How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Stanza)
Quote #1
From the earliest I can remember / I've been restless in this / little Panhandle shack we call home. (1.4)
Billie Jo's itchy feet didn't start because of the dust storms or even Ma's death—her desire to book it has been building for a while. While their small house is the only home she knows, she seems to have always been dissatisfied with her life and desiring something more.
Quote #2
Now Livie's gone west, / out of the dust, / on her way to California, / where the wind takes a rest sometimes. / And I'm wondering what kind of friend I am, / wanting my feet on that road to another place / instead of Livie's. (3.6)
Billie Jo might be jealous that Livie gets to leave while she has to stay, but she doesn't have the whole story on why the family is leaving. They're not going away to California for kicks and giggles, but because their farm has failed and they don't have a choice. Unaware of this, Billie Jo sees the move as an adventure her friend gets to take instead of her.
Quote #3
Someday, / I plan to play for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt / himself. / Maybe I'll go all the way to the White House in / Washington, D.C. (7.2)
Billie Jo's grand plans to see other places reveals her dissatisfaction with her current life.
Quote #4
We shake out our napkins, / spread them on our laps, / and flip over our glasses and plates, / exposing neat circles, / round comments / on what life would be without dust. (11.3)
The fact that there's no escaping dust for this family is a huge part of Billie Jo's dissatisfaction. Seeing the dustless circles on the table is a reminder that life could much easier—not to mention cleaner.
Quote #5
My father will stay no matter what, / he's stubborn as sod. / He and the land have a hold on each other. / But what about me? (40.4)
Along with dissatisfaction, Billie Jo seems to have a selfish streak. When you think about it, it makes sense that Daddy wouldn't want to leave the home he built with Ma. Instead of seeing things from his point of view, Billie Jo's tunnel vision on leaving seems to just get narrower.
Quote #6
Mrs. Love is taking applications / for boys to do CCC work. / Any boy between eighteen and twenty-eight can join. / I'm too young / and the wrong sex / but what I wouldn't give to be / working for the CCC / somewhere far from here / out of the dust. (92.3)
Having been raised to do farm work with her dad, she's probably just as strong and capable as any boy. The fact that there's an opportunity to get out and work for the government that she's not qualified for only makes Billie Jo more desperate to leave. It also probably stings a little that they only want boys—a reminder of the son her father never had.
Quote #7
I tried cheering for Mad Dog with everyone else, / but my throat / felt like a trap had / snapped down on it. / That Mad Dog, he didn't have / a thing to worry about. / He sang good, all right. / He'll go as far as he wants. (93.5-6)
Billie Jo's mind is so clouded by her desire to get away that she can't even be happy when something good happens to her friend. In this case, her bad feelings toward Mad Dog stem from a couple of different reasons—while she's jealous that Mad Dog is playing music when she can't, she's also envious of him getting a ticket out of Oklahoma.
Quote #8
The poppies set to / bloom on Ma and Franklin's grave, / the morning with the whole day waiting, / full of promise, / the night / of quiet, of no expectations, of rest. (108.1)
This whole chapter, titled "Thanksgiving List," actually demonstrates how much Billie Jo has grown throughout the book. Rather than being thoroughly dissatisfied with her environment and having itchy feet, she now finds tons of things to be thankful for in spite of the difficulties she's faced.
Quote #9
And I know now that all the time I was trying to get / out of the dust, / the fact is, / what I am, / I am because of the dust. / And what I am is good enough. / Even for me. (109.2)
Like most fourteen-year-old girls, Billie Jo is pretty critical of herself. Realizing that she needs to accept herself for who she is and see her hardship as something that's strengthened her are pretty huge epiphanies.
Quote #10
And I'm learning, watching Daddy, that you can stay / in one place / and still grow. (111.5)
While Billie Jo began the story "restless" (1.4), she's now firmly planted in the place where her family's roots are. (See what we did there?) Not only that, but she's also realized that getting away isn't going to make her a better musician or even a better person—she can be nourished and bloom right where she is. (Okay seriously, enough with the plant metaphors. We promise we're done now.)