Themes
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.
Themes
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.
Themes
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.
An embargo is a restriction on trade between countries. During Trujillo’s rule, he orchestrated a (failed) plot to assassinate the President of Venezuela. Because of this, many countries imposed economic sanctions on the DR—including trade embargoes. This passage shows that diplomatic measures like trade embargoes unintentionally punish civilians; Anita’s family doesn’t support the Trujillo regime at all, let alone the plot to destabilize Venezuela. Nonetheless, they pay the price, even having to sell their furniture to make ends meet. The idea that Anita can’t trust a maid who didn’t change her diapers is a reference to Chucha, who has been with Anita’s family for two generations and is implicitly trustworthy. But Anita’s assumption that they can’t trust Lorena just because she’s unfamiliar is overly simplistic. Just as they feared that the house might be bugged, it seems that they fear that Lorena might not be loyal to the family, but to Trujillo's government, and she might be there to spy.
Themes
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.
While Anita worried that her classmates would ask a lot of questions about her absence, this proves untrue, showing that not everyone is as curious and perceptive as she is. Anita starts to appreciate Oscar , since she too has a lot of questions that people seem reluctant to answer. When Anita notes that she feels jealous about Sam at school, it suggests that she’s developing romantic feelings for him. This points to her growing maturity.
Themes
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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.
It’s new, important information that the Dominican parents canceled Secret Santa because it requires being secretive and they believe that their children being openly secretive at school might put their families in danger. It is, of course, ironic that these families do not want their children to do a secretive activity, since Anita’s parents (and presumably many other Dominican parents) have been so secretive lately—but it's precisely this need to be secretive at home that makes these parents not want their children to seem secretive or sneaky at school. It’s also telling that the Dominican families take this so much more seriously than the American families. The American parents and students seem not to understand the seriousness and danger of the current political situation, since they cannot imagine that a child’s behavior could have anything to do with politics or that a children’s game could endanger families.
Themes
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.
Here, Mrs. Brown is trying to explain a complex political situation to children, so it makes sense that her metaphors would be a little simplistic. However, this is another example (like when Oscar asked about the Thanksgiving skit) of Mrs. Brown refusing to answer any questions that might be politically controversial. While the Thanksgiving situation seemed like Mrs. Brown blatantly not wanting to criticize America, this one is a little more complicated—it’s possible that she, too, feels that she cannot speak freely in her classroom, even if she wanted to explain the cause of the embargo (which has to do with Trujillo’s policies). Mrs. Brown probably isn’t allowed to say anything critical of the government, so she stays silent to protect herself and her students.
Themes
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.
While Anita and Sam are growing closer, the need to keep secrets creates some barriers between them that Anita regrets—she wants to share everything with him, an indication of her growing romantic feelings. Despite Anita’s youth, she’s a keen observer of what’s happening around the house, and it’s clear that something is afoot. Since Chucha is bringing food to what otherwise seems like an empty house, it would appear that the family might be secretly harboring Tío Toni. Anita cannot make any sense of the comments about the tennis shoes. From hearing her father talk in code, though, it’s clear to her that they’re still in danger and that there’s a lot she still doesn’t understand.
Themes
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.
Anita told Sam she’s already 12 because she wants to appear older and more mature to him. This is an indication of her romantic feelings, and also of her growing comfort with secrecy and deception. When it comes to Anita’s birthday cake and the Christmas treats, Anita again must confront the fact that politics and her personal life are deeply connected. Politics influence what her family eats and what they can afford to buy as gifts. Again, this shows how when countries punish other countries for the behavior of their leaders, innocent civilians suffer.
Themes
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.
Even if Anita’s family is struggling a bit with money right now, Anita can still tell that her family is better off than many people in the Dominican Republic. The merchants are struggling in particular, since the embargo has profoundly disrupted the country’s economic conditions. Here, she gets a taste of Papi’s reasons for getting into politics: he believes it’s necessary to help everyone achieve the kind of success that his family has achieved. Everyone, he believes, should be able to eat and go to school. Mami’s shushing, however, suggests that this is a controversial view—one that might get them in trouble if overheard.
Themes
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.
Again, Anita is a particularly observant child, so she notices the odd things happening with her parents. Seeing Papi throw dirty looks at Trujillo’s portrait reinforces that Papi doesn’t support the dictator. Meanwhile, watching Mami seem to encourage Papi to change his toast when Lorena is around reminds Anita that the family doesn’t trust Lorena and the government might be more involved in the family’s lives than it seems. By not singling out the Dominican Republic in his toast, Papi makes his toast general and meaningless—but it’s safer in this political climate.
Themes
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.
Anita wants to look as adult as possible, hence the heels and the makeup, and when Mrs. Washburn acts like Anita still believes in Santa, it feels like an assault on her dignity—of course she’s not young enough for that anymore! At this point, she finds herself in an in-between state—she’s not grown up enough to be treated like an adult, but she feels too adult to accept being treated like a child—especially with all the new information and circumstances that she has lately been processing. Her dream is both a stress dream that compares Santa to an unwelcome government official and a happy dream about the holidays, reflecting Anita’s confusion about the situation she’s in and the politics of the moment.
Themes
