Discussion Board Novel Alvarez’s Before We Were Free Chapters 5-8

Initial post due before midnight Friday (6 points)
Two replies due before midnight Monday (4 points)

Answer Three Questions Below (two cannot be from the same chapter)
Chapter Five: 

How does “Mr. Smith” instill fear, and therefore power, over the “young, pretty girls”? How must Lucinda alter her behavior in order to remain safe? Explain and use proof from the text as support. 
What does Papi mean by “… democracy is only the beginning. Education is the key”? (Alvarez 58). What about Papi’s background would support this argument? Do you agree or disagree with this claim? Explain and use proof from the text as support. 
Chucha might just be the wisest of all the characters in the novel; she often speaks in riddle such as, “Camarn que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente” (Alvarez 61). What does this riddle mean? Why not speak directly? How does this add to her characterization? Explain and use proof from the text as support.

Chapter Six:

Many of the people in Anita’s family have fled to the U.S. Why must they leave? Why, for instance, must Lucinda be forced to leave her home in order to find safety? How would you react/feel to being forced to leave your home? Explain and use proof from the text as support.
Although this novel is considered historical fiction, it is also a “coming of age” tale. How has Anita changed since the beginning of the novel? How has she become more mature or experienced in her thinking? This shift is particularly apparent near the end of chapter six. Explain and use proof from the text as support.

Chapter Seven:

In this chapter, Anita realizes something about Samthat he is quite different than she is. She learns this as she listens to him talk about his sister: All the way to school, hes been talking about what a great time hes going to have now that his bossy older sister is leaving. It makes me feel even sadder that his feelings are so different from mine (Alvarez 78). How are Sam and Anita different? Think about the things that Anita has to worry about. What is her life like in comparison to Sams? Who do you think is the more mature of the two? Why? Use evidence from the novel to support your answer. 
“Sometimes, I think of my growing silence that way; voicing a silent protest,” believes Anita (Alvarez 82). Many of the young characters in the novel have developed potentially harmful ways of coping with the stress, secrets, and fear they face everyday. What coping mechanisms have you noticed? How might these have detrimental side effects for these characters in the future? Use evidence from the novel to support your answer.

Chapter Eight:

How do you think Sam and his father, Mr. Washburn, are representative of the U.S. involvement with the Dominican Republic? Anita writes, Sam had grinned when Charlie made fun of me. Why hadnt he defended me? Maybe he just hadnt been brave enough to stand up for me? Not being brave is easier to understand then being plain mean (Alvarez 92). Then, we learn that Mr. Washburn was given orders to leave the compound and have no further dealings with any dissident elements. He has moved to the consulate downtown, where hell be staying until his return to the United States in June (Alvarez 95). Does either demonstrate real support of the Dominican Republic? Explain and use evidence from the text to support your answer. 
What do you think this statement means: You cant be brave if youre not scared? (Alvarez 93). Explain and use evidence from the text to support your answer. 
“Papi puts his hands on Mundn’s shoulders. All he has to say is, ‘If anything should happen to me …,’ for Mundn to bow his head obediently,” observes Anita (Alvarez 96). What is expected of Mundn? What is being unstated here? Why must he be ‘obedient’? What does this say about gender roles in this family? Explain and use evidence from the text to support your answer. 

Costa’s Levels of Thinking

Students should create ONE of their own Costa’s Level 2 or 3 discussion question for their classmates to answer. This question should be based on chapters 5 – 8 of the novel from this week.