I Must Betray You

84 pages • 2 hours read

I Must Betray You

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2022

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-12

Reading Check

1. What crime does the Securitate accuse Cristian of committing in Chapter 3?

2. What does Liliana’s father do for work?

3. What brand of cigarettes does Cristian’s family use as a form of bribery?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. As explained in Chapter 2, Cristian doesn’t think the Securitate’s “secret” identity is as concealed as they might like to believe. What is an example of something that betrays their true identity?

2. What about Starfish’s behavior is considered taboo in Romanian culture?

Paired Resource

“Ruta Sepetys ‘I Must Betray You’ Author Q&A – United By Books”

In this interview, the author answers a series of questions about her motivations for writing the book, what interested her in communist Romania, and more.
Sepetys explains how Loyalty and Betrayal among Cristian and his friends and family is the primary force in I Must Betray You that moves the storyline along.
Sepetys refers to communist Romania as “controlled darkness.” What does she mean by this? Do you see any references to light/dark in the novel so far?

CHAPTERS 13-27

Reading Check

1. What piece of contraband does Cristian purchase from Cici to give as a gift to Liliana?

2. In Chapter 18, Cristian notices whose name in Paddle Hands’s pocket?

3. Cristian shouts at his mother in Chapter 27, causing her to drop a bottle of what substance?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 14, how does Dan covertly indicate to Cristian that they’re being surveilled?

2. What are some of the differences Cristian observes when reflecting on Romanian propaganda versus the reality of Romanian life?

CHAPTERS 28-39

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 28, to whom does Cristian consider giving his secret notebook?

2. In Chapter 35, where in Mr. Van Dorn’s home does Paddle Hands order Cristian to discover items?

3. Bunu is elated in Chapter 37 over what news coming out of Germany?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What crucial bits of news from the outside world does Cristian learn in the American Library?

2. In Chapter 32, what reason does Liliana give to Cristian as to why she now believes he is an informant?

Paired Resource

“VHS vs. Communism: In Romania, a Voice of Freedom”

This 6-minute video from The New York Times is the story of how a young translator, Irina Margareta Nistor, became an unlikely voice of freedom when she illegally dubbed thousands of foreign films.
In communist Romania, information was tightly controlled, making Finding Truth difficult, but also making entertainment—particularly from Western world—tough to come by.
How does Irina’s story mirror Cristian’s? In what ways did she serve as a double agent, working for and against the communist party at the same time?

CHAPTERS 40-52

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 40 and 41, revolutions begin in what two Eastern European countries?

2. What does Bunu’s chess partner suspect was the cause of Bunu’s death?

3. In Chapter 48, as Cristian recalls news of a woman who successfully smuggled a message out of Romania about the deplorable conditions in the country, which radio station broadcasted the message?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. When Cristian’s mother angrily tells him that Bunu’s fate is “what happens to philosophers” in Chapter 45, what does she mean by this?

2. Why is Cristian amazed that Dan considers him a friend? What does this sentiment highlight about the differences between Cristian and Dan?

CHAPTERS 53-62

Reading Check

1. What American musician does the Securitate agent bring up to Cristian in Chapter 53?

2. In Chapter 61, Cristian reads a report by what international human rights organization?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Cristian refuse coffee, when offered it from his neighbor in Chapter 54?

2. Why does Cristian look up the distance between Timişoara to Bucharest?

Paired Resource

“Long Shadow: How Romania’s Securitate Turned the Revolution into Riches”

Thirty years after the overthrow of communism, Balkan Insight writes about how nine security services within Romania—the heirs of the Securitate—manipulate politics in the country today.
The article opens by saying that there is much disagreement among modern Romanians how Nicolae Ceauşescu was ousted from his dictatorship, showing that a culture of The Difficulty of Finding Truth still exists.
Based on this article, in what ways has life in Romania improved since 1989? In what ways is it still the same?

CHAPTERS 63-71

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 65, Luca gets shot by Ceauşescu’s soldiers in what part of the body?

2. Protestors that have been captured by Ceauşescu’s army are marked with what color paint?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 68, Liliana reveals that she has a message from Cici for Cristian. What is the message? What does this reveal about the state of Cici’s relationship with Cristian?

2. In Chapter 69, how does Cristian dispose of the contraband Amnesty International papers?

Paired Resource

“Dramatic Uncut Footage of Romanian Revolution After the Fall of Ceaușescu”

This 17-minute video from the ITN Archive shows the turbulent social unrest that swept Romania in the two months after Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, Elena, were executed on Christmas Day in 1989.
The scenes depicted in this footage show an outpouring of emotion from the Romanian citizens, rallying against the communist dictatorship. Their pent-up frustration is, perhaps, in part related to the heightened state of Loyalty and Betrayal that comes along with living under such a regime.
What strikes you about the teenagers in this footage, many of whom would be around the age of Cristian at this time? In the various scenes, where would Cristian most likely be?

CHAPTER 72-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. In Chapter 72, who desperately asks Cristian if he has any information about Luca’s wellbeing?

2. When pieces of paper rain down from the sky in Chapter 75, what is written on them?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. On December 24, what do Cristian, Liliana, and Cristian’s family learn about the fate of the Ceauşescus via Free Romania Television? What poem is read aloud during this broadcast?

