Transcript Out of the Dust Questions Winter 1934

Out of the Dust Questions Winter 1934
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Who is Billie Jo? What does she like? Where does she
live and who is her family?
2. What is the issue with the rabbits and why is Billie Jo so
upset about it?
3. Who is Livie?
4. What is the irony of Ma not liking Billie Jo to play the
piano?
5. What are the first indications that Billie Jo wants to escape
her situation for a brighter life?
6. What are the special rules about setting the table during
the dust bowl era?
7. Describe the dust storm that wakes Billie Jo at night?
8. What happens when Daddy blows his nose or coughs after
a dust storm?
Spring 1934
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Describe some of the grim scenarios that Billie Jo sees.
2. What is the argument about a pond between Daddy and
Ma?
3. What is the importance of the apple trees to Ma and Billie
Jo?
4. Explain Billie Jo's reference to red poppies.
5. What is Billie Jo looking forward to regarding the apples.
6. How does Billie Jo earn money playing the piano?
7. How does Billie Jo like being on the road and playing
piano?
8. What is the dust a metaphor for?
Summer 1934
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. How does Ma react when a brief rain comes in the
Summer of 1934?
2. How does the wandering boy symbolize all the people
who want to escape the dust bowl and have a better life
in California?
3. How are Billie Jo's injuries treated?
4. What are Ma's injuries and how does Daddy take care
of them?
5. Explain the symbolism of Ma's death which
corresponds with the devastation of the apple trees.
6. What happens in the aftermath of Ma's death?
7. How do Billie Jo and Daddy interact now that Ma is
gone?
Autumn 1934
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. What does Daddy do for work since the wheat crop is
failing?
2. How does Billie Jo feel about the piano since Ma has
died?
3. Explain how people view Billie Jo now that her hands
are injured.
4. How does Mad Dog say he got his nickname? What is
his real name?
5. In addition to her love for music, what other force
drives Billie Jo to have beautiful experiences?
6. What is the significance of the snowfall in Autumn
1934?
7. What is Billie Jo's overall state of mind in Autumn
1934?
Winter 1935
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. What is the bittersweet accomplishment Billie Jo makes at
school?
2. Who is Joe De La Flor and what hardship does he face
regarding his cattle?
3. How can something as normal as rain be viewed as special
to Billie Jo and the people in town?
4. Billie Jo has not taken any interest in cleaning the house
until she sees someone else scrubbing hardened mud. What
does this prompt Billie Jo to do and why does she feel
haunted by Ma in her actions?
5. What does Billie Jo think her father is looking for when he
looks at her?
6. Who are the unexpected tenants of the school house for a
couple of weeks?
7. How do the children and the itinerant family interaction with
each other?
Spring 1935
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. How does fire seem to be an ever-present threat in Billie
Jo's life?
2. What is the content of the letter Aunt Ellis sends to Billie
Jo?
3. Why are the migrant workers leaving the area in such large
numbers?
4. What are the circumstances around the black cloud on the
way to the funeral?
5. What news does Mad Dog come to deliver to Billie Jo?
6. How does Billie Jo feel about the famous photographer
who comes from Canada to take pictures of the dust bowl?
7. What does Billie Jo think about the dinosaur bones that are
found in Oklahoma?
Summer 1935
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. How does Billie Jo assign characteristics to her piano?
2. What does Billie Jo admit to herself about her mother's
death, her father's indifference toward her, and her need to
escape this life?
3. How does Billie Jo attempt to escape her life and the dust?
4. With whom does Billie Jo share a train car with for a short
while? Explain the experience and what it teaches Billie Jo.
5. How did Billie Jo's time away change the relationship
between her and her father?
6. What immediate plans do Billie Jo and Daddy make to
begin healing?
Autumn 1935
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. How does Doc Rice treat both Daddy and Billie Jo?
2. Who is Louise?
3. Explain Billie Jo's cautious optimism where Louise is
concerned.
4. How does Billie Jo block Louise's entry into a part of
their lives?
5. For what things is Billie Jo thankful on this
Thanksgiving?
6. How does Billie Jo finally come to terms with the dust,
and its full impact on her life?