Heroes In The Time Of The Butterflies

A hero is a person who overcomes their fears to fight for what is right. A person who fights for change. Heroes are everywhere. Heroes can be anyone. Every hero is a unique person with feelings and families. An example of a hero is Minerva Mirabal, who fights in the Dominican Republic for change. She fights the dictator Trujillo and the rest of the regime with her life. In Julia Alvarez’s historical novel In the Time of the Butterflies, Minerva is characterized as both an individual and a martyr. The martyr Minerva is a person with a family life as well as a personal life. According to Minerva’s sister Patria, “Minerva at twenty-nine [is] considered beyond all hope of marriage” (Alvarez 134). Minerva marries Manolo, a little late in her life

Minerva early on decides she wants better for her country and the kids in it. Mate, Minerva’s sister, writes in her diary, “she [is saying] the strangest thing. She [wants] me to grow up in a free country” (Alvarez 39). Minerva has the belief that the people of her country are oppressed and should be free. This idea at the time could be life threatening. Minerva does not hesitate though, she encourages free speech against the situation. She adamantly defends her side by saying “women need to come out of the dark ages” (Alvarez 51). Minerva is risking her life to make a better country without the oppression of her people. Since Minerva is open about her views, she is heard by the people around her. She is becoming the symbol she will be remembered as for generations, a free butterfly. She voices her opinions and is heard more and more by persuading and educating the people around her of the freedom they deserve. While in prison, Minerva’s sister Mate keeps a journal. In a Journal entry, she writes “I’m lying on my bunk now, listening to the Little School discussing how a woman revolutionary should handle a low remark by a comrade” (Alvarez 234-235). Mate is writing of Minerva’s work. Minerva put together the Little School in prison to discuss and persuade others to join her effort and become a revolutionary. She is spreading her ideas in hopes to have other ordinary people to help her in her struggle. She is heard. Her fight leads to her murder and most of her sister’s murder. Minerva is known as a symbol of freedom by her triumph as a martyr against the regime.Minerva Mirabal is an ordinary sister before she is a martyr. She deals with difficult and stressful situations like any other person. Minerva feels boredom like everyone does from time to time. She finds things to help pass time. Often she would go on “getaway rampages racing down the small side roads ... “ (Alvarez 85). Minerva fills the