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In The Time Of The Butterflies Marxism Analysis

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Each dictator in history is known for something different. Trujillo’s character in In the Time of the Butterflies is known as being the “devil” and making people miserable (Alvarez 24). Marxist Criticism is based on the economic and cultural theory of Karl Marx, who is considered the founder of communism (Davidson). Marxist Criticism can be applied to In the Time of the Butterflies through the way Trujillo’s character maintains his power. Trujillo maintains his power by degrading citizens and instilling fear inside the members underneath his dictatorship. One way Marxist Criticism can be applied to In the Time of the Butterflies is looking at how Trujillo maintains his power by degrading citizens in the country. He degrades his citizens by taking away or destroying everything they have to make their lives miserable. Trujillo does this to ensure that no one, besides himself, will …show more content…

An example of this is when Alvarez writes, “I saw the marks on Minerva’s throat; fingerprints sure as day on Mate’s pale neck. They also clubbed them good and dead… After they were done, they put the dead girls in the back of the Jeep, Rufino in the back” (Alvarez 303). Trujillo had the Mirabal sisters killed because they were questioning his leadership skills. Trujillo is using the “accidental” death of the Mirabal sisters as an example for the rest of the citizens of the country as a what-not-to-do scenario. If you question Trujillo’s leadership or rebel against him, there is a chance you will die. By killing the Mirabal sisters, Trujillo maintains his power by showing everyone else what he is capable of doing. Killing the Mirabal sisters instills fear in others around them because everyone knows what Trujillo is capable of. Trujillo instills this fear in people so nobody else will question his

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Once out of prison, Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa drove across a mountain pass to visit their husbands in prison, but they are ambushed and murdered under the request of Trujillo. Their deaths were stage to look like a car accident and Dedé was forced to live on and tell the world of how Trujillo destroyed their

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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,

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Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies tells the story of three sisters’ daring stand against an oppressive leader. Set in the Dominican Republic during the 1990s, In the Time of the Butterflies follows the interpersonal relationships and revolutionary affairs of the Mirabal sisters: Patria, Dede, Maria Teresa, and Minerva. A masterfully crafted work of historical fiction, the novel interweaves the real life and times of the Mirabal sisters with fiction and emotion.

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Imagine you and your family living under a gruesome dictator and having no freedom . Julia alvarez “ a genetics of justice “ is a novel about a young girl and her family living under a dictator with a totalitarian government in the dominican government. In this novel you learn about her journey and how she becomes to be the women she is today . “No flies fly into a closed mouth “is a quote used by her mother through the text. In the novel it also talks about the dictator and is unusual daily life .

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Therefore money plays a big role in the climb for social status thus making Marxist criticism a great match to analyze this book

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Trujillo is a good guy. But in reality he is a very bad man. Also throughout the book Patria values her religion a lot and she completely submerges herself into following her religion at the beginning of the book. But as the revolution progresses, she starts doubting her religious values and her interpretation

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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.

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Minerva Mirabal was the leader and the voice of the butterflies before their murders on November 25, 1960. Minerva was the leader of the group because of her extroverted attitude and her disgustion of oppression. Minerva consistently portrayed the image of the butterfly to the public despite the struggles she had going on in her personal life. From a young age, Minerva’s identity is rooted in her struggle against oppression. Throughout her life, she transforms her identity into a national symbol.

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This novel is a historical story for four sisters who lived through the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. Three out of the sisters had direct involvement with Trujillo’s regime and had a huge impact on their country’s history. Their impact left a mark on the Dominican people of national martyr’s that spoke out against injustice in their country. Through the novel “In the Time of the Butterflies” it is clear that these sisters were raised from a middle-class family of famers and had their future before them. Unfortunately, their future was dictated by Rafael Trujillo.

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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

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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.

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From the moment that the Dominican republic was free from Trujillo’s dictatorship, contrasting viewpoints have come up regarding the sacrifices of the Mirabal sisters. While some argue that the Mirabal sisters sacrifices were not beneficial and worthwhile to the revolution because it resulted in the orphaning of their children and three young lives were lost. Others argue that the Mirabal sisters sacrifices were effective for the revolution since it changed the future of their country. I deem the sisters sacrifices are justifiable because their sacrifices had an important purpose. Isn’t it true that Trujillo's was absolutely in power for 31 years however, because of the three young sisters his cruel regime ended.

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1639 Words | 7 Pages

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