In the Dominican Republic, General Rafael Trujillo 's dictatorship is being judged within the eyes of the four Maribal sisters. In the story "In the Time of the butterflies" by Julia Alvarez the four sisters that are all strikingly different, are contemplating on whether to follow along with the anti- Trujillo movement. Minerva being the most dominant one out of all the sisters, is first to follow through against Trujillo. Alvarez involves feminism, rhetorical and literary devises, and portrayed various themes in her novel. Along with showing the strong relationship, and the differences between the four sisters, they showed us readers the true meaning of family. The sisters were best known as "Las mariposas" that means butterflies. Trujillo’s …show more content…
It was highly expected for the women to obey either their husbands or father’s decisions. At that point in time women weren 't as well respected, men were always the most dominant. Julia Alvarez could portray that otherwise by the four sisters showing women 's self-worth and righteousness. Minerva was unhesitant about women 's right she was first to join against Trujillo. Each sister had strong characteristics to show their willingness to not give up on a better life for them and their children. "Your responsibility is to your children, your husband, and your own! His face was so clouded in anger; I couldn 't see the man I loved" (Alvarez 166). Patria 's husband was filled with anger due to her decision that she wanted both her and her husband to take part of the resistance with their eldest son, but Pedrito was more worried about losing his land when it was Partia 's dad 's land to begin with. ""What if I can 't"" Dede 's voice shook. 'Jaimito thinks it 's suicide. He told me that he 'll have to leave me if I get mixed up in this thing. ' There, she 'd said it... She was hiding behind her husband’s fear"(Alvarez 180). This quote showed that Dede was the one with the most fear in her heart, she was afraid that Jaimito would leave her if she were to join with her sisters. As the reader, we come to realize how
Then, Dictator Trujillo ordered his troops to murder three of the four Mirabal sisters and Sinita’s family. In the Time of the Butterflies is also structured as a hero’s journey because the novel is about four sisters
Today, when one turns on the radio, Pandora, or any type music streaming company, we will most likely hear artists singing songs that do not sound like their ‘usual sound.’ Today they are known as crossover artists, and some of the most widely know to this day are Taylor Swift from country to pop, Enrique Iglesias and Gloria Estefan both coming from Latin fan bases to the American pop culture. Latin artists almost always start off with fan base in Spanish speaking countries, but once they are able to crossover into the American mainstream music it is a completely different story, it leads to instant fame. They are recognized around the world, even if it is for one hit. Yet this is where most Latin artists struggle, because in order to become more popular they need to break the barrier between
she’s comparing God and Trujillo, by saying they have become the same person. Patria gains courage from this because she realizes that God might not be so great as she thought him to be. At a young age, Patria also showed signs of a motherly-figure. Patria, like any mother, loves her child no matter what. Another example from the novel is, “That moment, I understood her hatred.
In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies the theme of entrapment is seen multiple times throughout the book, mainly to represent the authoritarian regime of Trujillo. There are several different types of entrapment in the book but the main three are the discovery of entrapment, physical entrapment and the roles of women holding back the women from fulfilling their destinies. These three point mainly surround Minerva, who can be considered the bravest sister for being the first one to get involved with the revolution, but the other sisters deal with entrapment as well.
Butterflies Reflection In The Time of the Butterflies I am exposed to many different viewpoints. An important one being Minerva Mirabal. This novel takes me through the crazy lives of the Mirabal’s. This family is in a personal war against El Jefe Trujillo.
As a reader just being introduced to the character Patria with this quote you can clearly tell Julia Alvarez’s intent on how we look at Patria. The author intends to show and describe the character as a
This is a time where high expectations are set for both men and women. These expectations and gender roles are deeply focused on in the novel, and are partially responsible for the murder of Santiago Nasar. Even though there were standards needed to be upheld by both men and women, the nature of these standards differed greatly for each gender. Women were expected to be the keepers of the house, they were expected to take care of the children, cook, clean, and be skilled in embroidery. Garcia refers to the Vicario sisters as an example of an ideal women, “The girls had been reared to get married.
As the eldest sister, Patria is introduced as a motherly figure toward her sisters. She married at a young age and was happy being a wife and mother. Her Christianity is central to her character, and although it was tested due to the death of her stillborn child, a retreat in the mountains with her church group profoundly affects both her faith and her view of the rebellion. At the retreat, Patria witnesses a young rebel, not much older than her own daughter, being shot and killed by Trujillo’s guard force.
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.
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.
Lola takes advantage of her deteriorating mother whose illness represents the declining hold of the norms over Lola. Since her mom “will have trouble lifting her arms over her head for the rest of her life,” Lola is no longer afraid of the “hitting” and grabbing “by the throat” (415,419). As a child of a “Old World Dominican Mother” Lola must be surrounded by traditional values and beliefs that she does not want to claim, so “as soon as she became sick” Lola says, “I saw my chance and I’m not going to pretend or apologize; I saw my chance and I eventually took it” (416). When taking the opportunity to distinguish herself from the typical “Dominican daughter” or ‘Dominican slave,” she takes a cultural norm like long hair and decides to impulsively change it (416). Lola enjoyed the “feeling in [her] blood, the rattle” that she got when she told Karen to “cut my hair” (418).
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.
but she couldn’t because of her husband “Even so that night, her ears still ringing from Jaimito’s shout, Dedé had been ready to risk her life. It was her marriage that she couldn’t put on the line” (Alvarez, 177). Dede, the sister who did not actively participate in the revolution wishes she could have. It was her marriage that stopped her from joining her sisters. She believed her country needed to be free from Trujillo
The Diaz sisters, who published their début album “Ibeyi” few months ago, are one of the most glaring examples of how two twins can look, act and sound different but also how two opposites can become one alike. Ibeyi is indeed an intriguing project, which is able to mirror the many souls
The female characters are portrayed as independent, strong willed women that are full of determination to fulfill their dreams, who also defy stereotypes. Minerva is portrayed as a strong woman when she fulfills her dream of getting a form of higher education, which also goes against social norms in the Dominican Republic. She says, “I want to go to the university[...]I’ve always wanted to study law” (Alvarez 98). By attending the university, Minerva is completing her dream and going against female stereotypes. Another example of women being strong willed in the novel is when the Mirabal sisters fight and die for a cause they believed in.