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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
Anita takes to spending most of her time playing cards with Sam. Though the kids are back in school, they don’t go anywhere else. One afternoon, Susie and Lucinda join Anita and Sam for a game, since they’re also bored. When Anita asks why parents aren’t letting their daughters out, Susie giggles and says it’s because of Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith isn’t this man’s real name, but he’s powerful and likes young girls. If he sees a girl he wants, he’ll get her. Anita shudders and notices that Lucinda is scratching the rash on her neck. Lucinda changes the subject to Susie’s upcoming 15th birthday. Susie moans that they can’t go anywhere to celebrate, but Sam suggests they have a party here. Susie thinks this is a great idea.
It’s significant that Susie giggles when she talks about Mr. Smith targeting young girls, especially when both Anita and Lucinda seem disturbed. It may be that Susie doesn’t grasp the implication that Mr. Smith rapes girls, but it could also be that she, as an American, isn’t at risk. Mr. Smith has come up before when Papi spoke in code about Mr. Smith’s tennis shoes, so this is one piece of that puzzle, but it’s still not clear who he is or what it all means. It’s also significant that Lucinda is getting a rash on her neck—that rash also appeared when the SIM searched her bedroom, and it’s a clear sign that she’s feeling overwhelmed and scared. Despite Mr. Smith’s wandering eye and the other political turmoil, though, life goes on—Susie still wants to celebrate her birthday like a normal kid.
Themes
Later, Susie explains to Anita and Lucinda how she convinced her parents to throw her a quinceañera party. Anita usually gets sent away when Lucinda is with her friends, so Anita is happy to be included in this conversation; she wonders if Lucinda thinks of her as a “potential friend” now. Over the next two weeks, the Washburns hire gardeners to spruce up the property. The canasta group makes invitations and favors, while Mr. Washburn hires a band. He explains that it would have been impossible to throw a small party; as the consul, he can’t offend anyone. Lucinda and Mami settle on a yellow strapless dress on the condition that Lucinda wears a shawl. Meanwhile, Mami reminds Anita that it’s an exception that she, as a young girl, gets to attend at all. Anita thinks that if Mami knew she loved Sam, Mami wouldn’t let her go.
It’s a big deal for Anita to be included in Susie and Lucinda’s conversation. To her, this is proof that she’s getting older and more mature. Mami, however, makes the case that Anita is still a child and should expect to be treated as such most of the time. This party is an exception and Anita shouldn’t get used to it. It’s concerning, though, that the party turns out to be so large. This suggests that even if it’s supposed to be a family birthday party, politics are still going to play a role.
Themes
Now that Tío Toni is back and it’s not as much of a secret, people drop by every night to see him. Mr. Washburn usually joins the group. Toni eats supper with Anita’s family and tells them all about his last few months running from safe house to safe house. He’s nervous and jumps at everything. When he notices Lucinda’s rash and Mundín’s bitten nails, he laments that kids can’t be kids in this country. Papi nods and says they need democracy, but Mami shoots him a look. They have to be careful what they say since they recently caught Lorena “cleaning” in Papi’s desk. Anita thinks that Papi and Toni are brave. She wants to be brave like Joan of Arc, but she hasn’t heard a voice telling her what to do yet.
Tío Toni sees Lucinda’s rash and Mundín’s nervous habit as proof that they’re being forced to grow up too fast—they’re just kids and they shouldn’t have to handle all of this stress. This then raises the question of Anita’s maturity, since she doesn’t exhibit the same kinds of nervous rashes or tics that her siblings do. It’s likely that Anita simply doesn’t know enough about what’s going on yet to develop these issues, suggesting that things are worse even than they seem. It has meanwhile become clearer and clearer that Lorena is spying on them, and for Papi to merely approve of democracy would potentially endanger them, showing just how repressive this regime really is.
Themes
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At dinner one night, Tío Toni asks about the party. He reveals that he’s not coming; it wouldn’t look good for Mr. Washburn if Toni showed up. He comments that Lucinda will be the belle of the ball, while Anita isn’t far behind. He calls Anita a señorita. Anita tells the reader she’s not a señorita yet, but her breasts hurt and have begun to grow. She’s also totally in love with Sam. As Toni bids everyone goodnight, he hugs Lucinda and Anita and tells his “two butterflies” to take care of each other.
