Fear is 99% of the reason why social change never occurs. In In the time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the Dominican people are oppressed by the dictator at the time, Trujillo, and never do anything about it. Perhaps some are too naive to understand what is going on. Perhaps it is the police state or the regime as a fear factor. Perhaps they support the regime because their lives depend on it. Either way, people lacked the urge to fight the monolithic power of Trujillo. The Mirabal Sisters present an opportunity and a model for others due to their solidarity and fierce nationalistic feelings towards the dictatorship. Social change can only occur when the people are willing to be informed, take action, and a catalyst occurs.
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In the French revolution, some important catalysts were the winter famine, the raised food prices, and the poor spending of money by the French monarchy. Due to the lack of resources and food, people were fighting over resources. These events contributed to the French citizen’s angry attitude with the monarchy who they blamed for raising the already high food prices and poorly spending their already low sum of money. Similarly in In The Time of The Butterflies, each sister has a specific catalyst that encouraged them to join and support the revolution earlier than they would of. One sister’s catalyst that particularly stuck out was Minerva and the catalyst that convinced her to join the revolution. “Because Lio presented a very real opportunity to fight against the regime…. Minerva was never the same…”(66,Alvarez) Lio, who was a popular revolutionary, “presented a very real opportunity” for Minerva to actually transform her thoughts on the revolution and the regime into actions that actually could make a difference. Lio influenced and sparked Minerva’s thoughts for she “was never the same”. “Never the same” meaning the same Minerva, but a Minerva who thought proactively. In relation to this, the French Revolution would have later or never happened if the famine, high prices, and poor spending had not occurred. All in all, without a catalyst, social change could not …show more content…
Haile Selassie, a late Ethiopian regent, once said, “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.” Selassie stated this in an address in Addis Ababa in 1963 to indicate the “inaction” of the people when the Organization of African Unity was replaced by the more corrupt African Union. This is paradox to In In The Time of The Butterflies, where Dede meets a revolutionary named Lio. Wanting to show off her knowledge, Dede decides to start reading newspapers. “She began to read the paper with pointed interest….key names….evaluated and reflected...”(75,Alvarez) Dede now has an objective and a reason to become more knowledgeable. Dede slowly matures from a shy girl to a woman who now is
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
In The Time of the Butterflies, chapter six briefly explain why Minerva action against Trujillo led to the sister death. Minerva slapping Trujillo in the face was a sign of bravery that she was not going to let Trujillo dilated her action like he did to a bunch of other women. It was clearly shown that Trujillo wasn’t going to let this slide by, instead build various events to make her suffer, making her commit to this actions which eventually will give Trujillo a reason for murdering the sisters’.“ pg 83-101”. This evidence shows that Minerva is willing to break out from the barriers that society and Trujillo dictatorship is implementing on them, and make a change for the better. “Women hold their beaded evening bags over their head, trying to protect their foundering hairdo after Minerva slap Trujillo”(pg 100). This shows how during the era that Trujillo govern fear was upon every individual that step in the shadow of Trujillo even if you didn 't have anything to do with it. “But el jefe has other plans for me,” A mind of her own, this little cibaeña”(Trujillo), her smirks, rubbing his cheek, then turns to Don Manuel”(pg 101). This evidence shows that Trujillo had other plans to handles his
Two weeks is all it takes for a caterpillar to completely transition into a butterfly. Compared to our span of life, this seems like a rushed transition; however, there are certain ways that humans can change just as quickly as a caterpillar. Although these are not physical changes like the caterpillars, they still remain significant. In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez the characters experience changes in values, personal opinions, and political views. The character Patria fits the image of a butterfly as she rapidly changes in result of certain situations . Over the course of the book Patria quickly undergoes several momentous changes as she alters her political stance and values.
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.
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?
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.
