The main point of Julia Alvarez’s "In the Time of the Butterflies" is to show individual personality in each character. This book shows that the people involved in the revolution led personal lives and had feelings just like those of us who read about them. By telling about the characters’ families and personal issues, Alvarez draws her readers into the book and makes them feel for each character. Something that puzzled me was why the Mirabal sisters refused to leave prison. Minerva said that they had to set a good example and that accepting a pardon would mean that they thought they had something to be pardoned for. It seems to me that Minerva had too much pride. They should have accepted the pardon for the sake of their children and their mother. Did they really want their children to grow up without them? I see that they were trying to prove a point, but it also seems that they were working against themselves at the same time. They could not further the revolution while they were sitting in jail. I also wondered why Trujillo all of the sudden started killing people left and right. I concluded that he was desperate because he knew he was not going to have that much power for very long. He knew he was in trouble because the OAS Peace Committee came so he figured he might as well kill people while he still can. I don’t understand why Mate did not tell the OAS Peace Committee what happened at La 40. She said she did not want to endanger Santiclo. That is un...
Woodrow Wilson, our 23rd president, became involved in a war that he did not want any part of. Wilson wanted to remain neutral and have peace as in his first term of office. During World War I Wilson’s roles in the war became well known in all countries. Wilson wanted peace more than anything else. In seeking for peace Wilson asked Congress for the U.S. to enter World War I. which may not sound like a peace strategy but Wilson felt it was the only way to stop Germany and gain peace. Wilson wrote his speech for world peace, Fourteen Points, that he was probably most famous for. He attended and played an integral part in The Treaty of Versailles. He was the founder of the League of Nations, which he talked about in his Fourteen Points speech. .
... did not take part in the revolution, her own strength was tested when her sisters were killed by Trujillo, leaving her as the only sister remaining alive. In the Time of the Butterflies allows readers to experience the courage of ordinary people fighting against extraordinary circumstances. The sisters advocated for a change in the Dominican Republic, and without being exceptionally special or extraordinary, they affected the entire county for the better. Today, readers can still learn from this story due to Julia Alvarez’s detailed portrayal of the Mirabal sisters and their story.
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.
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.
Link’s book was published in 1979 and was written based upon privet manuscript collections, government archives from the U.S, Brittan, France and Germany, as well as newspapers. Link also reaches from monographs, biographies, and articles from numerous colleagues. (Link.pg 129) Each of these sources are solid and reliable sources, and were well used to put together a book packed with information on Woodrow Wilson’s life. Link uses many firsthand accounts from Wilson himself, but seems almost suspicious of accounts that were not presented first hand. Though Link is extremely selective in what he chose to present, the book clearly presents these facts, but has a very bias opinion of Wilson as discussed earlier. Link’s evidence, though selective, fits nicely in the monograph and makes the aspects of Wilson that he does cover clear and easy to read
...sm was growing less and less practical as World War II continued to rage on. The world had changed since Wilson’s presidency. Wilson had believed that World War I was the “war to end all wars,” that the creation of an international institution such as the League of Nations would help ensure that such a bloody, global conflict would not occur again. The onset of World War II proved that World War I had not solved the world’s problems, which Roosevelt recognized. For Roosevelt, it appeared that Wilsonian solutions were ineffective, and cooperation among the world powers was the way in which peace would be found. While Wilson had believed that the League of Nations would create a world in which war would not have to be waged, Roosevelt’s idealism turned to realism as he watched the Second World War tear apart not only the League, but the entire European continent.
The entire book was leading up to the murder of the notorious Mirabal sisters which also put into perspective how oppressed these people were. Not only did this book give the reader an insight on the life of a citizen of the Dominican Republic between the years of 1930 and 1960 but, it showed how an oppressive government could affect the people in both negative and positive ways, using the sisters as examples. Obviously, negative aspects included citizens being jailed and killed by their own government. In a situation such as this, fear was in every person, whether they were brave enough to join the resistance or not. Families were torn apart, as shown in the book. Minerva, Maria Teresa, and their husbands, along with Patria’s husband, were taken from their children, home, church and family to be jailed for going against the government. Alvarez vividly describes the hurt that came to the families when they were broken apart. In jail, the sisters and husbands were also physically ill. They were being starved and being diagnosed with pneumonia which was not unheard
No one can deny that science has evolved rapidly throughout history. One question, however, has not been able to be answered, even though it has been asked from times as far back as Plato. Do humans have minds; a separate entity from the physical brain that allows us to think? Or is there only a brain, controlling everything including choices and emotions? Thoughts have no physical properties, so how is it that they reside in a physical container such as the brain? These questions all describe the “mind-body problem.”
