Patria Mirabel The trait that Patria Mirabel greatly acquired is amazing faith. Patria would go to huge measures to do what she knew was right. She and her sisters showed acts of bravery in the fight against the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. These acts are what caused them to be seen as modern heroes. In Julia Alvarez’ novel In the Time of the Butterflies Patria Mirabel and her sisters were just four ordinary girls from the Dominican Republic that saw a need in their country and wanted to do something about it. Patria Mirabel has always seemed to put others needs before her own, seeking the approval of God and trying to follow in his will. Although she had some problems with her faith at times, she seemed to always be led to do what …show more content…
Her kids even became part of the revolution. When her son is released from prison for his role in the revolution, she remembers, “A courage of guards in dress whites came through, followed by a handful of sorry-looking boys, their skulls visible under their shave heads, their eyes big and scared, their faces swollen with bruises. When I saw Nelson, I cried out and dropped to my knees. Lord, I remember praying, thank you for giving me my son again.” (Alvarez 225). Patria joined the revolution because she felt responsible for helping people, and even more for helping children. She also wanted to make sure her own kids were safe and that is why she feels like she does when her son is let go. This trait of motherhood makes Patria Mirabel a hero in regular life. Although Patria and the other Mirabel sisters were just a few ordinary girls from the Dominican Republic, by the end of the novel they were so much more. The courage changed the lives of many people and even changed history. The Mirabel sisters will be seen as heroes through time. Their memories and dedication will be remembered
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
The Mirabal sisters are all considered heroines for their work against Trujillo. Three of them
In the Time of the Butterflies during the 1940s, in the Dominican Republic, the ruler or dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo punished people if they didn’t do as he told them and plenty of other cruel things. He ruled for about 30 years, so the people were tortured for quite a long time. He became the dictator by eliminating everyone who had power above him. He even married his wives just to use them to get the the top and control everyone. It was just an unfair way to handle things and an unfair country overall. In her book, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” Julia Alvarez incorporates the history of the famous Mirabal sisters by telling the history of their life and how it was back then for their Dominican Republic country. Julia Alvarez
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,
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.
Throughout history women have always been minimized from social, sexual , and political aspects juxtaposed to men. Just like in the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the author uses the Mirabal sisters to demonstrate the inequalities set in the Dominican Republic. The dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo causes the Mirabal sisters to come together and overthrow Trujillo’s regime.Trujillo. Rafael Trujillo was despised by many yet many were forced to worship him like some type of paragon. As the novel progresses, illustrations of male dominance often appear throughout each chapter. The Mirabal sisters: Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa and Dede each demonstrate the ability to overcome stigmas in order to obtain freedom.
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
Within the novel, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” Mate, Minerva, Dede, and Patria had to create decisions to overcome obstacles that would transform each of their lives. Throughout the book, all of the sisters changed somehow. They all grew up, matured, and saw things how they never viewed before. While looking at these things at a different perception, they learned to make decisions that were sometimes brave and sometimes cowardly. Each of the Mirabal sisters had to choose whether or not to be fearful and give up, or be courageous and stand her ground, or make sacrifices to show her strength throughout the novel.
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.
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” (Andre Gide) In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, four sisters are led through a risk infested journey in which they must overcome hindrances with hollow consequences. This historical fiction novel takes us through a rollercoaster of events, incorporating everything from the partialities towards women, to life below the oppressive administration of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo. The events painted by the four sisters give us some insight as to the positives and negatives of life in the Dominican Republic. As the novel progresses, we see the diversity in relation to the
Dictator, a word that has haunted people throughout history, it means a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force. Trujillo was a dictator of that kind, he was a role model in front of his people, but a murderer in the shadows. There were those who went against him in order to gain their freedom, among those brave souls were the Mirabel sister who fought for their freedom. These radicalists were known as The Butterflies, which consisted of the Mirabel sisters. The Butterflies went through a metamorphosis just like butterflies; they transformed themselves into symbols of peace through stages in their life.
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.
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.
“In the Time of the Butterflies” takes place in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. The author, Julia Alvarez is a native of the country, but moved to the US at a young age. She first heard about the sisters roughly around 1986 and instantly felt the need to share their story with the world. In the book, Alvarez tells the story of the Mirabal sisters and their fight for freedom against the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Rafael Trujillo reigned for about 30 years until his assassination in May of 1961. Trujillo’s reign of terror began in 1930 and the violence soon followed. The self centered dictator changed the names of cities and murdered roughly about 20,000 Haitians from the neighboring country. The book not only tells the sisters’