2. What painful truths does Cristian learn about his family at the end of the novel, particularly about his mother and Cici?

Recommended Next Reads

The Fountains of Silence: A Novel by Ruta Sepetys

Another work of YA historical fiction by Sepetys, this time set in 1957 Spain during the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. Daniel, the 18-year-old son of an oil tycoon, arrives in Madrid with the hope of reconnecting with his mother’s homeland via his photography.
As an aspiring artist living under a dictatorship, Daniel also struggles with The Difficulty of Finding Truth.
Like I Must Betray You’s Cristian, Daniel must make difficult, complicated decisions to protect the ones he loves in this fraught historical period.
The Fountains of Silence on SuperSummary

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Exploring yet another historical period, Sepetys sets Salt to the Sea in the winter of 1945, at the end of World War II. In this tale, four refugees, all fleeing different homelands, board a ship seeking safety and freedom.
All four of the refugee protagonists have had life as they know it decimated by the war. As such, they must reinvent themselves, often weighing Self-Interest Versus Collective Interests as they do so.
The four refugee protagonists are all young adults, just like Cristian, who have to navigate the pains of a coming-of-age journey against a backdrop of international geopolitical turmoil.
Salt to the Sea on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

CHAPTERS 1-12

Reading Check

1. Selling a postage stamp to a foreigner and accepting foreign currency (Chapter 3)

2. He’s the manager of a grocery store (Chapter 5)

3. Kent cigarettes (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. For example, the Securitate drives a specific sort of vehicle; Cristian notes that the black Dacia car each one of them drives immediately gives them away. (Chapter 2)

2. He is known for wearing Western clothing. He also possesses both American videos and a video cassette player. (Chapter 6)

CHAPTERS 13-27

Reading Check

1. Chocolate (Chapter 16)

2. A famous Romanian soccer player (Chapter 18)

3. Cooking oil (Chapter 27)

Short Answer

1. He adjusts his volume and then directs his speech toward the light fixture on the ceiling. (Chapter 14)

2. In Chapter 17, he thinks of the lush fields of food crops in Romanian propaganda, compared to the reality of overgrown inedible weeds. In Chapter 20, he thinks of how the propaganda does not show the freezing Romanians, hungry while standing in the food line for expired groceries. (Chapters 13-27)

CHAPTERS 28-39

Reading Check

1. Mr. Van Dorn (Chapter 28)

2. On top of his desk (Chapter 35)

3. The fall of the Berlin Wall (Chapter 37)

Short Answer

1. He learns that Ceauşescu is able to move through the world freely, and he realizes that many important nations have been convinced of Ceauşescu’s magnanimity. He also learns that communism has recently ended in Hungary. (Chapter 29)

2. She says that her father lost his job for stealing the can of Coke that they shared previously. Liliana feels certain that Cristian must have reported this to someone. (Chapter 32)

CHAPTERS 40-52

Reading Check

1. Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria (Chapters 40 and 41)

2. Poisoning, via his coffee (Chapter 46)

3. Radio Free Europe (Chapter 48)

Short Answer

1. Bunu was murdered by being viciously attacked. As subtly as possible, Cristian’s mother implies that his death was because of his vocal anti-Communist beliefs. (Chapter 45)

2. Cristian is shocked that Dan considers him a friend because he knows so little about him. This sentiment shows that Dan is fundamentally more trusting than Cristian; it shows that Dan comes from a totally different world than Cristian, who must be on high alert that anyone—even close friends and family—could betray him. (Chapters 40-52)

CHAPTERS 53-62

Reading Check

1. Bruce Springsteen (Chapter 53)

2. Amnesty International (Chapter 61)

Short Answer

1. Bunu’s friend advised Cristian to beware of coffee. He suspected that Bunu was poisoned by coffee. (Chapter 54)

2. He learns of a protest taking place in Timişoara (a city in western Romania) in opposition to the forced removal of a religious leader. Cristian is energized when he learns of the protest, feeling as if Romanian citizens might mobilize to oust their oppressors. (Chapter 55)

CHAPTERS 63-71

Reading Check

1. The right shoulder (Chapter 65)

2. Green (Chapter 66)

Short Answer

1. Liliana tells Cristian that Cici wanted him to know that Mr. Van Dorn found the notebook that Cristian had left. This message reveals that Cici, in fact, does still care about Cristian. (Chapter 68)

2. Cristian is tasked in prison to clean a room filled with feces. He has the Amnesty International papers hidden in his pants; during the clean-up, he removes them from his pants and uses them as a shovel for the waste pile. (Chapter 69)

CHAPTER 72-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. Luca’s sister Dana (Chapter 72)

2. Messages promising Romanians that they’ll be free (Chapter 75)

Short Answer

1. They learn that the Ceauşescus have been caught, and France and other free nations have pledged humanitarian aid to the Romanian citizens. They also hear one of Cristian’s poems read aloud on the report. (Chapter 79)

2. His mother, as it turns out, was very dedicated to the communist regime, and was acting as a true informant. He learns that Cici was killed during the revolution; the circumstances under which Cici become an informant for the government are never fully revealed, though it is possible she was coerced into spying as Cristian was. (Epilogue)