Originally written and posted on Thursday, September 13th, 2012
For most of her childhood, Anita from the book Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez, lived on her family's land in the Dominican Republic. To her, that was her beloved home. Even when she found out that her father and uncle were involved in a plot to kill the dictator, it was her beloved home. When spies came and trashed her house, when she had to hide in a closet for months, and even when El Jefe's nephew murdered her uncle and father, the Dominican Republic was her beloved home. Despite all of those horrible events that Anita faced in her native country, she kept saying that she wanted to return there even after she had escaped to the USA. If I was Anita, I would not think that the Dominican Republic is my beloved home. I believe that the true meaning of home is a place that is safe and where your loved ones are, and I don't think that Anita's home is very safe at all. And her loved ones had escaped to the USA before her. Because of this, she has made me wonder if home is also where the cherished memories lie.
I think this because the majority of Anita's memories of the Dominican Republic reflect good times. For example, it is where each part of her family built their homes when they married. On that land is where Anita remembers Chucha (her maid) with her purple clothes. It is where she developed her first crush, shared everything with her cousin and sat on her father's lap. I think that these memories are the reason why Anita refused to call the Dominican Republic anything other than her beloved home, even through all the hardships, panic attacks, and stages of fear she encountered, and even when she didn't live there anymore. To Anita, home isn't necessarily a safe place. Home is where the memories lie. Maybe, when Anita develops many new fond memories in the US, America will become a second home for her.
For most of her childhood, Anita from the book Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez, lived on her family's land in the Dominican Republic. To her, that was her beloved home. Even when she found out that her father and uncle were involved in a plot to kill the dictator, it was her beloved home. When spies came and trashed her house, when she had to hide in a closet for months, and even when El Jefe's nephew murdered her uncle and father, the Dominican Republic was her beloved home. Despite all of those horrible events that Anita faced in her native country, she kept saying that she wanted to return there even after she had escaped to the USA. If I was Anita, I would not think that the Dominican Republic is my beloved home. I believe that the true meaning of home is a place that is safe and where your loved ones are, and I don't think that Anita's home is very safe at all. And her loved ones had escaped to the USA before her. Because of this, she has made me wonder if home is also where the cherished memories lie.
I think this because the majority of Anita's memories of the Dominican Republic reflect good times. For example, it is where each part of her family built their homes when they married. On that land is where Anita remembers Chucha (her maid) with her purple clothes. It is where she developed her first crush, shared everything with her cousin and sat on her father's lap. I think that these memories are the reason why Anita refused to call the Dominican Republic anything other than her beloved home, even through all the hardships, panic attacks, and stages of fear she encountered, and even when she didn't live there anymore. To Anita, home isn't necessarily a safe place. Home is where the memories lie. Maybe, when Anita develops many new fond memories in the US, America will become a second home for her.
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