Out of the Dust
During the Great Depression in the 1930's, every person in the United States faced hardships, whether those hardships involved, poverty, hunger or loneliness. In the Great Plains, however, people were faced with a very different hardship, dust.During the 1930's and lasting almost an entire decade, the Great Plains experienced a serious drought. The country was in enough trouble as it was, and this made things much worse. Because of the dryness of the land, dust accumulated and was blown around on a regular basis destroying farmland, crops, homes and lives. (Vogeler, p.1)Because of this drought, the Depression, in turn, lasted much longer than it may have. The shortage of crops devastated the country. Farmers kept on trying to plant crops, but because of the drought and accompanying dust they failed to grow. Much needed food was then unavailable for the people living on the plains and the other people in the country that it had provided for before. The dust became so thick on top of the land, that the soil became ruined and made it almost impossible for crops to grow successfully. (Vogeler, p.1)The dust became a part of everyone's daily lives. It was in the air, and the wind blew it around during
Billie Jo felt that if she would just get out of the dust that everything would be all better. /Hard times are about losing spirit, /and hope, /and what happens when dreams dry up. She says, "As we walk together, /side by side, /in the swell of dust, /I am forgiving him step by step, /for the pail of kerosene. After his wife died, he seemed to lose his smile. After her mother's death, Billie Jo feels guilty, but she also lays some blame. Her father was preoccupied, worrisome and depressed. After he did this, I think the land forgave him as well. Homes that were well sealed would still fill up with dust, and those that were poorly sealed were filled much worse. Her father was strong and determined. He gets another mule and he keeps on trying.
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Acceptance Essays
