Before night falls tells the story of arenass life growing up in a small town in cuba discovering his homosexuality and embracing his gay identity being persecuted at the hands of fidel castros virulently homophobic communist government escaping to america on the mariel boatlift and eventually contracting aids. The before night falls community note includes chapter by chapter summary and analysis character list theme list historical context author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Cuban writer reinaldo arenas describes his poverty stricken childhood in rural his adolescence as a rebel fighting for fidel castro and his life in revolutionary cuba as a homosexual very quickly the castro government suppressed his writing and persecuted him for his homosexuality until he was finally imprisoned. The before night falls community note includes chapter by chapter summary and analysis character list theme list historical context author biography and quizzes written by community members like you