Anita De La Torre Sparknotes

Can a girl living under a dictatorship with very little freedom, grow up? That girl's name is Anita de la Torre, the main character from the novel by Julia Alvarez. Anita lives in a big compound along with all of her relatives. They live together with all their cousins and have fun at the pond or the gate of the compound. In the story, her father and uncle are involved in a plot to overthrow the evil dictator, El Jefe. By the end of the novel, Anita grows up from being a young wide eyed kid to becoming a grown up adult because of all the hardships she endures. (Good thesis statement)
At the beginning of the novel Anita is someone who is naive and innocent. Anita doesn’t understand the situation around her family or country. She doesn’t know

the dictator’s evil deeds, “ I thought we liked El Jefe” (19). - how little she knows about the dictator and the SIM. She is brainwashed by the media and school which teaches her falsely. Anita looks up to him as a hero, and never cries because she wants to impress El Jefe, “... someday if I meet the leader of this country, he’ll congratulate me. “ So you are the girl that never cries?” He’ll say, smiling down at me”(4). Even at that point, she doesn’t understand his harsh ruling. Anita also doesn’t understand how El Jefe rigs the elections, “ I once asked Mrs. Brown why nobody ran against Trujillo, she hesitated and told me it would be better if I asked my parents” (44). -how young minded she is and how she doesn’t yet realize that El Jefe is the only one who runs in the elections. He has made it this way so that he always wins. Anita is an innocent child at the beginning of the novel.
At the end of the novel, Anita becomes someone who is mature as a young adult.

Anita is finally understanding the true deeds of El Jefe. In the compound, all of Anita’s family have moved out. Because the compound is empty, they allow the American Consul move in. It comes with the benefit of having Marine guards at the compound. They will prevent the SIM from entering and raiding the compound . The Consul’s daughter, Susie, has a quincenera in the compound which Anita and her family attends. During the party, El Jefe and the SIM show up to congratulate Susie on her big day. While they are there, El Jefe catches the eye of Lucinda, Anita’s sister, and falls in love with her. During the days that follow, he sends her gifts of roses but Lucinda doesn’t like him. Anita’s parents are desperate to find her safety away from him and send her to the United States of America with a visitor Visa. That Visa only guarantees she can be there for six months and has to leave afterwards. Lucinda isn’t going to come back after the six months period and she is going to stay illegally to be safe from El Jefe. The day she leaves, Anita still has to attend school but doesn’t feel well and goes to the nurse to get help.(Too much of a summary) The nurse calls home and Anita’s mom picks her up. Anita doesn’t feel well because she misses Lucinda already. As they get into the car, her mom asks, “ You didn’t say anything about Lucinda, did you? I shake my head” (79). This grown up action shows that

Anita has kept the secret of Lucinda leaving. Even though she is sick, she doesn’t let on about Lucinda at school. A few weeks later, Anita’s father and uncle are arrested for killing the dictator. They think they will free the country but his son soon takes over and becomes the new dictator. Anita and her mom are forced to go into hiding in the Mancini’s house. The Mancinis have a son named Oscar who is one of Anita’s closest friends however,the Mancini’s haven’t told their kids that Anita is staying in their house. One day while in hiding, Anita is looking out the window, “ Oscar was standing in the yard looking up. I ducked down before he saw me” (126). Anita would have usually talked to Oscar but she refrains from talking to him. This grown up action is showing that Anita understands in what a tough time they are in and they shouldn’t reveal their secret. She knows the consequences of talking to him might be deadly. Anita is a mature young adult by the end of the novel.
Some people still believe Anita hasn’t grown up by the end.

When Anita has finally made it to the United States of America, she is anxious and nervous about her dad and uncle, all the time. As she is watching T.V. she yells, “ No!” I screamed at the T.V. and clapped my hands over my ears. “ I am not staying! I am not staying!”(136). This exhibits that Anita is still young minded and has childlike behavior. Anita thinks the person on T.V. is yelling at Anita, telling her she can’t go back to the Dominican Republic and has to stay in the United States for ever. The weak point in the opposing side is that, that is the one instance that Anita behaves like a

child.
At the end of the novel, Anita grows up into a confident young adult. After Anita goes through her cousins moving away, her family being raided by the SIM, and her father and uncle getting killed, it forces her to become more mature.