Ultimately, In the Time of the Butterflies is a book written and dedicated to the Mirabal sisters and their revolutionary lives. The passion they possessed for the cause is what drove them into putting themselves and their families at risk. They involved themselves in the movement despite the danger of imprisonment and torture. They do everything they possibly can do for the future of their country and the advancement of the revolution. Looking at the sisters lives from their own account, it is clear that they were better revolutionaries than any other role they held.
The Dominican Republic under the Trujillo regime was considered one of the most violent eras ever in the Americas. In The Time of The Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, commemorates the lives of Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal. These women were known as “Las Mariposas” because of their direct involvement in an underground revolution against Trujillo. In the story, the Mirabel sisters are women with childhoods, hopes, and dreams, who fight for the liberation of their country. After their assassination, they became symbols of freedom and revolution for persecuted peoples all over the world. The Mirabal sisters not only fought against the Trujillo regime, but also opposed the unfair gender roles of that time. In the Dominican Republic,
Most writers love to pick the topic of life and death as they are the mystifying kind of things that always make human left wondering. In Annie Dillard’s essay, “The Death of a Moth”, she heavily puts her focus towards the moth’s behavior when dying. Readers generally would think that she is a different type of author to write four pages of essay talking about moths. Also, she mentions lots of details about the variety of bugs in her bathroom which somehow is disturbing to some people when reading this essay for the first time. Moths that die seem very insignificant and quite straightforward. However, if we take the initiative to delve into her piece, we could see the hidden meaning behind the death of the moths. Her interaction with moths
Plague is an infectious disease that can lead to fatality. There was once a plague called pesticides. This plague would kill off dwarves rapidly and painfully thus causing extinction. However, the dwarves were responsible for a third of the food we consume daily. This plague surfaced in the areas where dwarves live and infected many of them. Weeks later, the dwarves begin to die, leading them towards extinction. Because of the extinction, a third of our food is diminished. Nonetheless, individuals would only care about the remaining two thirds of the food leaving people . As a result, many scientists are realizing that pesticides are the reason for the extinction of the dwarves and steadily declining food supplies.
"We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime, we have to fight against it, and I am willing to give up everything, including my life if necessary." (Patria Mercedes Mirabal)
Rafael Trujillo’s rule over the Dominican Republic is considered one of the bloodiest era’s in history. Responsible for the deaths of over 30,000 people, Trujillo became infamous for his tyrannical reign. The four Mirabal sisters, Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and Maria Teresa, along with friends and family, were activists in the revolution to overthrow Trujillo. Affected by his harsh dictatorship, changes in Maria Teresa’s character are evident in Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies. Although Maria Teresa’s cautiousness and sensitivity remain constant during the revolution of the Trujillo Era, her consideration for others weakens.
This short story by Helena Maria Viramontes, she is portraying symbolism in the moths, the sun, and the growth the granddaughter went through into releasing her resentment. Towards the end of the story, the moths came out through Abuelita’s mouth, while being in the bath tub, fluttering into the light. This represented rebirth and liberation in the Abuelita’s soul because in the story, the granddaughter states that Abuelita would tell her about the moths within the soul and slowly eating the spirit up. Therefore, by the moths within her soul escaping and fluttering to the light, it represented more than just Abuelita dying. The moths represented her soul finally at peace. In addition, the moths were also a healing remedy because how she would use the moth wings, during the beginning of the story, to her granddaughter’s hand to shape them and making her feel more confident about her “bull hands.” Abuelita’s soul was portrayed as moths in the sense of freedom, spirituality, and being able to let go of her cancerous body.
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.
The short story “The Moths,” written by Helena Maria Viramontes, tells a story between a granddaughter and a grandmother who both share a symbolic connection between each other. The story is in a first person narrative, told by the author, and her experience taking care of her ill grandmother while facing gender and religious oppression in her own home. The author is very distant from her own family mainly because she does not meet the expectations that her parents have embedded for her. There is a motif of rebirth throughout the story told by the author by symbolizing the significance of the gray moths. The vivid imagery of moths in Helena Maria Viramontes’ short story “The Moths” symbolizes the connection between life and death.