Anita de la Torre was just another seventh-grade girl. Like any child, she had the right to her family and an innocent childhood, but in 1960, the year her father began talking in code, and her relatives started leaving for the United States, or just disappearing, Anita lost the gift of a normal life. Before We Were Free, an award-winning 2002 novel, explores the hopes and fears of a child coming of age in a brewing revolution, and the faith of a Dominican girl that her family would pull through a violent dictatorship. The story of what happens to children when their parents fight a war is told in a heartfelt, tense diary that has readers hoping for Anita all the way. But when her family takes part in an assassination plot, Anita and her mother are forced into hiding. - by Emma
1. Early in the story, Anita is sheltered in her family compound and doesn’t realize the severity of the political situation in her country. When she learns the truth, she's shocked. How have your perceptions and feelings about government, society, and the world changed as you've gotten older? Do you wish you’d known more–or less–about world events?
2. What role does American culture play in this novel? Why do you think Anita and her family recognize American holidays, such as Thanksgiving? How does the Dominican quinceañera compare to the American “Sweet Sixteen”? In what ways have traditions from different places or cultures mixed in your life?
3. Throughout the book, Anita watches her mother to judge the situation in the compound. Without any direct source of information, this is the only way she can try to figure out what is going on. Has there ever been a time when you've needed to watch someone else's reaction, or interpret their behavior, to understand a situation?
We welcome your thoughts and reflections on the questions below.
1. Early in the story, Anita is sheltered in her family compound and doesn’t realize the severity of the political situation in her country. When she learns the truth, she's shocked. How have your perceptions and feelings about government, society, and the world changed as you've gotten older? Do you wish you’d known more–or less–about world events?
2. What role does American culture play in this novel? Why do you think Anita and her family recognize American holidays, such as Thanksgiving? How does the Dominican quinceañera compare to the American “Sweet Sixteen”? In what ways have traditions from different places or cultures mixed in your life?
3. Throughout the book, Anita watches her mother to judge the situation in the compound. Without any direct source of information, this is the only way she can try to figure out what is going on. Has there ever been a time when you've needed to watch someone else's reaction, or interpret their behavior, to understand a situation?
Learn more about the author, Julia Alvarez at her website: http://www.juliaalvarez.com/about/vita.php
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