Characters I
This character is the narrator of the story.
Who is Anita de la Torre?
At the beginning of the story, this character has been missing for several months.
Who is Tio Toni?
What is an American school?
The Washburns move into the compound to help Anita's family avoid interference from this organization.
What are the SIM?
This is the name of the author of Before We Were Free.
Who is Julia Alvarez?
This character, who dies a hero at the the end of the story, leaves behind his wife and three children.
Who is Papi/Mundo?
This character is known for dressing only in purple, sleeping in a coffin, and speaking in unusual sayings.
After Papi and Tio Toni are arrested, Anita and her mother hide from the government in this location.
What is the Mancinis' closet?
The night after the Garcias leave the Dominican Republic, Anita finds this item that Carla had left behind in her bed.
What is an eraser in the shape of the Dominican Republic?
Before We Were Free is written in this perspective.
What is first person?
Anita goes from seeing this character her annoying and overly curious classmate to seeing him as the only person her age who understanding her.
Who is Oscar Mancini?
Anita initially had a crush on this character but eventually came to see him as immature and naive.
Who is Sam Washburn?
Anita overhears a phone conversation in which her father hears that these real life revolutionaries have been murdered in a staged car accident.
Who are the Mirabal sisters/the Butterflies/las Mariposas?
During Anita's time in hiding, she and Oscar share a secret line of communication in which they pass this item back and forth.
What is the queen of hearts card?
Before We Were Free takes place over the course of one year that begins in this month/year and ends in this month/year.
What are November 1960 and November 1961?
Before this character's sudden departure for the United States, she and Anita were in the same class at school.
This event that was meant to take place in Anita's class was cancelled due to Dominican parents' concerns for their children.
What is "Secret Santa"?
Mami warns her friends to be careful about what they say out loud because she suspects that this person may be a spy.
Who is Lorena (the new maid)?
Before We Were Free is an example of this literary genre, in which fictional characters are placed in a real setting among real historical figures and events.
What is historical fiction?
This character has a quinceanera on the compound.
Who is Susie Washburn?
This character, who owns an American grocery store, helps Anita and her mother escape from the Dominican Republic after months in hiding.
Who is Wimpy?
While preparing for Christmas, Anita's parents have a hard time finding certain items because the United States has placed this trade restriction on the Dominican Republic.
What is an embargo?
Anita's school has an extended Christmas break due to this historical event that is happening in the United States.
What is the inauguration of John F. Kennedy?
In Before We Were Free, butterflies symbolize this.
What is freedom?
or
What is hope?