Having power is to have complete control over a group of people whom are willing to do anything that a person in high authority wants to do. It is obtained through deception-based channels . In other words, people get power by lying – this is what Rafael Trujillo did. Typically, in a dictatorship, the use of authority is utilized to ensure that a country remains under the control of the dictator. In Julia Alvarez's “Before We Were Free ,” life under Rafael Trujillo was deplorable. The people of the Dominican Republic lived in a society which was governed by intense fear. These people were afraid of being killed by the SIM – the primary control agency which kept control of the country. They kept this control by ensuring that if any form of rebellion …show more content…
The Dominican Republic[in the past]was a nightmare to live in[as the book puts it]because many people were afraid of doing anything that lead them to getting killing—if such act was infringing on one of his a laws. Trujillo’s immense power allowed him to do things to a person, whether they liked it or not. For example: his ability to “make people disappear.” The novel, Before We Were Free,”- Alvarez states, “ They go around investigating everyone and then making then disappearing them”(Alvarez 14). One of Trujillo’s many examples of oppression: make perpetrators disappear. This is a form of oppression because it prevents them from displaying any form of “free will.” The creation and enforcement of a law is to prevent citizens of such country to be civilized, but the difference here is that: no one is allowed sully Trujillo’s name—this restricts the Dominican people of their “freedom of speech”, which is a form of free will. During these times, voicing your opinions was considered “taboo” because it will ultimately lead to someone’s …show more content…
In Protagonist’s[Anita] diary, she talks about the many times she has prayed to her god, rather than Trujillo. Her religion revolves around catholicism, something that Dominican integrate into their everyday lives. Trujillo’s oppression was so robust, that it was able to convince, some of the most devoted catholics of the Dominican republic, to pray to him rather than god. Alvarez states, “[...]the worst stories Oscar tells are the ones about El Jefe. When I first heard how nad he was from Lucinda, I felt so confused. Everyone has always had always treated El Jefe like God. I shudder to think how many time I’ve prayed to him instead of to Jesus on His cross. “He does even worse things than crucify people, “Oscar tells us one time. “He disappears them”(Alvarez 48). Rafael Trujillo’s god complex, was loud and strong, a few decades ago. It made the Dominican people feel obligated to pray to him, as opposed to Jesus Christ. It may not be apparent, but this is a form of oppression, because it made it seem that praying to someone other than himself was illegal, even though anyone doing so could not easily be caught. Anita’s fear and confusion is a great show the reader a snapshot into how “impactful” Trujillo was—in terms of his profound
Doña Guadalupe is a woman of great strength and power, power and strength which she draws from her devout faith and her deep and loving compassion for her family, and power and strength which is passed down to her children. “‘Well, then, come in,’ she said, deciding that she could be handle this innocent-girl-stealing coyote inside. On going into the long tent, Salvador felt like he’d entered the web of a spider, the old woman was eyeing him so deliberately” (360). Doña Guadalupe is a very protective woman, which is extremely speculative when it comes to her children, this is especially true when it comes to boys, because she has not gone this far only for all of her hard work to be ruined by a no good boy. This shows how protective she is, she loves her family, and especially her kids so much that they themselves must pass her test before being able to pass on to her children. “The newborns were moving, squirming, reaching out for life. It was truly a sign from God” (58). Doña Guadalupe is also a very devout and faithful person. She sees God in everything and in everyone and by that fact, what she sees and who she sees is true, and she tries to be a model of clairvoyance for the family. “Doña Guadalupe put the baby’s little feet in a bowel of warm water, and the child clinging to his mother. He never cried, listening to her heartbeat, the same music that he’d heard from inside the womb” (57). Finally, Doña Guadalupe is very passionate which allows for a great model upon which her children follow. This further shows how she is clearly th...
I read the book Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. Anita, an eleven year old girl, is suddenly sent into a very scary and unknown world, right in her own home. Her cousins are running away to the United states, but to get away from what? Her parents are keeping secrets and she tries to get information from her sister, but finds out very little. Anita finds herself struggling when she is forced to grow up very quickly and try not to act as scared as she feels at times. Through the view of a young girl, this story really captures what it’s like to feel like immigration is the only option for a family.
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is an account of the four Mirabal sisters’ lives in the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship. Three of the Mirabal sisters - Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom by participating in the underground movement which opposed Trujillo’s dictatorship. Their participation in the revolution was a threat to Trujillo’s power and this resulted in the three sisters being killed. The novel tells the story from the point of view of each of the four siblings. The sisters, also referred to as, “The Butterflies,” each had a different approach to dealing with life under Trujillo’s reign. Minerva, the first person from her family to join the revolution, was motivated by principles and she contributed consistently to the revolution. Dede is the only survivor from the Mirabal sisters’ family, this is because she did not participate in the revolution. However, she takes care of the deceased children and tells the story of
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina is without a doubt one of the most known figures within the Dominican history. The “Era de Trujillo” (The Trujillo Era) occupied the Dominican Republic for the long period of thirty-one years. His dictatorship started in 1930 and ended with his assassination on May 30, 1961. Trujillo’s Career began with the occupation of the United States in 1916. During this time he was trained in a military school, and became part of the National Police, a military group made by the Unites States to maintain order in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo stood out during his military career and rapidly ascended within the military ranges. Under the government of Horatio Vasquez Trujillo received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was put in charge of chiefs and assistant commanders of the National Police . This new position gave him the opportunity to be part of the overthrowing of Horatio Vasquez. Trujillo was sworn into presidency on August 16, 1930. Marking the beginning of what is known as the cruel, violent and controversial part of history in the Dominican Republic.
