In history, the heroes are the ones who see the faults before the problem has risen, the ones who raise a voice when everyone else is silent, and the ones who decide to change the world even if they stand alone. In The Time Of The Butterflies, Minerva Mirabal is the main character because she is the first person to open up the eyes of her family members to the true injustice being committed in her society. This novel takes place in the Dominican Republic where a dictator named Rafael Trujillo controls everything and everyone. Growing up during this time Minerva has always had a restless and rebellious urge to fight for what she wants. In The Time Of The Butterflies, Minerva is the main character because she believes that her actions and choices don't just affect her, but her entire country. It is not just her fight. It's everyone's.
In The Time Of The Butterflies, the theme of knowledge and truth internally and eternally effects Minerva by opening up her mind to what is really going on in the outside world. In the text it says, “I'd
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In the text, it says, “She wanted me to grow up in a free country” (1.3.100). In this quote Maria Teresa also know as “Mate” who is the youngest sister, asks Minerva why she was doing illegal things and breaking the rules. Minerva’s answer to Mate reveals that her core goal is to create a better world for her little sister to grow up in. This helps us understand that Minerva’s courage and selflessness carry her to break the rules in order to make a change. Don Horacio is Elsa’s Grandfather who hosts illegal secret meetings that Minerva attends while she's at school. Minerva decides to join in on the meetings in hopes to gain knowledge and seek a revolt against Trujillo. With bravery and true courage, Minerva was able to show her sister that sometimes you need to break the rules to change the
In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, takes place in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo’s control of the country. Dedé and Minerva are two extremely different Mirabal sisters, shown by how they respond to Trujillo taking over their country. Dedé and Minerva are only two of the sisters. There are four in total: Minerva, Dedé, Patria and María Teresa. The four sisters take turns throughout In the Time of the Butterflies telling their stories from the 1940s while living in the Dominican Republic. Manipulating her point of view and attitude, Julia Alvarez uses an impassioned style of writing to portray Minerva’s strong leadership and an explicit style of writing to portray Dedé’s willingness to compromise.
could get into a lot of trouble but she didn't care. Minerva stated "She didn't mean any
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.
rise-a mind of its own-and come down on the astonished, made up face." Minerva said,
Symbolism is the key to understanding Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street”. By unraveling the symbolism, the reader truly exposes the role of not only Latina women but women of any background. Esperanza, a girl from a Mexican background living in Chicago, writes down what she witnesses while growing up. As a result of her sheltered upbringing, Esperanza hardly comprehends the actions that take place around her, but what she did understand she wrote in her journal. Cisneros used this technique of the point of view of a child, to her advantage by giving the readers enough information of what is taking place on Mango Street so that they can gather the pieces of the puzzle a get the big picture.
People who have a position in the government can start off doing good things for the people and country, but will become power hungry and want to be in control of every little thing. This hunger for power can be seen in the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, which demonstrates how the daily lives of the citizens in the Dominican Republic are affected under the rule of their oppressive ruler, Trujillo. Alvarez focuses on 4 sisters, the Mirabal family, who strive for equality and democratic rights. The 4 sisters have all been been oppressed by Trujillo´s ridiculous laws. Enforcing unnecessary laws on society makes sure that Trujillo stays in complete control, which compels the people to strive for more freedom and rights,
Literature of the Americas has many stories and they all have comparisons, but they also have many differences. “Day of the Butterfly” by Alice Monro and “Crossroads: A Sad Vaudeville” by Carlos Solórzano have characters that share some traits and ways, but like all characters they have things that are different. The old woman from “A Sad Vaudeville” is a dynamic protagonist who finds herself meeting the perfect man for her, but has a dilemma when he is in denial because she is not the ideal girl of his dreams; she’s old. Myra from “Day of the Butterfly” is a static antagonist who does not have the same care free attitude as most of the children her own age. She is rather shy and does not fit in or socialize much with people her own age.
Sophocles’s Antigone and Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies are based upon a common theme: rebellion. While reading both pieces in class, the notion of to what extent a rebellion is justified surfaced frequently; however, reading both texts was insufficient in finding a conclusion to this topic, so I read through various poems to aid my deduction. After my extensive research, I came to the conclusion that rebellion can be justified by a rebel’s genuine belief in their cause. The process of justification is based upon one’s personal qualification of what is considered just; therefore, a single belief in the righteousness of any revolt justifies a rebellion.
