Billie Jo's father goes to the doctor's like he said that he would. it turns out that the bumps were cancer. The doctor removes the bumps as best he could. Billie Jo believes, though, that her father doesn't care one way or another about the spots.
"...I think he didn't care much, if he had some cancer and took and died. Figured he'd see Ma then, he'd see my brother. It'd be out of his hands. He'd be out of the dust." Autumn 1935 Page 209
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Mending Relationships
Billie Jo's father meets her at the station. On their way home, they talk. Billie Jo tells her father that she needs him to be there more for her. She tells him that the bumps on his face worry her and that she wants him to go to the doctor's to have them checked out. Billie Jo's father agrees to go to the doctor's and they work things out. The walk home is a turning point for both Billie Jo and her father. This time it's a positive turning point.
"As we walk together, side by side...I am forgiving him, step by step, for the pail of kerosene. As we walk side by side...I am forgiving myself for all of the rest." Summer 1935 Page 206
"As we walk together, side by side...I am forgiving him, step by step, for the pail of kerosene. As we walk side by side...I am forgiving myself for all of the rest." Summer 1935 Page 206
Coming Home
These lines show how much Billie Jo has learned.
"Getting away, it wasn't any better. Just different. And lonely. Lonelier than the wind. Emptier than the sky. More silent than the dust, piled in drifts between me and my father." Summer 1935 Page 204
Billie Jo learned that even though she wanted to escape the dust, she didn't want to leave her father. Even though they didn't talk much, being with her father and not talking was better than being all alone and not having a place to call home. Billie Jo realized that she needed to be with her father because he was really all that she had left in the world. Even though she had some relatives, they were scattered throughout the country. None of them were there for Billie Jo. None of them really even knew Billie Jo. Running away showed Billie Jo how much she needed her father.
"Getting away, it wasn't any better. Just different. And lonely. Lonelier than the wind. Emptier than the sky. More silent than the dust, piled in drifts between me and my father." Summer 1935 Page 204
Billie Jo learned that even though she wanted to escape the dust, she didn't want to leave her father. Even though they didn't talk much, being with her father and not talking was better than being all alone and not having a place to call home. Billie Jo realized that she needed to be with her father because he was really all that she had left in the world. Even though she had some relatives, they were scattered throughout the country. None of them were there for Billie Jo. None of them really even knew Billie Jo. Running away showed Billie Jo how much she needed her father.
A Stranger
As Billie Jo rides the train, a man jumps onto the same boxcar that she's in. He starts to tell her about his wife and two kids. Billie Jo tells him about her mother and her relationship with her father and why she ran away. Billie Jo falls asleep and when she wakes up, her food is gone as well as the man. In the food's place is a picture of the man with his family. Their address is on the back of the picture. Billie Jo decides at the moment to come home. She gets off in a town in Arizona. She also decides to mail the picture to the man's family. The man reminds Billie Jo of her parents. The lines below indicate how she views her parents.
"He was like a tumblewee. Ma had been tumbleweed too, holding on for as long as she could, then blowing away on the wind. My father was more like sod. Steady, silent and deep. Holding on to life, with reserves underneath to sustain him and me, and anyone who came near. My father stayed rooted, even with my tests and my temper, even with the double sorrow of his grief and my own, he had kept a home until I borke it." Summer 1935 Page 202
These lines show how Billie Jo feels mostly about her father. In these lines, Billie Jo realizes how her father has manged to keep going even after the fire and the dust storms.
"...Holding on to life, with reserves underneath to sustain him and me, and anyone who came near." This line in particular forshadows certain things. Billie Jo's father will meet a woman from one of his night classes.
"He was like a tumblewee. Ma had been tumbleweed too, holding on for as long as she could, then blowing away on the wind. My father was more like sod. Steady, silent and deep. Holding on to life, with reserves underneath to sustain him and me, and anyone who came near. My father stayed rooted, even with my tests and my temper, even with the double sorrow of his grief and my own, he had kept a home until I borke it." Summer 1935 Page 202
These lines show how Billie Jo feels mostly about her father. In these lines, Billie Jo realizes how her father has manged to keep going even after the fire and the dust storms.
"...Holding on to life, with reserves underneath to sustain him and me, and anyone who came near." This line in particular forshadows certain things. Billie Jo's father will meet a woman from one of his night classes.
Another Girl
"...There was one girl. I saw her through the slat in the boxcar. She stared up at the passing train. She stood by the tracks watching, and I knew her." Summer 1935 Page 199
When Billie Jo says that she knows the girl, she means that she sees herself in her. The girl was alone and wanting only to leave all the dust behind. Billie Jo is doing the same. Billie Jo understands how the dust storms can ruin even the strongest of families and communities.
When Billie Jo says that she knows the girl, she means that she sees herself in her. The girl was alone and wanting only to leave all the dust behind. Billie Jo is doing the same. Billie Jo understands how the dust storms can ruin even the strongest of families and communities.
Leaving For Real
"This is not a dream. There's no comfort in dreams...It's the middle of the night and I hear every sound inside me, outside me. I go, knowing that I'll die if I stay, that I'm slowly surely smothering. I walk through the calm night, under the stars...Once I might have headed east, Now I slip under the cover of darkness inside a boxcar and let the train carry me west. Out of the dust." Summer 1935 Pages 197-198
Billie Jo leaves for real this time. Even though she's been wanting to leave, she doesn't realize how selfish she's being. Not once does she think of her father. She only thinks of how silent and stubborn he is. She doesn't think of how her leaving could hurt her father. By not thinking of her father and how this would effect him, she only thinks of herself and getting away from the dust. By getting away from the dust, Billie Jo is also leaving her father behind as well.
Billie Jo leaves for real this time. Even though she's been wanting to leave, she doesn't realize how selfish she's being. Not once does she think of her father. She only thinks of how silent and stubborn he is. She doesn't think of how her leaving could hurt her father. By not thinking of her father and how this would effect him, she only thinks of herself and getting away from the dust. By getting away from the dust, Billie Jo is also leaving her father behind as well.
Bumps
Billie Jo's father starts to develop bumps on his face. Because he is stubborn, he doesn't go to the doctor's. Billie Jo wants him to go to the doctor's to have them checked out.
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