Major themes in Out of the Dust include loss and forgiveness, family, and the environment. Hesse's thematic messages convey the power of the human spirit to endure and transcend the pain that accompanies adversity and tragedy.
Throughout the novel, loss and grief (which is a reaction to loss) are predominant themes. Billie Jo and her father suffer multiple losses throughout the novel. Billie Jo loses her best friend, Livvie, when Livvie's family moves to California to get away from the dust. Billie Jo loses her mother and newborn baby brother when they die. Billie Jo misses her mother terribly. She cleans the dust and mud out of the house because her mother would have cleaned if she were alive. She regrets that she put off doing things with her mother, such as going through her boxes of memorabilia. She thinks about talking to her mother about daily occurrences, but then, "she remembers," remembers that her mother is dead. People blame Billie Jo for her mother's death, causing Billie Jo to lose self-respect (another loss) and to blame herself.
Billie Jo's hands are badly burned as a result of the accident. She tried to beat out the flames on her mother. Her hands are scarred; to stretch her fingers to play the piano is agony. Billie Jo experiences the loss of her ability to play the piano and the loss of her self-esteem. People no longer see Billie Jo the talented pianist, but instead they feel sorry for her and see the "poor motherless thing."
