The life and development of a young girl. The freedom and rights of people taken away through an unjust use of power. The fight to win it back. These are all crucial components of the novel “Before we Were Free” by Julia Alvarez. The story shows the growth of the young girl, Anita as she slowly comes out of her chrysalis to become a butterfly who struggles to gain back her freedom and to grow the strength to soar high out in the open sky of her home country, the Dominican Republic. This novel expresses three themes, rebellion, freedom and maturation, which are developed throughout the story and allows the reader a unique perspective on a time on in history.
Freedom is a right in everyone’s life. Freedom is something that everyone should have …show more content…
Rebellion for that freedom is one of the major themes of the novel Before we were Free. Anita and her family were living in the Dominican Republic which at that time was ruled by a dictator, El Jefe or otherwise known as Rafael Trujillo. Due to Trujillo’s unjust way of ruling and using his power, Anita’s father, uncle and other members of the family were involved in a plot to rebel against him. The fight for freedom was going on everywhere. The Mirabal sisters were some very important figures in history and they lit the fire of the rebellion. For example, “Everyone called them Las Mariposas, the Butterflies, because they had put wings on all our hearts. Some of your uncles, like Tio Carlos and Tio Toni, joined right away,” (Alvarez 133). Additionally, Anita’s father, Papi, once said, “I want my children to be free, no matter what. Promise me you’ll spread your wings and fly,” (Alvarez 80). From this quote, the reader can see what the driving force of the rebellion was for Papi. He loved his children and he would do whatever it takes for his children to live happily and free. Papi and the members of this rebellion took a grave risk to …show more content…
Freedom is another major theme in the novel. For example, “So whenever I write down something personal, I let it stay written for the rest of the day, like savoring a piece of hard candy before biting down on it. Then, at night, I erase that page to be on the safe side,”(Alvarez 42-43). Anita needs to cautious at all times so she couldn’t even write things that she wanted in her diary. Freedom was speech was denied when they couldn’t say what that wanted to and had to speak in only code and in careful whispers. They had to be wary of people eavesdropping even at the custody of their home. Their freedom of movement was denied multiple times as well. For quite some time, Anita was kept from going to school and she had to keep quiet inside the tight space of a closet. In the closet, Anita had many thoughts on whether or not being free was just something physical. Anita talked about how she felt as if she wasn’t free when she was trapped in her own misery and sorrow. From this statement, the reader can see how that adds on to the theme of freedom because it expresses that freedom is something where can not be achieved only through the physical aspect. The acts of rebellion were done to retrieve the freedom that they once had like to be with their family and live a normal life. Through the brave acts and sacrifices, freedom could be achieved once
Freedom is a right in everyone’s life. Freedom is something that everyone should have …show more content…
Rebellion for that freedom is one of the major themes of the novel Before we were Free. Anita and her family were living in the Dominican Republic which at that time was ruled by a dictator, El Jefe or otherwise known as Rafael Trujillo. Due to Trujillo’s unjust way of ruling and using his power, Anita’s father, uncle and other members of the family were involved in a plot to rebel against him. The fight for freedom was going on everywhere. The Mirabal sisters were some very important figures in history and they lit the fire of the rebellion. For example, “Everyone called them Las Mariposas, the Butterflies, because they had put wings on all our hearts. Some of your uncles, like Tio Carlos and Tio Toni, joined right away,” (Alvarez 133). Additionally, Anita’s father, Papi, once said, “I want my children to be free, no matter what. Promise me you’ll spread your wings and fly,” (Alvarez 80). From this quote, the reader can see what the driving force of the rebellion was for Papi. He loved his children and he would do whatever it takes for his children to live happily and free. Papi and the members of this rebellion took a grave risk to …show more content…
Freedom is another major theme in the novel. For example, “So whenever I write down something personal, I let it stay written for the rest of the day, like savoring a piece of hard candy before biting down on it. Then, at night, I erase that page to be on the safe side,”(Alvarez 42-43). Anita needs to cautious at all times so she couldn’t even write things that she wanted in her diary. Freedom was speech was denied when they couldn’t say what that wanted to and had to speak in only code and in careful whispers. They had to be wary of people eavesdropping even at the custody of their home. Their freedom of movement was denied multiple times as well. For quite some time, Anita was kept from going to school and she had to keep quiet inside the tight space of a closet. In the closet, Anita had many thoughts on whether or not being free was just something physical. Anita talked about how she felt as if she wasn’t free when she was trapped in her own misery and sorrow. From this statement, the reader can see how that adds on to the theme of freedom because it expresses that freedom is something where can not be achieved only through the physical aspect. The acts of rebellion were done to retrieve the freedom that they once had like to be with their family and live a normal life. Through the brave acts and sacrifices, freedom could be achieved once