Out Of The Dust Character Analysis
In the novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, main character Billie Jo faces several challenging obstacles throughout her lifetime. Getting through these obstacles is the only way Billie Jo can learn to forgive her father as well as herself for their mistakes. Once she learns to stop feeling resentful, and let go, Billie Jo will be able to grow up. The first major challenge Billie Jo faces is when a fire breaks out in her home. The fire ignites when Billie Jo’s mother mistakes a pail of kerosene for water, where,“instead of making coffee, Ma [makes] a rope of fire”(87). Billie Jo’s own hands are scorched as she frantically tries to smother flames ablaze her mother’s skin. Following the accident, “while Ma moaned and begged for water, [Billie …show more content…
This helps her realize all of the caring and positive things her father has done for her, like attending night school to support the family, and risking his own life to find her during a dust storm. Billie Jo realizes that “[her] father stayed rooted, even with [her] tests and [her] temper, even with the double sorrow of his grief and [her] own, he had kept a home until [she] broke it” (269). Her encounter with this man changes Billie Jo’s perspective on her father, and causes her to head back home. When she arrives, “[her] father is waiting at the station and [she calls] him Daddy for the first time since Ma died” (273). As they walk home together, Billie Jo is “forgiving him step by step, for the pail of kerosene ... [and she is] forgiving [herself] for all the rest” (275). Though Billie Jo had a challenging relationship with her father, she learns to forgive him for his mistakes and love him for being there for her. Finally, Billie Jo begins to play piano once again, since she has moved past her grief and is fighting through the pain of her scarred hands. She overcomes the barriers that were preventing her from following her dreams of playing piano. Now that Billie Jo has let her grief and resentment go, she can focus on growing with up with her father, as she accepts her life the way it
The One Safe Place Character Analysis
509 Words | 3 PagesThe support of friends and family can help contribute to a character's ability to overcome difficulties. In The One Safe Place by Tania Unsworth, Devin was able to overcome his problems with the help of his friends and family. Devin's grandfather helps Devin overcome his difficulties throughout the story. At the beginning of the book, Devin was struggling to take care of the farm on his own when his grandfather died and remembered his grandfather once said: "' You'll go there someday too, Dev.' His grandfather had told him 'When you're ready to leave.'"
Jasper Jones And The Dressmaker Comparison
957 Words | 4 PagesBody Revenge 266 words Revenge has happen in both Jasper Jones and the Dressmaker when, Eliza a character in jasper jones, burned her own home down because of what her father done to Laura “ And there, right in front of me, the Wishart house is crackling furiously from the inside. It’s a single box of flames. Ribbons of red and orange lick at broken windows” (page 391), but it also has some comparisons to Tilly who, burned the entire town down because they are trash that needed to be burned (1:51:00 to 1:52:00).
Everyday Use By Eudora Welty Compare And Contrast
485 Words | 2 PagesThe story takes place at a time in the 1900s where racism still exists. Mama is the provider of the family. Mama’s younger daughter Maggie was severely burned in a house fire when she was a child. As a result of that incident, Maggie is a nervous and maladjusted girl. Maggies appearance from the fire hides her generous personality.
How Does Jennings Burch Change In They Cage The Animals At Night
1157 Words | 5 PagesThe notion of sending a little boy to a chaotic environment is horrific, and a true mother would have had a relative stay with their precious children like in Night Road. “She was bleeding from her nose and mouth” (189) Jennings’s mother wanted to fix the antenna, so that Jennings could enjoy an evening of relief, but even though she knew she was milquetoast, she pulled such a stunt to gain recognition. She craved for power like George, her oldest son who was an alcoholic. As a result, maimed herself in such a dilapidated state that Jennings had to go to home for months. In a way, Jennings is the reflection of his mother's faults, his mother’s
The Water Was Dark And Went Forever Down By Tim Winton
846 Words | 4 PagesHe does this by creating a sense of sympathy for the mother’s mental illness and her actions, whilst allowing the audience to understand how her actions have negatively affected the girl. The audience gathers a developed understanding of how the detrimental state of the mother has affected the girl when she describes her as ‘sick, and bitter, and afraid’, from the use of sharp single-word descriptions it is obvious that the girl is fed up and isn’t scared to tell the truth about her mother’s issues. This independence shown by the girl elicits a sympathetic feeling for her mother and her apparent mental illness. At the end of the first page, Winton depicts a scene of havoc with the mother severely burning herself after a smoking accident, the aftermath of her mother’s accident is described by the girl as like a ‘charred side of beef’, whilst this symbolises how the mothers' actions have resulted in her relationship with her daughter being ‘charred’ or burnt, it also describes the sense of olfaction as it is easy for the audience to understand how charred beef smells, emphasizing a burnt, fierce aroma which connotates a feeling of shame and wastefulness. Throughout the novel, it is implied that the mother is incapable and a waste of space, Winton provides sympathetic perspectives for the mother whilst solidifying that her alcohol addiction has led her to this
Literary Analysis Of Octavia Butler's Fledgling
251 Words | 2 Pages( ) She is terribly burned, without clothes, starving for food, and has absolutely no memory
The Burn Journals Literary Analysis
1069 Words | 5 Pages“I don’t know why I did it. I was just so sad. I don’t know why” (276). In The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon, Brent tells the story of his heat of the moment decision to attempt suicide at the age of 14 years old. His brother, Craig, is the first to discover him engulfed in smoke after Brent douses himself with gasoline and lights a match.
