Minerva The Night Of The Dictator Trujillo

In the book Alvarez informs us that this takes place during Trujillo 's reign over the Dominican Republic in the 1930’s to the 1960’s. Throughout history dictators have risen and fallen all across the world. Many have been seen as evil, and sometimes good to others, but no matter what a persons view tend to be there are some who even consider them god. Due to a dictators extensive powers and complete control over every aspect of a persons life this is what comes to be. Trujillo is just the same, at first his true motives were questioned and it wasn’t apparent to all what he really was. As the Mirabel sisters grow up it becomes clear that Trujillo is in control of more of their lives than it may seemed. Trujillo leads a complete authoritarian rule over the Dominican Republic with spies everywhere, this can suggest that he trying to assume the role of a terrible god, who is always watching and ready to punish. While all

Minerva is trying to learn of the secrets of Trujillo and the bad things he has done. She wants to

The beauty and culture of the Dominican Republic has changed and evolved drastically through out the years. Unfortunately, the Dominican Republic also known as the DR or Republica Domicana to its natives, was ruled by an oppressive dictator from 1930 until 1961. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina was his name and manipulation was his game. He ruled by fear and held a tight grip on the civilians of the Dominican Republic. Trujillo ingrained in their homes, schools, and churches that there is only God and Trujillo. Anyone who tried to speak out would be dealt with violently. Trujillo did not stop one driven young lady of the Mirabal family, whose name is Minerva. Minerva Mirabal is the boldest sister out of

Both these stories show the power Trujillo had on his people. Trujillo wanted to make his presence felt everywhere in the Dominican Republic. This is shown when Diaz states

All during Minerva's life, some of her closest friends opposed Trujillo. The first of which was

loosen his hold, but he pulls me tighter towards him"(Minerva pg 66). Trujillo tried to

Alvarez shows many different ways a dictator affects both politics and daily life. People were afraid to say Trujillo’s name in an uncomplimentary way in fear of the consequences if someone were to hear and it get back to him. They were also afraid of being murdered in public for even threatening him. Trujillo was a harsh man so when Minerva says,” and I can see my hand in an endless slow motion rise---a mind all its own and come down on the astonished, made up face,”(she slaps him)(Alvarez 100) later in the book his revenge is for her to not be able to get her licence. Cruel right, but that is what happened when you messed with Trujillo. She also shows the sisters religions throughout the book, mainly Patria’s. Patria is the most religious sister and goes through the most

After she is lured and tricked into loving Trujillo (who only loves her for her beauty) she is imprisoned in a mansion for Trujillo to enjoy whenever he wants. This is similar to how the Dominicans believe that Trujillo is a glorious savior yet he is a horrible human and kills and steals from them while housing them in a palace of wealth and power. "2.

Patria is exposed to the truth that Trujillo was not the god-like entity she perceived him to be. In Patria’s mind there is no separation between god and Trujillo; they are one. Patria is finally coming face to face with the problems within the Dominican Republic. This revelation foreshadows how Patria will become involved with the regime and what part she might play.

Trujillo invades Minerva's personal space and she slaps him because she knows who he truly is.

Likewise, another factor that assists in Trujillo’s persistent control of the Dominican Republic is his abuse of power. Rules are restrictions and too many rules lead to the entrapment of citizens. Julia Alvarez specifically utilizes the word “weakness” to portray the character trait that the majority of the citizens possess. In the word “weakness,” one thinks about not-strong and lack of courage. In essence, no one has the courage to stand up to Trujillo. For example, we see the common trait through the quote, “People who opened their big mouths didn’t live very long.”

In addition, Trujillo was friends with the head of the armed forces, and friends with his wife’s lover. One day Trujillo told the general about his wife having an affair with another man, and Trujillo became the head of the armed forces soon after the general shot his wife and her lover. (17). Even though the sisters didn’t want to believe it the accusations against their president, but began to realize how true they were. Over time the sisters met others that didn’t agree with their president’s ways, and that is how the Mirabel sisters came to join the Virgilio Morales.

Rafael Trujillo, a Dominican dictator, developed a harsh reputation as being one of the most violent and domineering leaders of South America in his thirty-one years of power. In The Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez provides insight into the effects of Trujillo’s infamy by sharing the stories of three Dominican sisters and their struggles to gain independence and speak their truth. The Dominican-American author dramatizes the lives of the Mirabal sisters, three historical women who were assassinated in 1961, for their involvement in the anti-Trujillo movement. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, a Cuban critic of Latin American literature, provides a bias insight with regards to the novel.

He misses the opportunity to make a great historical novel, to tell us "another way" about Trujillo's thirty years of dictatorship and, therefore, to reinvent the nation. The author makes a flat, sensational and anecdotal narration. It narrates a series of events connected to each other by the sexual violence, it indicates to the Dominicans like pre-modern subjects tolerant with the abuse. It uses historical references to narrate situations of morbidity and religiosity, with which it builds an image of the Dominican nation, which suggests that violence and domination are not recognizable on the part of Dominicans, since the dictator's power was omnipresent and there was criticism or distance from its symbols. It can be said that the novel fails to dump its semantic energy towards a critical task of the dominant conceptions.

Because of the nearness of the revolution, Minvera knows that if she makes one wrong move or cowards in the face of danger, her support from the people will weaken. No, Minerva must prove to the whole of the Dominican Republic that she not is afraid of Trujillo. And she does prove this; even in right up in the face of danger, Minerva stays brave for herself, her family and for her country. Once the sisters have been released, they make a point of visiting their husbands in prison regularly. Then, there is one day they plan to go visit, November 25, 1960, when all day Minvera is advised against leaving the house. Minvera decides she must, for the people to know that she is not afraid of