The Treaty of Versailles was a violation of Wilson’s ideals. The Treaty is one of the most important agreements (or disagreements) that shaped 20th century Europe socially and physically. Woodrow Wilson on January 22, 1917 in an address to the United States Senate called for a peace without victors, but the Treaty signed by the participating nations was everything but that. The blame for the war was placed on Germany and justified the reparations that were outlined by the treaty for the war. The terms of the treaty were very harsh to the Germans and they took on great resentment. It was a fragile peace agreement that would be used as fuel to keep hostilities going 20 years later.
It is influential to have strong people who want to fight for their rights. It is often easy to focus on oppression than it is to change it. It takes courage to be able to go against the rules of law. In both “In The Time Of The Butterflies” and “The Censors” , Juan and the Mariposas not only reveal their courage, but also develop significant symbols to the roles of each one of them during their time overcoming oppression. The Mirabal’s behavior towards their determination to fight for freedom, symbolizes the hope for freedom. The Dominicans were blessed to have four courageous women who went against the law in order to better their country for all. In the other hand, Juan role to overcome oppression resulted in his death and death to many innocent people. His behavior symbolize distrust, one cannot trust anyone, not even yourself. He was so caught up with his job, doing what he believed was right, he ended up censoring
Defiance in the name of freedom against the political clutch of a powerful dictator can bring about the consequence of inhumane punishment and loss, however, by preserving and telling the story of a great loss, one honors the memory of sacrifice and can find closure, making the cause worth the fight. The legitimacy of this statement is evidently valid when paired up behind the sacrifice of the three Mirabal sisters in the book by Julia Alvarez: In The Time of The Butterflies. Is any life worth living trapped in fear of harm or even death? How much misery and suffering can one tolerate from a higher power, before they seize opportunity to rise against the greater force. What triggers, and to what severity, drive one to the last resort of risking everything, including their life, in amends for something better; the liberating taste of freedom from fear? Can the quality of life even become so unbearable to generate such a gamble?
In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, is a story of three girls who develop from being innocent girls to being part of a revolutionary to stop Trujillo a Dominican dictator. Throughout the story we see each of the sisters go through hard moments in their life. However the sister that has developed the most though is Minerva. She goes from being just a girl with a dream to be a lawyer too a woman willing to sacrifice anything to support the revolution and stop Trujillo.
Women have always been fighting for their rights for voting, the right to have an abortion, equal pay as men, being able to joined the armed forces just to name a few. The most notable women’s rights movement was headed in Seneca Falls, New York. The movement came to be known as the Seneca Falls convention and it was lead by women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton during July 19th and 20th in 1848. Stanton created this convention in New York because of a visit from Lucretia Mott from Boston. Mott was a Quaker who was an excellent public speaker, abolitionist and social reformer. She was a proponent of women’s rights. The meeting lasted for only two days and was compiled of six sessions, which included lectures on law, humorous presentations and discussions concerning women’s role in society. The convention was organized by a mostly radical group of Quakers while ironically their leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a non-Quaker skeptic. Stanton and her Quaker followers presented a document entitled the Declaration of Sentiments to the convention, which was accompanied by a list of resolutions that were to be debated by the members of the convention before it was signed. One hundred of the three hundred attendees of the Seneca Falls Convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments. The Seneca Falls Convention was merely a single step in the right direction for the women’s rights movement; it was seen as a revolution in which women were fighting desperately for equality to their male counterparts. The Declaration of Sentiments became a staple document in the women’s suffrage, as it was the first time that men and women came together to demand women’s right to vote. Women’s suffrage gained national attention due to the conventio...
The influence of the people around you has a great impact on your life. In In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez and in Journey to Jihad by Ben Taub, radicalization is due to the influences of others. Minerva’s rebellion was caused by both Sinita and Trujillo. Patria’s rebellion was caused by the influences of Minerva and the Church. Jeojen’s radical actions were due to his girlfriend, as well as his neighbor. Minerva, Patria, and Jeojen all epitomize the significance of influential people within one’s life.
The Treaty of Versailles had a lot of opposition from various groups, but Wilson’s stubbornness was most liable for the failure of it in the United States. There were many problems with the treaty according to the senate. The opinions on the treaty we