ipl-logo

In The Time Of The Butterflies Heroism

647 Words3 Pages

After a long fight with Trujillo, three sisters were murdered. “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez is about the Mirabal sisters long and weary fight with the revolution against Trujillo. Trujillo was the dictator for the Dominican Republic from 1930-1961. This essay will address the how they got to joining the revolution , their heroism and fight with the revolution. The Mirabal sisters showed heroism in the face of the Dominican Republic because of their resistance against Trujillo’s regime. First, it was Minerva with her friend, Sinita, and her family, then it was Mate joining the revolution because she figured out Minerva was in it and got interested. During a retreat Patria went to with her church, she witnessed the killing of a boy that looked like her son. Although she had previous knowledge of the revolution from Minerva and the news, she started getting more interested and joined. “ It happened on the last day of our retreat. The fourteenth of June; how can I ever forget that day.” …show more content…

It all started when she was the one who begged her father to let her go to school. There is where she met Sinita, whose family was killed by Trujillo because of their involvement in the revolution. Sinita told her how terrible Trujillo is. “ I lay awake most of that night, thinking about Sinita’s brother and her uncles and her father and this secret of Trujillo that nobody but Sinita seemed to know about. (Alvarez, 19) “Trujillo, says Bartlett, was a very vain man. Just as Hitler wanted to destroy the Jewish race, Trujillo wanted to rid the country of blacks. "He had this thing about being white," Bartlett says. "He used to put powder on his face. In three weeks' time, I think, he had 15,000 black Haitians killed."” . ( King, Susan) Throughout Latin America, the Mirabals are regarded as feminist icons, a reminder that ''we have our revolutionary heroines, our Che Guevaras, too,'' as Ms. Alvarez put it.” (Rohter,

Show More
Related
712 Words | 3 Pages

The Mirabal sisters, also known as La Mariposas, have been known throughout the Dominican Republic for participating in a major revolution against their unjust ruler, Rafael Trujillo. After years of the sisters’ hard-work, along with the others who were involved in the revolution, their work paid off when Trujillo's regime ended with his assassination. However, in order for them to have taken part in this act against Trujillo, the Mirabal sisters had to sacrifice several things from their lives, most importantly, their freedom and their relationship with their family. Many people believe that these sacrifices were not necessary because the sisters didn’t need to go to the extent where the end result would be them orphaning their children. Nonetheless,

Read More
286 Words | 2 Pages

In the Time of the Butterflies, characters are seen making morally challenging decisions. Maria Teresa, Mate, is the youngest Mirabel sister. She is described as virtuous and fears elementary things. However, Mate and Minerva are held captive in prison. Fortunately, The OAS Peace Committee schedules to interview a prisoner in each pavilion, Mate has been selected.

Read More
892 Words | 4 Pages

As the historical fictional work of Julia Alvarez in In the Time of The Butterflies goes on, Alvarez is actually the interview woman, telling the story through the interviewer’s eyes. In the beginning, Papa predicts Dede’s future and not any of her sisters’ futures which inform readers that not only are all the sisters’ special but that Dede has her part to continue the legacy of her sisters. After living under the control of Trujillo, an evil and corrupt president, the sisters risked their own lives by starting rebellions and joining movements secretly against Trujillo. Dede, who didn’t join the rebellion, watched helplessly as her family fell apart: First, with the death of Papa, and later on the deaths of her sisters who were arrested. These sisters were nicknamed Mariposa which means butterflies to show how fearless they were to stand up for their beliefs.

Read More
193 Words | 1 Pages

The novel Time of The Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, narrates the Mirabal sister’s stories: their issues stemming from Rafael Trujillo’s regime, and their eventual opposition against him. Living in a time and place of corruption, the sisters watched as Trujillo’s reign of terror grew, and so did a rising revolution against him, prompting each of the sisters to form their own beliefs and ideas. The second youngest sister, Minerva, lived her life as a bold, determined woman; making her a prominent figure, with many looking up to her as a role model. Her interest in politics, paired with her boldness, exposed Minerva to a political environment from an early age: being the first sister to partake in the revolution and enlightened by Sinita’s story.

Read More
1309 Words | 6 Pages

From February of 1930 through May of 1961, the Dominican Republic fell subject to the tyranny of General Rafael Trujillo. Throughout his dictatorship, Trujillo relentlessly abused his power of authority and exploited the rights of his citizens. Meanwhile, underground resistance movements began to form, all with the intentions of expelling Trujillo from power. Though these resistance movements were mostly comprised of men, it is the Mirabal sisters who are likely the most notorious of these revolutionaries. In her novel

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

Alvarez and her family have a lot of trauma considering there lives in the dominican republic and living under the dictator,through it all alvarez's parents raised a daughter who would share their story in a fashionable matter that told the story how it was.