Short Summary: Josie's Story By A Mother
898 Words | 4 PagesJosie’s Story is a truly inspirational and informative book written by a mother who used her grief and sorrow to educate people, and make medical care safe. Josie King was a curious and precocious 18 month old toddler who was just beginning to discover the world, and loved her dog Trapper. One day, while her family was preoccupied downstairs, Josie waddled into the bathroom in search of her blue airplane. She slipped into the bathtub, and turned on scalding hot water onto herself, causing first and second degree burns which covered 60 percent of her tiny body. Josie was admitted to one of the most prestigious children’s hospitals in our country, Johns Hopkins Children 's Center.
Billie Jo Quotes
808 Words | 4 PagesIn the historical fiction novel Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, the central character Billie Jo faces many adversities that could have crushed her hopes, dreams and spirit. The author Karen Hesse, states, “the way I see it, hard times aren’t only about money, or drought, or dust. .Hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up.” This quote means that the way the author sees it, the hard times in Billie Jo’s life aren’t always on the surface, as she faced losing her sense of self, her optimism, and her goals she wished to achieve. Billie Jo is confronted with the challenges of her strained relationship with her father, as well as guilt over her mother’s death, yet she is able to hold onto her spirit, hopes,
The Glass Castle Jeannette's Lesson
571 Words | 3 PagesShe had scars all over her body from the fire and learned never to touch fire again for what happened to her. “Dad also thought I should face down my enemy, and he showed me how to pass my finger through a candle flame”
Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes Quotes
869 Words | 4 PagesEveryone thinks the burns are from a pot of spaghetti but only a selected few know that her dad actually did it. Sarah is so scared of her dad that she is staying in a hospital and is refusing to talk. Eric Calhoune knows the true identity if the burns and refuses to stay on the sideline. Him, his friend and his teacher get Sarah Byrnes out of the hospital to look for her mom. But Sarah's crazy dad, Virgil knows something up.
Tex And The Outsiders Character Analysis
1822 Words | 8 PagesThe dynamic between the two brothers is quite interesting since they seem at first not to have a lot in common. Their behavior and actions demonstrate perfectly the differences between the two brothers. One could underline the fact that the dynamic between the two brothers is different from what we previously seen in Tex or The Outsiders because Peter and Edmund have two sisters. Edmund does not seem to accept the changes occurring during his stay in the Professor’s house.
Fire And Water In Sula By Toni Morrison
961 Words | 4 PagesWhen the fire is attempted to be put out by neighbors with a tub of water and tomatoes, it only makes things worse, “The water did put out the flames, but it also made steam, which seared to sealing all that was left of the beautiful Hannah Peace” (76). Unlike with Plum, who had water (kerosene) poured on him to start a fire, Hannah’s fire is put out by water. Nonetheless, destruction and death follow when Plum burns to death and Hannah’s death is accelerated from the water’s steam. This showcases how even when putting out a fire, water acted as a dangerous element, harming Hannah in the end.
A Long Way Gone Character Analysis
1035 Words | 5 PagesDesire is the need for an object, a feeling or a person. One can have a desire for something that is essential for survival, such as water or food, but desire could be used to harm others or oneself. Through A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Ishmael’s perspective of desire was altered dramatically. These desires were changed from his surroundings or events that were taking place. In the book, Ishmael was easily manipulated by his desires.
The Key By Nnedi Okorafor Short Story
1186 Words | 5 Pages“Only two weeks ago, he had beaten fwadaus for spilling a pitcher of milk. She’d fallen and hit her head, knocking herself unconsciously for thirty seconds. She’d come to still lying on the floor as her uncle was shouting at her auntie not to help her.” This shows how physical abuse of her uncle pushed fwadaus to take bad decision of burning her
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