We Are Not Free

66 pages • 2 hours read

We Are Not Free

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

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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 1-4

Reading Check

1. What is the slang term for White Americans that Minnow uses?

2. Who scares away the boys beating up Minnow?

3. What two things does Shing decide are most important to bring with him in the event of an evacuation?

4. What instrument does Yum-yum play?

5. Where do Yum-yum and her friends find Fred when he goes missing?

Short Answer

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

1. Why did Minnow miss the bus? What does this imply about his characterization?

2. Why does Shig not understand Mrs. Katsumoto’s “thank you” sign?

3. How does Shig protest the evacuations in a small way?

4. Why can’t Bette dance at Thanksgiving?

Paired Resource

“Racism in Anti-Japanese Propaganda”

This article from the Hampton Roads Naval Museum reveals examples of Anti-Japanese propaganda, including the one Minnow mentions in Chapter 1. (Teacher-appropriate; not student-facing due to racist imagery, language, and messages.)
The information and images in this source connect to the theme of The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism.

“Origami Animals and Their Meanings”

This resource explains a number of different animal symbols used in Japanese origami.
The information in the article and the topic of origami in general connect to the theme The Power of Friendship and Family.
Consider the narrators we have met so far. Which animal does each one best represent in origami?

CHAPTERS 5-8

Reading Check

1. Who gives the impassioned speech about democracy at the army meeting?

2. What will be required in the camp for everyone over 17?

3. What is the only acceptable answer to the two questions on the questionnaire, according to Stan?

4. What sport do Aiko and others begin to play?

5. Who wins in the away game versus the Delta Rabbits?

Short Answer

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

1. Why can’t Stan apply to most colleges?

2. What happens to Mr. Uyeda? What is the reaction among the prisoners?

3. Why are Stan and Twitchy “strikebreakers”?

4. Why is Yuki upset at her coach?

Paired Resource

“Sports and Recreation in Camp”

This article details the number and types of sports that were allowed to exist inside camps.
The information in this resource connects to the theme of The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism.
Why do you think the government allowed camp teams to travel beyond the camps for sports?

CHAPTERS 9-12

Reading Check

1. What is the battle cry yelled by the boys burning the benches?

2. To whom does Mas write letters?

3. What do Keiko and Twitchy steal?

Short Answer

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

1. What happens to Stan after the movie?

2. Why is Kiyoshi arrested? Why is the arrest ironic?

3. How do the superiors react when Mas asks for help for the Tule Lake prisoners?

Paired Resource

“Japanese American Soldiers in World War II Fought the Axis Abroad and Racial Prejudice at Home"

This article details the military experience of those who left the camps to serve in the army.
This article highlights the novel’s theme of The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism.
Why do you think so many were willing to fight for a country that was hurting them?

CHAPTERS 13-16

Reading Check

1. What does Frankie give Twitchy when they meet in Italy?

2. Where do Tommy and Aiko decide to live?

3. What building/image makes Minnow officially feel like they are home?

Short Answer

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

1. What is Minnow’s confession about Twitchy?

2. What two choices do people have when leaving the camps?

3. Relay two racist incidents Minnow and his mother experience once home in San Francisco.

4. What does Mas order Minnow to do? What is the likely reason for this?

Recommended Next Reads

They Call Us Enemy by George Takei

This memoir in graphic novel form follows young George Takei while his family lives in the US incarceration camps where Japanese Americans were imprisoned during WWII.
Shared themes include The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism.
Shared topics include family and forced imprisonment of Japanese Americans.
They Call Us Enemy on SuperSummary

Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys

Soviet guards wake Lina and her family one night to take them from their home and relocate them to work camps in Siberia.
Shared themes include The Injustice of Government-Sanctioned Racism.
Shared topics include wartime, forced relocation, and racism.
Between Shades of Gray on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

CHAPTERS 1-4

Reading Check

1. Ketos (Chapter 1)

2. Mas and his friends (Chapter 1)

3. Money and clothing (Chapter 2)

4. The piano (Chapter 2)

5. At the hospital visiting his mother (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. He was watching the football team practice and sketching the players, and he does not realize the time. It implies he is artistic and imaginative to the point of easy distraction; it may mean that he is eager to escape the complicated and escalating conflict wariness in his community since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. (Chapter 1)

2. She is offering appreciation to customers, but Shig knows that they include racist individuals who are indirectly responsible for the forced evacuation. (Chapter 2)

3. He hands out his father’s origami animals to the children on the buses. (Chapter 2)

4. Bette and many others get food poisoning from the gravy. (Chapter 4)

CHAPTERS 5-8

Reading Check

1. Mas (Chapter 5)

2. A loyalty questionnaire (Chapter 5)

3. Yes-Yes (Chapter 6)

4. Baseball/softball (Chapter 7)

5. The Topaz Rams (the camp team) (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. They send him long lists of “qualifications” that he cannot fulfill; these lists are intended to point out those of Japanese descent. (Chapter 6)

2. Mr. Uyeda is shot and killed for playing with his dog too close to the fence. The prisoners are incensed and upset; Stan decides to vote no—no as a result of this incident. (Chapter 6)

3. They deliver food to the barracks even though the camp is protesting via a work-strike. (Chapter 7)

4. He doesn’t protect her from the racist ice cream man. (Chapter 8)

CHAPTERS 9-12

Reading Check

1. Banzai! (Chapter 9)

2. His dead father (Chapter 11)

3. Strawberries to go with Twitchy’s hidden alcohol (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Stan is arrested while trying to protect the others and later sent to a stockyard. (Chapter 10)

2. Kiyoshi is five minutes late for curfew. His arrest is ironic because, far from doing anything wrong, he was helping a neighbor, Mrs. Katsumoto, pickle vegetables. He brings some vegetables home and is arrested minutes later. (Chapter 10)

3. They punish Mas by giving him the jobs no one else wants. (Chapter 11)

CHAPTERS 13-16

Reading Check

1. A butterfly knife (Chapter 13)

2. America (Chapter 15)

3. The Golden Gate Bridge (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. He was in love with Twitchy. (Chapter 14)

2. They can decide to go back to Japan or stay in the United States. (Chapter 15)

3. They cannot get an apartment; they are not served at the diner; their old neighborhood has been gentrified by white owners. (Chapter 16)

4. Mas orders Minnow to re-enroll in the local high school. Mas sees that the structure and security of a high school routine can help in the healing process; Minnow’s prospects for the future will be improved with an education. (Chapter 16)