Out Of The Dust By Karen Hesse

Symbolism

In the novel, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, she uses a lot of symbolism. One example of this is the recurring importance of rain. The novel is set in the Great Depression, which plays a large role in how her life is played out throughout. Billie Jo’s father is a white wheat farmer, struggling due to the lack of rain for his crops. This causes a huge financial struggle for her family as her father, being a farmer, is their main source of income. Billie Jo’s father continuously shows hope and repetitively brings up that soon they will be due for rain that will make his wheat flourish. This idea is consistently shut down by his wife, Polly, who states that it’s been too long since they’ve had rain, and there's no reason for them to