Miguel Melendez’s book, “We Took the Streets” provides the reader with an insightful account into the activities of the Young Lords movement established in the latter years of the 1960s and remained active up until the early seventies. The book’s, which is essentially Melendez’s memoir, a recollection of the events, activities, and achievements of the Young Lords. The author effectively presents to the reader a fascinating account of the formation of the Young Lords which was a group of college students from Puerto Rico who came together in a bid to fight for some of the basic rights. As Melendez sums it up, “You either claim your history or lose authority over your future” (Melendez 23). The quote is in itself indicative of the book’s overall
In Nectar in a Sieve, “Nature is like a wild animal that you have trained to work for you.” (Makandaya 43). The people’s fate is determined by the weather, the tannery, and the landowners. If their crops fail they could starve and if the landowners sell your land you have to move. The characters in the book have no control over their lives. They want and deserve power, but power is hard to gain. In In the Time of the Butterflies Trujillo has all the power. When the sisters realize that Trujillo is a dictator they don’t give up their fight for rights. “It 's the secret of Trujillo" (Alvarez 16) that gives him power. The big secret is that he got all his power by killing people. People who know the secret are afraid of what he will do if they tell or do something about it. Dede’s sisters died because they fought for their rights and Trujillo had more power. In both books the lack of the characters’ power caused conflict.
In Beth Brant (Mohawk) “This is History,” the main theme in the story is to show readers that women came first and love each other in society. She is trying to find a identity for herself and have connections with things around her. She is willing to appreciate nature and earth. She is taking the beauty of everything around her. Including pregnancy and women. “First woman touched her body, feeling the movements inside, she touched the back of mother and waited for the beings to change her world.”
Castillo first shows the reader her distrust of patriarchy and its vertical structures through La Loca Santa’s death. The first structure under scrutiny here is the Catholic Church. After La Loca awakens she throws herself into the air and lands on the top of the Church, saying that those below her carry the same scent that she had smelled while in hell. With Loca high above the others she can be seen as a “substation” for a new Chicana Christ figure (Delgadillo 895). She tells those gathered below that she has been sent back to pray for them so that they would be able to see their Creator in heaven. Father Jerome pleads with her to come down so that the congregation could pray for her. She then reminds him that it is she that was sent to pray for them. With La Loca in the position of a Christ figure of the system, the structure of the system, in this case religion,...
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).
Religion holds a powerful position in the lives of Latinos. It provides a built in censor of right and wrong in the form of extreme guilt (Aranda 150). The chapter "A Rice Sandwich" divulges the way guilt is established. Here Esperanza wants to eat at the canteen for lunch, but the nuns just insult her, and this makes her cry. She says they were "...pointing to a row of three ugly flats, the one the raggedy men are ashamed to go into. Yes...though I knew that wasn't my house" (Cisneros 45). The fact that her victimizers were nuns made her even more embarrassed about where she lived than she already was.
In her work, “This is Our World,” Dorothy Allison shares her perspective of how she views the world as we know it. She has a very vivid past with searing memories of her childhood. She lives her life – her reality – because of the past, despite how much she wishes it never happened. She finds little restitution in her writings, but she continues with them to “provoke more questions” (Allison 158) and makes the readers “think about what [they] rarely want to think about at all” (158).
The United States is known as the “land of the free” attracting many immigrants to achieve the “American Dream” with the promise of equal opportunity for all. However, many groups, whose identities differed from the dominant American ideology, discovered this “American dream” to be a fantasy. In the 1960s, movements for civil rights in the United States of America included efforts to end private and public acts of racial discrimination against groups of disadvantaged people. Despite the efforts made to empower the disadvantaged groups, racialization and class differences prevailed leading to social inequality. The novel My Beloved World is an autobiography written by Sonia Sotomayor illustrating her early life, education, and career path, explaining the unresolved contradictions of American history and how they continue on in society. Prejudice against certain socioeconomic classes and races prevented equal opportunity. Sotomayor’s text explicates the racialization and class differences that many Puerto Ricans experience while pursuing a higher education, revealing the contradictions between the American promise of equal opportunity and discrimination against Puerto Ricans.
...er the revolution, the mentality of the people of San Domingo was foreover changed. Slavery would never be accepted again by the inhabitants. "Any regime which tolerated such practices was doomed, for the revolution had created a new race of men" (242). This new race of men were aware of their self-importance. "There was no need to be ashamed of being a black. The revolution had awakened them, had given them the possibility of achievement, confidence and pride. That psychological weakness, that feeling of inferiority with which the imperialists poison colonial peoples everywhere, these were gone" (244).
Diaz describes Trujillo by writing, “You might roll your eyes at the comparison, but, friends: it would be hard to exaggerate the shadow of fear he cast over the Dominican people and the shadow of fear he cast throughout the region” (224). Trujillo put so much fear into the people of the Dominican Republic that Beli did not know it would ever affect her. In a world where no one gives her such feelings, the Gangster makes Beli feel beautiful. But, the Gangster is a pimp and exploits women, which shows the degradation of women such as Beli.
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.