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Chapter Two
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Before We Were Free, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Coming of Age and Political Consciousness
Adulthood, Childhood, and Fear
Family and Politics
Storytelling and Trauma
Summary
Analysis
With the Washburns next door and the SIM gone, Mami and Papi decide that the children can go back to school. Mami makes them promise to not talk to anyone about what happened—even to Sam and Susie. Susie and Lucinda are now great friends. Mundín is not concerned that he didn’t get a new friend, since Papi now gives him more responsibility and lets him practice driving around the compound. Mundín goes silent, though, when Papi reminds him that he’ll be the man of the house if Papi dies.
While at the beginning of the book, it seemed to be primarily the adults who were keeping secrets, now the whole family is participating. This further shows Anita moving towards maturity—she now has a responsibility to be silent and deceptive, just as her parents were to her. Papi’s reminder to Mundín is a way to make the case that it’s honorable to protect one’s family—and to drive home, yet again, the seriousness of the situation and the importance of staying quiet.
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Later, Anita seeks out Lucinda. She is concerned with what to tell her classmates about why she missed so much school, and Lucinda tells her to say they had the chicken pox. She explains that Mami didn’t let them go to school because lots of scary things happened to other people, like raids, arrests, and accidents. Anita mentions “some accident with butterflies,” but Lucinda corrects that it’s the Butterflies—and their death wasn’t an accident. Anita is suddenly afraid to go to school, even though Lucinda insists the Americans are their friends.
Lucinda has become Anita’s best source of secret information. Even though her parents have chosen not to provide this information, Lucinda is not irresponsible for sharing it with Anita; while it scares Anita to hear these things, it also helps her to understand why it’s important that she do what her family says. Perhaps Lucinda understands that Anita is getting old enough that she may not obey without some understanding as to why she should. Anita is particularly terrified to hear that the Butterflies were assassinated; this makes her fear that she too is at risk.
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Having the Washburns around seems to calm Mami down. The rent they pay is also good for the family finances since the business isn’t doing well because of the embargo. Anita doesn’t know what an embargo is, but it causes her parents to sell furniture. It helps that Mami makes friends with Mrs. Washburn and starts a canasta group. This means that there’s often a group of ladies on the patio, playing cards. The new maid Lorena serves lemonade and clears ashtrays during the games, but Mami tells Anita to be careful what she says around Lorena. Mami won’t explain why, so Anita just figures you can’t trust a maid who hasn’t changed your diapers. Anita and Sam continue to check on Tío Toni’s house. Although the padlock is back on the door, there are piles of fresh cigarette butts outside.
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Fortunately, Anita’s two-week absence isn’t as exciting for her classmates as Christmas and Sam’s arrival are. American girls giggle about Sam, which makes Anita jealous. Sam isn’t her boyfriend, but he is her best friend now. After Mrs. Brown introduces Sam, she announces that they’re going to play a Secret Santa game for Christmas. She ignores Oscar’s hand until she’s done explaining the rules and then answers his question about what happens if a person draws their own name. At this, Anita thinks that Oscar is “sort of smart.” He’s only half Dominican; his father is Italian and works at the Italian embassy. Anita is excited about Secret Santa and hopes she’ll draw Sam’s name. Instead, she draws Oscar’s.
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The next day, Mrs. Brown announces that since some parents complained about Secret Santa, she’s canceling the game. At recess, Anita discovers that only Dominican parents complained. Anita isn’t surprised; she figures the Dominican parents dislike the game on religious grounds. But it turns out that the Dominican parents think there’s enough tension in the air without kids sneaking around and keeping secrets from one another that might be misinterpreted. Oscar explains to an exasperated American girl that it’s about the embargo. He says that many countries, including the U.S., don’t want anything to do with the Dominican Republic. Oscar can’t explain the embargo in any more detail, so the girls storm away to play with Sam. At supper that night, Anita learns that her parents were some of those who complained.
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The next day, Mrs. Brown explains what an embargo is. She describes it as what happens when a group of countries disapproves of another country, so they refuse to do business with that country until things improve. American students have questions about whether they’ll be taken prisoner, but Mrs. Brown assures them that the U.S. and the Dominican Republic want to be friends. She likens the embargo to how parents ground teenagers. To Anita, this sounds like her parents’ “punishment chair.” But when a Dominican student asks what the Dominican Republic did wrong, Mrs. Brown won’t answer.
Anita is too shy to hang out with Sam at school, but they’re good friends at home. She tells him all about the compound and even shows him Chucha’s coffin. Sam is impressed and asks why the velvet lining is ripped. Anita can’t mention the SIM raid, so Sam comes up with his own explanation: Chucha had to claw her way out after the lid closed on her. Anita decides that Mami is right about there being too many secrets. One afternoon, for instance, she sees Chucha heading toward Tío Toni’s house with food. At other times, Anita answers the phone but the caller hangs up. Once, a caller asks for Papi. Anita stays on the phone as Papi takes the call in his study. The men talk about waiting for Mr. Smith’s tennis shoes, which will be at Wimpy’s. Wimpy’s is a fancy grocery store.
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When school gets out for the holidays, Anita is excited: her birthday is right before Christmas. Mami offers to invite Sam over, but Anita refuses—she told him she already turned 12. Mami is known for her fancy cakes, but the cake is a disappointment since the embargo prevents her from getting the right flour or food coloring. The embargo means the family also can’t get things like red apples, walnuts, or candy canes. In addition, Anita will get only one gift this year. When Mami hints that gold is too expensive, Anita asks for a diary instead of a charm.
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On the Saturday before Christmas, the family goes shopping at a market. Seeing the merchants’ children in rags makes Anita feel both ashamed and lucky. Papi grouses that this country needs to educate everyone, and although Mami shushes him, she looks proud. Monsito, the boy who helps the family carry their bags, is about Anita’s size. But when Mami asks how old he is, he looks worried. He says he’s 16. Mami tells Anita that he might actually be 16—poor kids don’t eat well and don’t grow. On the way home, the family stops at Wimpy’s for an apple. Anita looks for tennis shoes, but she doesn’t see any. Papi goes into the back office with Wimpy, the store’s owner. Later, when the family is ready to go, Anita finds Papi and Wimpy talking by the car. Chucha sits in the backseat, looking murderous.
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Back at home, the family decorates the house. They hang a Santa face by the portrait of El Jefe, and Anita notices Papi throwing the portrait of Trujillo dirty looks. On Christmas eve, Papi and Mami throw an all-night party. They invite the Washburns and Oscar’s parents, since Mrs. Mancini and Mami just realized they’re related. Before the guests arrive, Anita’s parents receive a call from Mamita and Papito and everyone else in New York. Then, Anita helps Lorena and Chucha serve at the party. She notices that when Papi raises a toast, Mami looks nervously at Lorena. Papi amends his toast to wish peace and liberty on everyone in the world, not just his friends.
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Later, Mrs. Washburn asks Anita what she wants from Santa Claus. Anita has to bite her tongue—she’s small for 12, but she’s wearing a pair of hand-me-down heels and makeup. She feels very adult and resents being treated like a child. That night, Anita dreams that Santa arrives in a black Volkswagen and is knocking on the door. She knows she must let Santa in. The house is silent as Anita gets up and sees a light on in Tío Toni’s house. Anita feels sleepy and joyful, like she’s still a little kid.
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