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Cristian Florescu a 17 year old boy in communist Romania in 1989 questions the country that he lives in. ''Being eaten by wild dogs-did kids in other countries have to worry about that?''(page 22), he questions if other countries have to deal with their problems and he despises the political system Romania follows.

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Actions- from his behavior you can tell the good in his heart and the willingness to protect others. "I ran and pressed in front of her, trying to block the dogs" In this quote alone you can tell he is willing to be put in danger to save others which might be a foreshadow of what might come. -freddie galindo

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In the time period of the Cold War there was a lot of tension and fear, in the book that can be seen with the daily life of Christian and his family. His mother is paranoid that people are listening and watching her and Christian is watchful for people following him or informers listening to him. ''I looked to the balconies. It was late for the Reporters, but I couldn't be sure''.(page 40)

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The setting in the novel so far is school. Cristian was in class with his friends but was called into the office soon after. An agent was waiting in the office claiming, he knew what "cristian had done".

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Most places in the story take place in or around the apartment blocks or school. The apartment blocks doesn't give anyone sense of home ("they took our homes") which people don't feel safe in because of the listening devices implanted all over. -freddie galindo

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Liliana the love interest of Christian is a quiet shy hearted girl that keeps to herself most of the time. Showing an interest in Christian seeming to break character with him. Seeming happy and lighter with a weight lifted off of her. " We couldn't stop laughing, drunk on contraband and sugar." -freddie galindo

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Nature was betraying me, My friend was betraying me. Life was betraying me. ''Christian, you're mad at me. I can explain-'' I whirled around and threw a fist. I punched my very best friend. This shows that Christian is very emotional and that he feels betrayed by everything, his own country and even nature itself.

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''The teacher must be an informer. He informed on the students. The school director was an informer. He informed on the teachers. The secretary was an informer. She informed on the school director. Luca was an informer. He informed on me. I was an informer. I informed on the Americans''. This is a character vs society because everyone is informing against each other or could be and informer making Christian worried about who he can and can't trust. Anyone could work for the government and a slight mess-up could lead him to be punished by the government.

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Cristian is a 17 year old in romania, after being caught trading stamps a government agent enlists Cristian to spy on an American family in romania, hesitantly Cristian agrees for the ell being of his Grandfather.

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Cristian is a 17 year old in romania, after being caught trading stamps a government agent enlists Cristian to spy on an American family in romania, hesitantly Cristian agrees for the ell being of his Grandfather.

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In the novel, Cristian finds conflict from a government agent who promised Cristian he would stay out of the trouble he would have been in for trading illegally, and his grandfather would get the medicine he needs for his sickness. Cristian is forced to spy on an American family even though his family would never trust him again.

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Cristian's sister, Cici, is describe as suspicious and watchful but also fun. She works at a clothing factory and is often working at her sewing machine. She is loved by her family and the elderly's in her building for helping and mending clothing.

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Christian is being pressured to inform against his mothers boss who is an american. Giving intel to a commander at his school and in return gets medicine for his grandfather who is dying where ( where pressure is applied). But gets relief when with liliana "i feel all hardships melting away". -freddie galindo

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Cristian is torn between spying on the american family or not. He knows if his family finds out they will be disappointed in him, but he knows he needs to for the wellbeing of his grandfather.

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Cristian is trying to go against his government for trying to make him a spy which is against his beliefs and his families which is important to him not to break those beliefs. So agreeing to become a spy so his grandfather gets medicine for his cancer he does his job but plans to retaliate against the government. - Freddie galindo

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"He didn't sit down. He turned wild eyed, to the class gripping and pulling at his own hair-"

By using "wild eyed", and "pulling out his hair", the author shows how distressed the "loner kid" is. The kid is frantic and will not sit down after being told to, he shouts out to everyone that he is an informer.

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''Invisible hands appeared in the darkness. One hand gripped my hair. The other pressed down over my nose and mouth. And then it pressed again. Harder. You are a liar. I couldn't breathe. You are everything I despise. I was suffocating. You are an informer. Shocks of blue flashed behind my eyes. My mouth pulled dry with panic. I burst from the closet and bolted out of the apartment, still clutching the note.'' Using the words Liar and despise create a feeling of hate, Lilian hates Christian for being an informer and she fells betrayed and anger because if it. With the use of words like Suffocating and Bolted shows a tone of desperation, Christian cannot believe that she has found him out and he wants to explain him self.

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''I wanted to stay close to Bunu. I hoped proximity might bring clarity. How many agents had come to the apartment? How many were involved in his death? Was Paddle Hand one of them? Did Bunu know they were coming?''. The short sentences and all of them being questions gives a sense of anxiety and denial. This shows how unexpected this was and it also surprises the reader and they ask themselves the same questions. Christian is panicked and doesn't believe that this is happening, he can't believe that his grandfather is dead. He wants to find out who did it and why.

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''Listen to Radio Free Europe. That's what it said. Not, ''We'll listen to Radio Free Europe.'' Me. Alone. It was a directive.''(166) Radio Free Europe was a radio station that transmitted everything about the communist countries in Europe. They said when a country would become free. Radio Free Europe is a symbol of freedom and hope, it gives hope to the people in Romania that one day they will be free. It gives hope to Christian and it gave hope to Bunu that the dictatorship would end.

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"shocks of blue flashes behind my eyes. My mouth pulled dry with panic" At this moment Christian is full of panic and fear as he reads the letter Liliana left at his house for him. The letter is about her knowing Christian is an informer

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''Awaken thee, Romanian—wake up from your deadly sleep. The old song of patriotism. It had been outlawed when the communists destroyed the monarchy. Those who knew the words joined him. Better to die in battle, in full glory Than to once again be slaves upon our ancient ground... My body had felt uninhabitable for so long. But now the emptiness was replaced by a closeness. A true camaraderie. We all felt it. We saw it in one another’s eyes. It was freedom—and it was glorious.''

Theme Statement

People can only be oppressed for so long and will fight for their freedom and independence from a corrupt system

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“How could we expect others to feel our pain or hear our cries for help when all we could do was whisper?” this quote alone sets the tone for the whole book. Because it describes their solitude from the outside world and their secreted struggles that they cannot scream with agony.

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“As the saying goes, better to die standing than live kneeling.” the author gives this quote to the protagonist to give a foreshadow for what he will do next. and what he might sacrifice.

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“Do you hear me?
Reciting jokes
Laughing to hide the tears of truth
That we are denied the present
With empty promises
Of an emptier future.” with this piece from the story you can see that everyone struggles in Romania and everyone feels oppressed but wants freedom.

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"Shocks of blue flashed behind my eyes. My mouth pulled dry." The author is showing the effect the note had on Cristian. The note Liliana left filled him with fear and guilt.

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"Your grandfather had been called to securitate headquarters several times." This is the moment that Cristian found out his own Grandfather had been an informer even though he was against it. The theme of the story is betrayal, and trust. In a society with no freedom you can't trust anyone.

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Christian has an inner conflict on if he can trust the ones that he loves the most, he suspects that his sister is a informer that has been reporting on Christian and their family but he can't believe it. ''Could there be an explanation, like Luca said? Cici sewed for people. Maybe they paid her in foreign currency. Maybe she took the Springsteen article to keep me safe. Maybe she made the loop rings from the cigarette packages herself. Maybe?'' He is torn over this because this was his closest friend and is apart of his own family.