Analysis Of The Dominican Republic By Julia Alvarez

Zykeria Adams

Mrs. Brown

Adv. Language/Literature

16 December 2016

Julia Alvarez

The Dominican Republic elected Dictator Rafael Trujillo and Julia Alvarez mother preferred him over President Truman so at four months Julia’s family moved back to the Dominican Republic. Julia experience as a child living in Dominican Republic at the time was similar to the main character of Before we were Free.

Throughout her life, Julia has had a family that has tried to protect her and help her understand what is going on around them. Anita, the main character, has an older sister just like Alvarez more helpful with trying to make her understand situations going on around them. “” Why are you whispering?” In fact, everyone has been talking in whispers and

“Alvarez is latino” (Alvarez/ Galileo) and expressive her Spanish in Before we were free “ We make a quick stop at Wimpy’s to pick up one apple to put in the mouth of the roasted pig and a few dates for the delicious bread pudding, pudin de pan, we always eat on Christmas Day. “ Luxuries for Nochebuena,” Mami explains.” (Alvarez 38) “Julia book also shows she is catholic” (Alvarez/ Galileo): “ I’m not surprised the complaints have come from Dominican parents, many of whom don’t like the idea of Santa Claus’s replacing the three wise kings.”( Alvarez 32). Alvarez parents were raised in different environments affecting how she grew up, “Her mother came from a well-positioned and wealthy family, but her father was rather poor. The family’s divided economic position was tied to political problems within the Dominican Republic. Her father’s family, which once was wealthy, supported the wrong side during the revolution and her mother’s family benefited by supporting those who gained power. Julia’s family, although poorer than most of their relatives, enjoyed a privileged position in the Dominican Republic.”(Alvarez/Galileo) School in the Dominican Republic did not affect how Julia was raised the same as Anita, because they both would learn about the United States, “Although the Pilgrims never came to the Dominican Republic, we are attending the American

Anita and Julia have very similar problems, because Anita uncle and father did not like Dictator Trujillo and also made plans to assassinate him. In Anita story there was many secret before she find out the plan about her uncle be in hiding to from being arrested for trying to assassinate the dictator, “ As we come in view of the casita, I stop in my tracks as if I’ve seen a ghost. The door to Tio Toni casita is opened a crack!....... “It’s not supposed to be open,” I whisper. The casita has been shut up since late summer, when Tio Toni disappeared.” ( Alvarez 24) Secrets were still going around making Anita more confused about what is going on, “ I could make a long list just of secrets in our compound: my cousin’s sudden departure, the SIM’s two-week stay in our driveway, the intruder in Tio Toni casita, the fresh footprints, the cigarette butts by the porch. One day, I bump into Chucha hurrying toward the back of the property, carrying food tins stacked in a carrier.” The police raided Anita house to try to find her uncle and cousins, but they did not find anything but they did try to plant bugs throughout the house, “ On Lorena’s day off, two men come over from the consulate to check the whole house for bugs. And I don’t mean insects, either. The SIM like to hide little devices in the house so they can listen in on what you say.” (