The fact that Tío Toni isn’t going to come to the party for Mr. Washburn’s sake drives home that this may be a birthday party, but it’s also an important political event. Mr. Washburn has to look like a diplomat who plays by every rule, and it’s in Toni’s best interest to help him maintain that illusion. When Anita says that she is not a señorita yet, she means that she has not yet gotten her period, but that seems imminent based on the other changes happening in her body. She’s on the cusp of maturity in every way right now; she knows, to some extent, what the political situations in her country and her family are, but soon she will know much more. Calling the girls butterflies suggests that Toni sees them as the future of the resistance movement.
Themes
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A few days later, on Lorena’s day off, two men from the consulate come to check for SIM devices. Anita is confused, but Lucinda insinuates that they’re concerned about Lorena. During Mami’s canasta game later, the women discuss Lorena. When Mami says that Lorena came from the Domestic Academy, Mrs. Mancini whispers that the Domestic Academy is a SIM training facility; they train maids to be spies. Anita listens to this conversation from behind the doorway and jumps when Chucha appears. Anita realizes that if she’s going to spy, she has to watch out for other spies like Chucha.
What Anita learns from the canasta ladies drives home for her that she can’t trust anyone but her family members and Chucha. Further, the fact that Lorena might be a SIM spy makes it clear that the political finds its way into people’s homes, no matter what—Lorena works intimately with Anita’s family, after all. Indeed, Trujillo and the SIM recognize the power of being in people’s homes, where they believe their conversations are private. This inspires Anita to embrace spying for herself; it’s one way that she can piece together what’s going on.
Themes
The night of the party coincides with the Dominican Republic’s independence day. Lucinda gets ready with Susie at the Washburns’; Anita has to wait in the kitchen as Mami, Chucha, and Lorena fry extra batches of pastelitos (pastries). When the first batch is done, Mami tells Lorena to take the pastelitos to the party. As soon as Lorena is gone, Mami calls that the coast is clear. Papi, Mundín, and some other men head down the path toward Tío Toni’s house. Finally, when Mami is done frying, she puts on her long black gown and helps Anita into Lucinda’s old blue dress. Anita consents to lipstick but refuses the hairspray—Sam doesn’t like hairspray. The heels she wore at Christmas don’t fit, so Anita settles for blue flats.
It’s maddening for Anita to have to wait with Mami, Chucha, and Lorena when all she wants to do is attend the party and feel grown up. But staying back has its benefits—she sees firsthand how much Mami doesn’t trust Lorena, and she may suspect that there’s something going on at Tío Toni’s tonight. As she puts herself together, Anita experiments with how to make herself most attractive to Sam. Tellingly, she never says if she wants hairspray—it’s more important to impress Sam than to consider if she would like hairspray herself.
Themes
Anita and Mami walk to the party with Lorena and Chucha. They all have platters of food. But when Mami sees a line of Volkswagens pulling up, she says in an odd voice that she forgot her shawl. She asks Chucha and Lorena to take the platters while she runs back to the house. As soon as Chucha and Lorena start down the path, Mami tells Anita to go to Tío Toni and say that Mr. Smith’s friends have arrived. Anita thinks that now she can be like Joan of Arc. She runs all the way and repeats the message. She doesn’t know what it means, but she remembers Susie saying there’s a Mr. Smith who likes pretty girls. Many of the men take off running. Papi drags Anita to the house and then they walk calmly to the party.
Asking Anita to warn Tío Toni makes Anita feel important and mature, particularly because she gets to protect her family. It also gives her a way to feel like she’s helping with the resistance movement, even if she’s not sure what exactly is going on. And as Anita thinks about all the things she’s heard about Mr. Smith and realizes he must be bad news for Tío Toni, clues begin to point to Mr. Smith being a nefarious government figure. Going to this party marks Anita’s growing social maturity, but it’s clear that this night might become a political coming-of-age too.
Themes
The party is in full swing. People are dressed up and Oscar and Sam take drink orders. Lucinda, Susie, and their friends look like flowers as they sit on lawn chairs. Mami and Mrs. Mancini look around nervously. They seem to relax when they see Papi, though Mami tips her head slightly to point to SIM agents surrounding the patio. Anita grows anxious. Suddenly, someone shouts for attention. An old man covered in military medals steps onto the patio. It’s El Jefe—Mr. Smith. Everyone shouts, “Long live the chief” as fireworks explode.
The revelation that El Jefe is Mr. Smith is perhaps not surprising, but it adds more disturbing information to Anita’s understanding of El Jefe. Now, she has to confront that a man she once worshipped preys on young girls—possibly, young girls like her. This starts to make the political happenings seem even more personal for Anita.
Themes
