Character Bravery and Courage: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Minerva is the most involved with the revolution. She makes rebellious friends and she wants

Believing that there are things worth risking your life for is a quality that is well respected.

Although Minerva died she died for a cause she that believed would bring peace to

In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, one of the main characters, Minerva, shows many different types of courage throughout the whole story. The novel is about the true story of how a family is dominated by their countries dictator and the daughters attempt to free themselves and their family.

Courage is an important trait that needs to be present in order to affect change. The book in the time of butterflies by Julia Alvarez demonstrates this need for courage in the story of the four Mirabal sisters who acted with courage to create change in the Dominican Republic. They do this by showing great courage in the face of oppression. Minerva was one of the bravest of the Mirabal sisters. She shows: moral, intellectual, emotional, and physical courage throughout her life. These are demonstrated in her leadership and her heroic actions of resistance. Some of her main sources of courage were her childhood friends, her family, her sense of justice, and desire for equality. She shows courage repeatedly sticking up for what is right despite of threats,

In the Time of the Butterflies revolves around the Mirabal sisters, women living in a very patriarchal, “macho” society. Their personal struggles are part of the power of their story, as they stand not only as symbols of rebellion against Trujillo, but at the same time as loving, independent women with husbands and children. Alvarez shows how the resistance against women in politics can even be propagated by the women themselves, as both Mamá and Patria initially express sentiments that women are inferior to men, or else are somehow “purer” and so shouldn’t dirty themselves with politics. In talking to the interview woman in the present day, Dedé says that women “followed their husbands,” but she knows that this is an excuse, as she is the

Julia Alvarez’s novel In the Time of the Butterflies shows the lack of fairness in society and the importance of maintaining a strong family bond. Trujillo was not fair between men and women and granting men the rights to do whatever they want. The Mirabal sisters’ revolutionary against president Trujillo and fighting for freedom of the country and its people. In Saudi Arabia women are now granted to drive, but there some other things that men can do but women cannot. The Mirabal family has a strong maintain of a family bond. Minerva is one of the four sisters who is brave and had the courage to stand for others and started the revolution against the president.

As a young child, Minerva Mirabal always spoke her mind, despite her mother’s wishes that she would bite her tongue but Minerva would argue that women deserve to have a voice in their country, the Dominican Republic, as well. The time in which this story is set is during the regime of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, a strict dictator with suffocating policies. Brutal oppression of actual or perceived members of any opposition was the main focus of Trujillo's rule. If any person spoke out against Trujillo, they were almost immediately assassinated. However, young Minerva possessed strong opinions mostly about the treatment of women, but this would eventually change to become a complete revolt against Trujillo and his policies. Minerva’s coming of age was over a period of time and the biggest change wasn’t directly stated in the novel. Sinita and Lio both played major roles in pushing Minerva to revolt against Trujillo, Sinita passionately telling Minerva of the cruelties of Trujillo and how it affected her family and Lio being a young professor at the university that

When you hear of the Mirabal sisters, which sister comes to mind first? When thinking of a hero, Minerva comes to mind first. She was a hero to many. In In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Minerva's actions symbol courage, love, and sacrifice. Minerva was a strong individual that knew how to stand for what she believed in. She was mature and responsible. Minerva stood up to Trujillo, had a mindset to go to law school, and was favorited by her parents.

In some cases butterflies represent beauty, freedom, and imagery. In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, The Mirabal sisters represent honor and freedom by the way they react in the book. An example of Minerva Mirabal exemplifying freedom is when she says, “I stare at Manuel de Moya as if pinning him to the wall. ‘I’d sooner jump out that window than be forced to do something against my honor’” (111). This quote explains how Minerva will stick for her true roots, and will not ever do anything to dishonor her family. Minerva and the rest of the Mirabal sisters do what they think is right and will do whatever it takes to stay true to what they believe in. Another example of the Mirabal sisters representing a butterfly is when

In The Time of The Butterflies, memorializes the lives of Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal, three sisters. The women became symbols of freedom and revolution for the Dominican Republic after their assassination for being involved in a movement to overrule Trujillo. The Mirabal sisters were not only fighting against the Trujillo regime, but also against the Dominican Republic’s patriarchal culture and gender roles. In the Dominican Republic women were expected to abide by the rules and expectations their fathers or husbands set out for them. In the novel, all four sisters reject their stereotypical roles as women in the society by standing up for their beliefs and the revolution.They decided that they would not let the

Minerva is in no way a push-over. This is hero-like quality to have, she stands up for what

other people and listen to their problems no matter how hard it was for her. Minerva

In the past, women had less power than men for thousands of years. In other words, men played an essential gender role and controlled people all around the world. Obviously, most leaders were males, and there were more male bosses than female`s in companies. This unequal social injustice has existed all around the world, especially in the Dominican Republic. In this country, men always thought the only responsibility of women was staying at home and taking care of the whole family. In addition, men did not care what women really wanted, and the only way was to force women to do what men asked. In the movie In the Time of the Butterflies, which happened in the Dominican Republic, people struggle under the brutal dictatorship of Trujillo between the 1930`s and 1960`s. In this movie, men play the important gender role that women have no right to apply for university, and they have to be obedient to men. However, women work hard to defeat their oppressed unequal fate and seek feminism, especially for the three Mirabal sisters. The Mirabal sisters are normal women who live in a farm with their parents. Unfortunately, their father is killed by Trujillo, so they become revolutionaries. They lead people to dare to start the revolution against feminist resistance. Although the Mirabal sisters understand they will sacrifice their lives, they never abandon due to their respectable ambition to gain equal rights as men.

Along with educational issues women also faced domestic violence. Minerva, Dede, Maria Theresa, and Patria ended this suffering along with gaining freedom for everybody. Although Alvarez did not include the domestic violence view in the story she did show how women were not treated the same. When Minerva when to the university to study law, upon graduate Trujillo did not award her the license to practice. (Alvarez,138) Along with her being a women doing a man’s job Trujillo allowed his personal feelings dictate that decision and it added more to her rage against his way of ruling government. “...If they kill me, I shall reach my arms out of the grave and I shall be stronger.” and stronger she was. (Mirabal, 2006)