Before We Were Free

by

Julia Alvarez

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Before We Were Free makes teaching easy.

Susie Washburn Character Analysis

Susie is Sam’s older sister; she turns 15 in the spring of 1961. Anita doesn’t know Susie well, as Susie becomes close friends with Lucinda and the older girls don’t care to play with Anita, but Anita does help convince Susie to talk to her parents about throwing her a quinceañera party. Not long after, Susie and Lucinda have to flee the country.

Susie Washburn Quotes in Before We Were Free

The Before We Were Free quotes below are all either spoken by Susie Washburn or refer to Susie Washburn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age and Political Consciousness Theme Icon
).
Chapter Six Quotes

Not even the thought of falling in love with Sam is a consolation anymore. Overnight, all boys (except for Papi and Tío Toni and Mundín) have become totally gross. Here’s an old lech flirting with my sister. Here are Oscar and Sam drinking liquor and throwing up. If only I could be like Joan of Arc, cut off my hair and dress like a boy, just to be on the safe side. Or even better, if only I could go backward to eleven, instead of forward to thirteen!

Related Characters: Anita (speaker), Papi, Sam Washburn, Lucinda, Mundín, Trujillo/El Jefe/Mr. Smith, Tío Toni, Oscar Mancini, Susie Washburn
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Before We Were Free LitChart as a printable PDF.
Before We Were Free PDF

Susie Washburn Quotes in Before We Were Free

The Before We Were Free quotes below are all either spoken by Susie Washburn or refer to Susie Washburn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age and Political Consciousness Theme Icon
).
Chapter Six Quotes

Not even the thought of falling in love with Sam is a consolation anymore. Overnight, all boys (except for Papi and Tío Toni and Mundín) have become totally gross. Here’s an old lech flirting with my sister. Here are Oscar and Sam drinking liquor and throwing up. If only I could be like Joan of Arc, cut off my hair and dress like a boy, just to be on the safe side. Or even better, if only I could go backward to eleven, instead of forward to thirteen!

Related Characters: Anita (speaker), Papi, Sam Washburn, Lucinda, Mundín, Trujillo/El Jefe/Mr. Smith, Tío Toni, Oscar Mancini, Susie Washburn
Page Number: 71
Explanation and Analysis: