How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Stanza)
Quote #7
I don't think she was ever / really meant for farm life, / I think once she had bigger dreams, / but she made herself over / to fit my father. (60.7)
Long before the action of this book began, Ma made a decision to transform herself in order to fit a relationship. This explains why she's so reluctant to let Billie Jo perform in public on the piano—it's a painful reminder of what she gave up.
Quote #8
I thought maybe if my father ever went to Doc Rice / to do something about the spots on his skin, / Doc could check my hands too, / tell me what to do about them. / But my father isn't going to Doc Rice, / and now / I think we're both turning to dust. (89.4)
Here's a thought. Going to the doctor to get fixed up is such a simple thing—even for problems as serious as burned hands and skin cancer. Is it possible that both Daddy and Billie Jo go through a period of their grief where they don't want to be fixed? This is another one of those ambiguous things that comes from reading someone's diary, but that both of them don't act for a while indicates that they could be nursing their pain rather than taking steps to transform it.
Quote #9
She has a way of making my father do things. / When Louise came to dinner, / Daddy got up and cleaned the kitchen when we were / done eating. / He tied an apron around his middle / and he looked silly as a cow / stuck in a hole, / but Louise ignored that, / and I took a lesson from her.
As much as life changed for the worst after Ma died, Daddy's relationship with Louise transforms his life into something good again. The image of Daddy wearing an apron and cleaning the kitchen is very telling—there's no way the embittered, brooding man from several chapters ago would have done this. Billie Jo is learning from Louise too, seeing her quiet, kind way with people and wanting to adopt it.