Before We Were Free

Alvarez, J. (2002). Before we were free . New York: A. Knopf.

Before We Were Free is a 2004 Pura Belpre Award winning book about life in the Dominican Republic under the rule of a cruel dictator.

Exposition:

The story is told in first person point of view.  The story begins in 1960 in the Dominican Republic with a girl of nearly twelve as the narrator.

Conflict:

The country is a dangerous place to live.  The dictator, General Trujillo, is cruel and merciless.  Anita's family is involved in a secret plot to overthrow the government.

Rising Action:

The secret police watch Anita's family closely.  Her Tio Toni is missing because he was involved in a plot to overthrow the government.  She later finds out that he is in hiding.  There are secrets everywhere and everyone is tense.  Most of Anita's family flee the country to live in the United States.  Her father and uncle stay to continue with their dangerous cause. 

Climax:

Anita's father and other members of his group assassinate the dictator, but things do not go as planned and the dictator's son and the secret police take control of the country.  Anita's father and uncle are arrested.

Falling Action:

Anita, her mother, and her brother go into hiding until they can be smuggled out of the country to safety.  They hope for news of her father and uncle, but when it finally comes, they find that they have been executed.

Resolution:

Anita decides to try to be free in her new country.

Literary Elements:

Symbolism, metaphor and similes are all important aspects of this story.  The group that Anita's father belongs to is called the Butterflies.  Butterflies represent hope and freedom to everyone in the country at the time.  Anita's nanny and her father both keep telling her to fly away and be free.  Anita metaphorically becomes the butterfly and is given wings.  She learns that being in a free country does not mean you are free unless you feel free inside "like an uncaged bird" (Alvarez, 2002, p. 162).  Forshadowing is also used in the novel.  Anita's nanny dreams of the future and tells Anita that she, her mother, brother and sister will fly to freedom.  She does not tell Anita that her father and uncle will fly to freedom, which suggests early on that something will happen to them.