Helena Maria Veramontes writes her short story “The Moths” from the first person point of view, placing her fourteen year old protagonist female character as a guide through the process of spiritual re-birth. The girl begins the story with a description of the debt she owes her Abuelita—the only adult who has treated her with kindness and respect. She describes her Apa (Father) and Ama (Mother), along with two sisters as if they live in the same household, yet are born from two different worlds. Her father is abusive, her mother chooses to stay in the background and her sisters evoke a kind of femininity that she does not possess. The girl is angry at her masculine differences and strikes out at her sisters physically. Apa tries to make his daughter conform to his strict religious beliefs, which she refuses to do and her defiance evokes abuse. The girl’s Abuelita is dying and she immerses herself in caring for her, partly to repay a debt and partly out of the deep love she has for her. As her grandmother lay dying, she begins the process of letting go. The moth helps to portray a sense of spirituality, re-birth and becomes, finally, an incarnation of the grandmother. The theme of the story is spiritual growth is born from human suffering.
“had to be brave for Sinita.” (19). This “hero’s attitude” is further evident in Minerva’s interactions with her sisters. One poignant example of this heroism is seen when Maria Teresa confronts minerva about why she was going to secret meetings at Don Horacio’s house, and asks her why she's doing such a dangerous thing. Minerva responds that she wants maria teresa to grow up in a free country, perfectly illustrating how minerva is willing to sacrifice herself so that the people around her can grow up in a better
Grande introduces to the audience various characters that cross Juana 's path to either alter or assist her on her journey to find her father. Through those individuals, Grande offers a strong comparison of female characters who follow the norms, versus those that challenge gender roles that
Out from the kitchen and into the world, women are making a better name for themselves. Although humankind tends to be male dominated, men are not the only species that inhabit the world that they live on. In Julia Alvarez's novel In the Time of the Butterflies, the women of the Dominican Republic are expected to grow up to be housewives and lacking a formal education. Women may be cherished like national treasures, but they are not expected to fulfill their truest potentials as human beings.
“But Minerva, your own child—" I began and then I saw it did hurt her to make this sacrifice she was convinced she needed to make” (155). Minerva asks her sister to take her son, Manolito, because she is going to be moving a lot for her revolutionary activities. Her sister Patria at first doesn't understand how she could give up her child; but she realizes that it isn't that Minerva doesn't care. She's making an immense sacrifice for what she believes in. Minerva has consistently sacrifice herself in her combat of injustice, and expects the same of those around her. When Minerva got out of prison, she talks about sacrificing her peace of mind, “I hid my anxieties and gave everyone a bright smile. If they had only known how frail was their iron-will heroine.” (259) In the end Minerva finally sacrifices her life along with most of her other sisters.
Minerva influenced Patria by helping her understand why she hated Trujillo. While Patria was gazing at the picture of the Good Shepherd in comparison, Minerva said “They're a pair, aren't they?” (53). It then hit Patria, “That moment, I understood her hatred. My family had not been personally hurt by Trujillo, just as before, losing my baby, Jesus had not taken anything away from me. But others had been suffering great losses” (53). By comparing Trujillo to the Good Shepherd Minerva was able to get through to Patria. Though her constant tangents and speeches about the bad in Trujillo didn't seem to budge Patria, Minerva was able to connect the way Trujillo was depicted, to something that meant much more to Patria, her religion. This marked a turning point for Patria because she now truly believed and saw that Trujillo was bad. The Church gave Patria the opportunity to fight. “I couldn’t believe this was the same Padre de Jesús talking who several months back hadn’t known his faith from his fear! But then again, here in that little room was the same Patria Mercedes, who wouldn’t have hurt a butterfly, shouting, 'Amen to the revolution.' And so we were born in the spirit of the vengeful Lord, no longer His lambs” (163, 164). The church, being the thing that meant the most to Patria, was ready to fight. So Patria suddenly became ready to. Having
Minerva does not try and escape even though she “is always sad like a house on fire—always something wrong. She has many troubles, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving” (Cisneros 63). Minerva is clearly unhappy, but because she is accepting of her role and she will not leave him. She does not have the power to leave her husband and if she tried she would probably be beaten or worse. Esperanza wants to help Minerva but there is nothing that she can do for her: “Next week she comes over black and blue and asks what can she do? Minerva. I don’t know which way she’ll go. There is nothing I can do” (Cisneros 63). Esperanza knows that she cannot do anything for Minerva. It will take the power of Minerva removing herself from the abusive situation to actually save herself. Minerva having no power in her marriage is a clear relationship back to the theme of women accepting their role with men as their superior.