Character Analysis Of Billy Jo In The Book 'Out Of The Dust'

519 Words2 Pages

Hope Is A Virtue What would you do if you were In one of the biggest disasters in history. In the book Out of The Dust by Karen Hesse, a little girl: Billy Jo has a life in the Dust Bowl. She must be able to deal with all of the dust and maintain her sanity. At the end, she is still alive and hopeful. Sometimes, people find themselves in bad situations and have a hard time dealing with it. The only way to survive is if you remain hopeful. This is what Billy Jo did and she made it through. Billy Jo lives with her Ma and Dad. Sadly, her mom dies while giving birth caused by a previous accident. Even though through all of this Billy Jo still finds hope in many things like the piano, “On my fifth birthday, Ma sat me down

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Wally Lamb's Couldn 'T Keep It To Myself'

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    Barbara 's mother was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was sent to a mental hospital. This left Barbara in charge of the household raising her siblings while her mother was gone. Barbara visited her mother frequently and felt very sorry for her. With all of this happening it forced Barbara to grow up and take control of raising the family. Barbara 's mother ended up jumping off a building and committing

    Read More

  • Right Of The Bat By Hannah Dustan Character Analysis

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Power of an Author Authors have the ability justify the worst actions. Authors have a way of romanticizing certain situations in order to convey a specific message. A good author has power to influence the reader into believing whatever it is the author wants. When it comes to the story of Hannah Dustan, authors such as John Greenleaf Whittier have romanticized her captivity story along with the actions she took throughout her journey. Introducing a character that will be seen in the story is one of the most vital parts when creating a piece of literature.

    Read More

  • James Mcbride's Identity In The Color Of Water

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this memoir, James gives the reader a view into his and his mother's past, and how truly similar they were. Throughout his life, he showed the reader that there were monumental events that impacted his life forever, even if he

    Read More

  • Hush By Jacqueline Woodson: Character Analysis

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    First and foremost, the novel Hush by Jacqueline Woodson deals with a lot of issues, but if we really look closely at Toswiah/Evie’s internal journey we really understand that the book revolves around Evie/Toswiah and how she needs to about figure out who she is. Toswiah/Evie asks herself questions within the novel about her identity. So, if I were to judge: I believe the uprising theme of Hush is to never forget who you are. I say this because her character keeps reminiscing about how her life was in Denver how she had what she believes is “the perfect life” she had a roof over her head, food on the table, and a best friend who meant to world to her. In the novel Toswiah/Evie begins to question her external circumstances. For instance, being placed in the Witness Protection Program, and being

    Read More

  • Blu's Hanging by Lois-Ann Yamanaka

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    Eleanor, "the mother", is often presented in the story even though she is dead, in terms of her ideas and family's memory of her. The children's effort to include their mother in family events and not forgetting what she has said to them show how naturally they think of their mother's existence with them. When Poppy asks "O-kay, who's first?" (98) on a Christmas day for gift exchange, Blu says "You and Mama" (98), as if his mother is still there with him. The children do not forget to visit Mama's grave on special occasions, such as mother's day. These rituals regarding their mother indicate the presence of her in the family. Poppy's longing for Eleanor is also demonstrated when he frequently sings the song "Moon River" throughout the novel, and tells Ivah that "your Bradda's voice-thass your Mama singing right out his throat" (140). The lyrical content of the song "Moon River" shows how much he misses her, and finding mother's resemblance in Blu's voice shows that Poppy has not forgotten about her. The family remembers her, and will not forget her, which keeps her alive in the n...

    Read More

  • The Struggle in Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    The struggle to battle with the persistent grief of self-blame and lack of identity is a constant reminder to the barriers in relationships. Leroy grieves over the fact that he has lost his identity as a father and husband. Although he often thinks of Randy, the memories of him have faded. As a result, he latches on to Norma Jean but she doesn’t respond back. This causes him to feel like a failure of a husband. Norma Jean is grieving over the emptiness in her life. It was not the life she thought she would have. Her deceased son symbolizes her emptiness because of his death. She also feels emptiness towards her husband. For example, she feels very uncomfortable around him and always tries to find something for him to do. When Leroy arrives back home from his accident Mason implies, “he thinks she’s seems a little disappointed” (Mason 220), displaying Norma Jean frustrated with his lying around doing nothing but watching television and smoking pot. In addition, Norma Jean feels emptiness towards her mother, which is presented in the way her mother criticizes her. When tragedies occur in a family and self-confidence fades it can take over your life a...

