Conflict—The central conflict in this novel is the struggle to survive against the dust storms and
drought of the mid-1930s in the Dust Bowl. The entire novel revolves around this central conflict,
and it moves the characters and plot forward with each event that occurs due to this struggle
against nature. (character vs. nature)
A major conflict in the story occurs between Billie Jo and her father. She blames him for the death
of her mother and brother. Their relationship declines steadily as they both struggle to come to
grips with grief over their loss and the inability to communicate with each other.
(character vs. character)
Nature is a force that repeatedly works against the characters and the land. Acting as antagonist in the
story, nature provides the obstacles and challenges the characters must address and overcome. The novel
highlights characters and their actions as they attempt to meet these challenges.
From the beginning, even before the accident, Billie Jo reveals that she yearns to be away from the dust.
Billie Jo only goes back for the burning pail of kerosene when she thinks about the bone-dry kitchen and
how quickly it would go up in flames. Her father had not meant to leave the pail there, and her mother
could not have known it was kerosene. Billie Jo did not know her mother was coming back into the house
at that moment. This tragic accident set in motion another important conflict in the story—Billie Jo blames
her father for the death of her mother and brother. Their relationship declines steadily from this point on
until the climax when she finally runs away.
Other conflicts in the story:
INTERNAL (character vs. self)
Billie Jo struggles with feelings of anger over her mother’s accident.
Billie Jo struggles with feelings of fear and insecurity when asked to play piano after the accident.
The man on the boxcar struggles with feelings of guilt and shame for leaving his family.
Billie Jo struggles with sadness when a baby is born to the family living in her classroom.
EXTERNAL
Billie Jo struggles against wind and dust to get home. (character vs. nature)
The fire boys struggle with a boxcar that is on fire. (character vs. nature)
Billie Jo glares at her father because of a pail of kerosene. (character vs. character)
Billie Jo and her father flee their truck to escape a dust storm. (character vs. nature)
Bayard and Polly argue about whether they should plant more wheat. (character vs. character)
Billie Jo swats at the grasshoppers devouring her mother’s apple trees. (character vs. nature)
Climax—Billie Jo runs away and catches a train.
Falling Action—While on the train, Billie Jo meets a man who has abandoned his family during
hard times. She talks to him about her mother and father. He steals her biscuits and leaves her a
photograph of his family. He makes her realize that her father is not that bad after all. Unlike the
man on the boxcar, her father continues to make a home for her even during the tough times.
Resolution—Billie Jo decides to return home and begins to forgive her father. Her father tries
harder to understand her. She accepts his friend Louise. The rain comes again, and the land begins
to forgive the farmers for mistreating it. Crops begin to grow once more.
Theme—Forgiveness
These are questions Karen Hesse’s editor asked her to think about when she sent in her manuscript: “What
is it about, really? What is going on with Billie Jo and Daddy, what is going on with Billie Jo and Ma?
And what is going on with Billie Jo herself?”
“And I knew. It was about forgiveness. The whole book. Every relationship. Not only the relationships
between people, but the relationship between the people and the land itself. It was all about forgiveness,”
Karen Hesse revealed in her Newbery Medal acceptance speech. (June 27, 1998; Washington, DC)