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is a work of historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic that focuses on the four Mirabal sisters who bond together to rebel against the corrupt leader of their country, Rafael Trujillo. The four Mirabal sisters, Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and María Teresa form closer relationships with each other as they figure out a way to bring down the tyranny of Rafael Trujillo. Although they have a mutual goal, each of the Mirabal sisters has different feelings and thoughts throughout this time period. The theme of coming-of-age and identify is best exemplified through the character of María Teresa, known as Mate, through the ways she matures throughout the novel and becomes her own person who stands up for what she believes in.

Read More
503 Words | 3 Pages

In the Time of the Butterflies is a nonfiction novel about life in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo ’s rule seen through the eyes of the Mirabal sisters. Julia Alvarez wrote this book because she wanted to tell the story of what she had to flee from with her family in the Dominican Republic. This book was published in 1994 and was written to show what it was like

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

It provides a role in character development shown predominantly in Patrias character. It shows the extent of Trujillo’s actions against the Dominican people by showing Patrias desperateness for her son. These examples depicted in the book show how the theme of religion has an impact on In the Time of the

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

Marxist Criticism focuses on class struggle and power structure in a literary piece (Davidson). In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez can be analyzed using Marxist Criticism to show how power is maintained in the novel. Trujillo maintains his power by convincing girls to live in his homes, jailing citizens who try to overthrow him, and killing citizens that he has large problems with. Trujillo uses his authority to make all of his citizens obey him so that he can keep his power, or else they must deal with severe consequences. Trujillo acts this way to prove that he is the man in charge and ultimately prove that he is unbeatable.

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

In his work “The Underdogs”, Mariano Azuela is able to master the spirit of villismo regarding both its theoretic, underlying principles as well as the movement’s subsequent physical manifestations. Though significant characters conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the humble agrarian spirit central to villismo’s origin, characters in this text also exhibit the disruptive, callous behavior that is more characteristic of the federalist forces and dictatorships they aimed to unseat. Moreover, Demetrio’s degenerating understanding of the reason he’s fighting, coupled with his few instances of immorality, symbolizes the collapse of villismo morality into its culminating bandit-ridden reality. Cowboys, farmers, and other agrarian people suffering from land and labor oppression united together as the diverse “pieces of a great social movement [to] exalt their motherland” . Demetrio and Solis embody this original character of villismo revolution, as they maintain a moral, humanitarian compass throughout the novel.

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

Courage Courage is strength in the face of pain. Julia Alvarez portrays different types of courage in her novel, In the Time of the Butterflies. The novel is set during the time of Trujillo's dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. As a result, some of the Mirabal sisters; Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria, to take a step in joining a revolution against him.

Read More
1829 Words | 8 Pages

Stressing the immorality behind the oppression of human rights, Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies displays a reverent tone as the heroic actions of the Mirabal sisters against a totalitarian government are described, showing Alvarez’s desire to possess the same courage. Though filled with numerous themes, the most prominent message

Read More
1384 Words | 6 Pages

By recounting numerous tragedies and their effect on people throughout the story, Alvarez emphasizes the wickedness behind suppressing one’s unassailable rights while also underlining the importance of sacrifice. The difficulties of the Mirabal family to live under the Trujillo rule and still resemble a family ultimately culminate in the deaths of Maria Teresa, Minerva, and Patria and the removal of Rafael Trujillo. Readers are more adept to connect and respect the story of the Mirabals due to Alvarez’s constant reverent tone. Though lacking the same valor as each sister, Julia Alvarez does carry the same sense of passion in herself and for human rights. In the Time of the Butterflies will be a novel remembered throughout the ages, just as Julia Alvarez had

Read More
777 Words | 4 Pages

The Mirabal sisters were revolutionaries who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. During the revolution, they were given the code name “Las Mariposas”, or “the butterflies”. The term “mariposa” suits each sister in a different way. Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and Mate Mirabal each have their one reason to be compared to a butterfly. The nickname “mariposa” shows who the Mirabal sisters are; they transformed from domestic, innocent mothers and wives into brave, defiant martyrs for national freedom.

Read More

More about In The Time Of The Butterflies Heroism

Open Document