    Read More

  • Suffering and Surviving in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mama, as a member of an older generation, represents the suffering that has always been a part of this world. She spent her life coexisting with the struggle in some approximation to harmony. Mama knew the futility of trying to escape the pain inherent in living, she knew about "the darkness outside," but she challenged herself to survive proudly despite it all (419). Mama took on the pain in her family in order to strengthen herself as a support for those who could not cope with their own grief. Allowing her husband to cry for his dead brother gave her a strength and purpose that would have been hard to attain outside her family sphere. She was a poor black woman in Harlem, yet she was able to give her husband permission for weakness, a gift that he feared to ask for in others. She gave him the right to a secret, personal bitterness toward the white man that he could not show to anyone else. She allowed him to survive. She marveled at his strength, and acknowledged her part in it, "But if he hadn't had...

    Read More

  • Essay On Billie Jo's Life

    468 Words  | 1 Pages

    Finally, Whenever pa wasn't near i guess he left a bucket of karesen on the oven and well ma got a little fire on her and went outside then Billie Jo thought “well i should get rid of this karesen” so she threw it outside and her mom was there and she didn’t know so her mom was on fire so Billie Jo tried to pat her down which burnt her hands, her mom survived for a few days then she gave birth to her baby then died and before anyone could take the baby he died and then Billie Jo and her Dad began to go into a big depression for a while

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee: Character Analysis

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Courage is valued in many ways. It is measured by bravery, heroism, physical strength, and morally correct behavior. The world mostly defines courage as having physical strength and being brave. Atticus, Scout, and Jem show many acts of courage through the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. They all have different views and opinions on courage. The novel is told from the point of view of Scout. She, and her brother Jem, live with their widowed father in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. Their father, Atticus, is also a lawyer who defends his black client, Tom Robinson, who is innocent of rape. The title To Kill A Mockingbird explains that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” because they “make music for us to enjoy” (Lee 119). In other words, the mockingbirds are harmless and have never done anything wrong. It would be considered a sin to kill a harmless and peaceful mockingbird. Similarly, accusing an innocent and

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Ask The Dust By Arturo Bandini

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book Ask the Dust by John Fante, the main character Arturo Bandini, is a 20 year old Italian American from Colorado who comes to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a famous writer. Arturo is very talented and can become the next big writer but faces many obstacles that stop him in his tracks. Things like his own immaturity and desire for acceptance impair his ability to achieve his dream. In the beginning of the book, Arturo is very immature and lets his desires get the best of him, but at the end of the book he becomes more objective and mature. The growth of Arturo is astounding and can be separated into stages of development. He comes to a realization that you can 't just be stuck up on something but you have to be able to move on.

    Read More

  • The Lizzie Borden House: Haunted Buildings

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    As a small child, about two years old, Lizzie's mother died. Her father, Andrew, married again. Lizzie did not like her stepmother even though she did not really remember her real mother at all. She never really accepted her stepmother as the person who raised her. And then one afternoon they were robber sunk in the house a...

    Read More

  • Kurt Vonnegut: A Literary Analysis

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the same time, the moments of the stress and memories that are driving him crazy are really temporary. Once Billy leaves the hospital, he loses control again. Then he is shipped to Dresden, which he was departed from the veteran hospital lead to his marriage to Valencia. I see these as places from the war and after that lets you know he is still trapped in a mind war set the from the reflection of the Germans in the Tralfamadorians

    Read More

  • Mary Bell Murder

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    Furthermore, Mary’s father was abusive in the family home to both Mary and her mother. A lifelong criminal, who was known to commit violent armed robberies, was not a good influence for Mary. Billy was often out of work, depending on earnings form Betty to sustain the house. It must be noted that there is some question if Billy is actually Mary’s father, given Betty’s profession; chances are great that Billy was just another victimizer in Mary’s lif...

    Read More

  • Puppy by George Saunders

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Marie, who is a product of an abusive family, is influenced by her past, as she perceives the relationship between Callie and her son, Bo. Saunders writes, describing Marie’s childhood experiences, “At least she’d [Marie] never locked on of them [her children] in a closet while entertaining a literal gravedigger in the parlor” (174). Marie’s mother did not embody the traditional traits of a maternal fig...

    Read More

  • hurricanes

    558 Words  | 2 Pages

    Picture this, you laying on top of you car as you are being violently slung down your street, which was once dry and calm and is now wet and foreign, at an extremely rapid pace. You can’t find your family and all you can do is hope that they haven’t drowned and are able to stay afloat against the violent waters that are angrily attempting to destroy everything in its path. You look around the weather is gray and it’s raining heavily. It is a struggle to breathe between the rapid rain and the violent waters which are attempting to pull you under, forever. Your house no longer exists it is broken down from the pounding waters and fast winds. That is exactly what it would be like if you were in the midst of a hurricane. After hurricanes are over the confusion is crazy, children who had loving families are now orphaned, people become homeless, and people miss certain joys such as walking due to becoming paralyzed.

    Read More

More about Character Analysis Of Billy Jo In The Book 'Out Of The Dust'

Open Document