We Are Not Free

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“A Story by Any Other Narrator”

In this activity, students will rewrite a portion of the story through the lens of a different narrator.

The plot of We Are Not Free comes together as a result of many different narrators’ contributions, each telling their own part of a much larger story. Told primarily in first person, the book highlights the unique lens of each character. In this activity, your goal is to retell a portion of one chapter from the point of view of a different character to see how it changes the telling of that part of the story.

• Choose a brief section of the novel that lends itself to retelling.
• Decide which character you’d like to use as your narrator. Remember, you want to pick a character who is represented in your selected portion so you have a place to start.
• List all the personality traits and characteristics of your new narrator based on the part of the story they contribute. How do they speak? Are they generally positive or negative? How are they related to the original narrator?
• Rewrite the scene as that character. Remember to use first person narration and to make educated inferences based on text details, logical storyline, and established characterization for any gaps you may need to fill.

Share your retelling with the group. Select 2-3 retellings and use them to discuss the ways in which narrators—particularly first-person narrators—often change how the reader sees the scene in front of them.

Teaching Suggestion: Consider assigning scenes or chapters so that there is an equal distribution of retellings. You may also want to group students for the initial planning stages; it might be helpful to hears peers’ insights on characterization and ideas on shifting the viewpoint before writing independently.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with social-emotional learning differences, this activity may be a challenge because it requires students to think and writer from a character perspective. It may be beneficial to start with a character map so students can note internal and external characterization details before writing. 

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. In this novel, the chapters are told from different perspectives.

• How does the inclusion of so many perspectives enhance the overall novel? (topic sentence)
• In the body of your essay, cite and discuss evidence from at least three different narrators to support your argument.
• Then, in your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how this narrative style supports the theme of The Power of Friendship and Family.

2. Consider the tensions between the “No-No” and the “Yes-Yes” survey responders.

• What are these two groups really in conflict about? (topic sentence)
• To support your answer, cite three quotations that reveal what the disagreement is about. Analyze and discuss your selected quotes in support of your idea.
• Then, in your concluding sentence or sentences, briefly argue which side is a better representation of the theme Gaman: Dignity and Endurance.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Consider the variety of characters throughout the novel. Which represents the best example of the theme Gaman: Dignity and Endurance? Remember to take into account not only how they behave, but what they say and think as a part of their narration. Your essay should explain why your chosen character is the best and include and discuss multiple quotes from the character for whom you are advocating. You may want to include why a different character is NOT the appropriate choice.

2. Consider Chapter 14, one of the only chapters not by a single narrator. Compare the reactions to Twitchy’s death. Which three characters are most influenced by Twitchy? In your essay, cite evidence from at least 3 different characters when defending your choices. Then, connect the overall reactions to the theme of The Power of Friendship and Family.

3. Consider the relationships between parents and children throughout the novel. How do they perceive the effects of the camps differently? Consider where their loyalties lie, who has power, and ultimately, how they interact with each other. Be sure to cite evidence from at least two different relationships when developing your response. 

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does Minnow’s stream-of-conscience narration style tell us about his character?

A) He’s always thinking, but it’s often erratic.

B0 He cannot remember what happens to him.

C) He is a very logical thinker.

D)He knows he is telling a story to someone.

2. Why does Frankie end up volunteering for the Army?

A) All of his friends are signing up.

B) He wants to fight like his father did.

C) He believes in the fight for freedom and democracy.

D) He just needs something or someone to fight.

3. What do Mas’s letters to his father reveal about his character?

A) He is not as strong as everyone thinks he is.

B) He cannot write in English.

C) He resents his father for being gone.

D) He is deeply connected to the army’s mission.

4. Which theme is best represented by the interconnected nature of each person’s narrative?

A) The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism

B) The Power of Friendship and Family: “We are not free. But we are not alone.”

C) The Mutability of Home

D) Gaman: Dignity and Endurance

5. What does Twitchy’s butterfly knife symbolize?

A) Connection between friends

B) Tourette’s syndrome

C) Freedom from racism

D) First loves

6. Which is the only character not to survive in the novel?

A) Mas

B) Minnow

C) Twitchy

D) Frankie

7. What does the repetition of “We hear the news” in the chapter about Twitchy tell us?

A) They all hear about it at once.

B) The news affects them all, even if in different ways.

C) The news ends up being broadcast on the radio.

D) Only certain people care about the news.

8. How did the people who were moved to the Tule Lake camp answer the survey?

A) Yes-Yes

B) Yes-No

C) No-Yes

D) No-No

9. Which theme is best represented by the propaganda Minnow discusses in Chapter 1?

A) The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism

B) The Power of Friendship and Family: “We are not free. But we are not alone.”

C) The Mutability of Home

D) Gaman: Dignity and Endurance

10. How has Minnow’s narration changed from the beginning to the end of the novel?

A) It is angrier, with less focus on art.

B) It is happier, with more focus on art.

C) It is more focused, less scattered.

D) It is less focused, more scattered.

11. Why do many Chinese Americans start wearing buttons that read, “I AM CHINESE”?

A) They are being mistaken for Japanese Americans.

B) They are proud of their new independence.

C) They are more likely to be hired.

D) They are looking for other Chinese American friends.

12. Why does Minnow give the white girl a drawing of him and his friends as she’s leaving?

A) He is thanking her for the food.

B) He wants to take her on a date.

C) She is a part of the drawing.

D) She admits that the camps were wrong.

13. How does Mas’s father die?

A) He is killed in a hit-and-run.

B) He is a victim of a racist attack.

C) He dies serving in the military.

D) He dies by suicide before the camps.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Compare the treatment among prisoners between Topaz and Tule Lake.

2. How would you describe Mary’s relationship with her father?