Winter 1934
Spring/Summer 1934
Autumn '34/Winter 1935
Spring 1935
Summer/Autumn 1935
100
How did Billie Jo get her name?
Her father wanted a boy.
100
What does Billie Jo do for comfort?
Billie Jo plays the piano.
100
How does Mad Dog treat Billie Jo after the accident?
Mad Dog treats Billie Jo the same as he did before the accident..like a friend.
100
What are the spots that Billie Jo's father has on his skin?
The spots on Bayard's are skin cancer.
100
Who does Billie Jo compare to the man in the boxcar?
She compares him to a tumbleweed, like her mother.
200
Who is Livie and how does Billie Jo feel about her leaving?
Billie Jo is sad and jealous about her best friend leaving.
200
What are Ma's ideas for the farm?
Polly wants to create a pond and plant other crops, such as sorghum and cotton.
200
Why doesn't Billie Jo want the paintings at the exhibit put away?
The paintings remind her of her mother.
200
How does Billie Jo feel about Mad Dog Craddock now?
Billie Jo is surprised that Mad Dog doesn't want to leave the Dust Bowl.
200
What was Billie Jo able to do for the first time since her mother died?
For the first time since her mother died, Billie Jo was able to forgive her father and call him"Daddy" again.
300
What happened when Mr. Hardly gave Billie Jo the wrong change at the store?
Ma made Billie Jo return the extra change to Mr. Hardly.
300
What causes the accident?
A series of mistakes: Pa left a bucket of kerosene by the stove, Ma thought it was water and threw it on the stove to put out a fire and it caught on fire instead; trying to save the house, Billie Jo didn't know her mother was returning to the house when she threw the bucket outside. She and Ma were severely burned.
300
How does Billie Jo feel about getting 3rd place in the competition and how do her hands feel afterwards?
Billie Jo is elated that she placed 3rd in the competition even though she could not lift her hands afterwards.
300
Why do you think Pa saved Aunt Ellis's invitation?
Pa thought Billie Jo might want to go to Texas, but he didn't want her to go.
300
What is the significance of poppies in the novel and where have we seen them?
Poppies grew on the graves of Ma and Franklin and on the soldiers' graves in France; they represent remembrance.
400
Describe Billie Jo's relationship with her parents at this point in the novel.
Billie Jo and her parents work together, but they are not affectionate.
400
What does Pa do after Ma is burned so badly?
Bayard starts getting drunk every night.
400
Why was Billie Jo desperate to get home during the dust storm?
She doesn't want her father to get lost looking for her.
400
Why does Billie Jo notice that Mad Dog's hands aren't scarred?
His hands remind her of what she has lost.
400
What is the climax of the novel?
Billie Jo decides to return home after running away; she found that all that she needed was back with her father.
500
How did Billie Jo do on the state tests and how does her mom react to the news?
Billie Jo scores the highest in the state for her grade; her mother says, "I knew you could do it," without even a pat on the back.
500
What creature is responsible for the Damaged and how is that meaningful considering what happened?
Grasshoppers destroy what is left of the crops; Ma dies giving birth to the baby.
500
When Billie Jo does well on the state tests again and she thinks back to her mother's reaction the first time, how does she feel now?
Even though Billie Jo wanted her mother to show more excitement the first time, she would give anything to hear her mother say again, "I knew you could do it."
500
Why would someone leave a baby in the church?
People were having trouble feeding themselves and hated to see a baby starve...or the parents might have died.
500
Describe Billie Jo and Pa's relationship at the end of the novel.
Billie Jo and her father are much closer by the end of the novel; they talk to and listen to each other.
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