing in the Palace.
I see the dusty rain fall from the sky.
I cry for my mother’s comfort.
I am lonely.
I pretend I do not have scars on my hands.
I feel sorry for the immigrants.
I touch dust, everywhere.
I worry about my father.
I am lonely.
I understand my father’s pain.
I say I want to get out of this place.
I dream that Mad Dog would court me some day.
I want to still believe in hope.
I am lonely.
Double Entry Diary
#1)“We’ll be back when it rains, they say,
setting out with their bedsprings and
mattresses, their cookstoves and dishes,
their kitchen tables, and their milk goats
tied to their running boards in rickety
cages, setting out for California,
where even though they say they’ll come
back, they just might stay if what they hear about that place is true.” Pg. 160
#2)“My father thought maybe he ought to go to night school, so if the farm failed there’d be prospects to fall back on. He’s starting to sound like Ma. “The farm won’t fail,” I tell him. “Long as we get some good rain.” I’m starting to sound like him.” Page 138
#3)With Ma gone, if the mud’s to be busted, the job falls to me. It isn’t the work I hate, the knuckle-breaking work of beating mud out of every blessed thing, but every day my fingers and hands ache so bad. I think I should just let them rest, let the dust rest, let the world rest. But I can’t leave it rest, on account of Ma, haunting. page 110
#1)I chose this quote because it just shows what people would do to get away from the dust. They were willing to leave even if California wasn’t what everyone said it would be. They felt like that was their only hope. This is sometimes what Billie Jo was talking about when she would think about just wanting to leave and get away from the dust.
#2)Before Billie’s ma passed away she was the one who was always sensible and realized that as much as they wanted it to, the farming was not working with all the dust. Once she was gone, Billie’s dad didn’t have her to stay strong for anymore. Because he felt Billie was the cause for this, I don’t think he felt the need to stay strong for her.
#3)I feel like this is anger shown by Billie Jo. All aspects of her life have changed. She has lost the two best things in her life. One is permanent and one is just something that will take time to regain. She is almost to the point of giving up but she can’t do that with her mom in her memory. She is having to do what she thinks her mom would want her to do. I believe she feels like she owes it to her mom.
Out of the Dust FINAL REFLECTION
I would love to use this novel in my future classroom! I believe it is a great way to introduce multiple issues. The Great Depression is a huge part of the book. It would be a great way for students to understand the hardships children and adults went through to survive these hard times. Another issue that is brought up within this book is losing a loved one. That would only be a small part that I would touch on with my class but it is still important. It would be important to see how that affected Billie Jo's life. This book gives an encounter the students would be able to relate to because it is a child. This would be a good book to use a diary with because there are such strong emotions that could be evoked it wouldn't be something all students would want to say to the entire class.
Out of the Dust FINAL REFLECTION
I would love to use this novel in my future classroom! I believe it is a great way to introduce multiple issues. The Great Depression is a huge part of the book. It would be a great way for students to understand the hardships children and adults went through to survive these hard times. Another issue that is brought up within this book is losing a loved one. That would only be a small part that I would touch on with my class but it is still important. It would be important to see how that affected Billie Jo's life. This book gives an encounter the students would be able to relate to because it is a child. This would be a good book to use a diary with because there are such strong emotions that could be evoked it wouldn't be something all students would want to say to the entire class.
