Advances By Julia Alvarez Character Analysis

Sacrifice for Improvement
Have you ever heard the expression, “I’d give my right arm for you”? For a person who is right handed this implies that they would make any sacrifice for you. In my life, I have a passion for horses, but in order to explore this hobby my family has had to make many sacrifices. Driving to the barn and back four times a week and early morning road trips to shows which sometimes yield disappointing results are just a few of the many things that my family does for me. My parents spend time apart and my siblings often find themselves at a game without the support of a family member or perhaps worse, stuck a horse show for eight hours. Similar to the members of my family, the characters in Julia Alvarez's novel, In the
After being imprisoned for multiple months, Minerva and Mate are put on house arrest, while their husbands are moved to a different prison. The sisters constantly visit the men, but because they must always ask for permission to leave the house, the police always know their location. One morning, Minerva, Maria Teresa and Patria drive to Puerto Plata to talk with their husbands. Although dangerous, the girls, their driver and a soldier they picked up on the road decide to drive to the prison and back in the course of one day. The journey goes smoothly until they get ambushed on the way home and killed. Their tragic death leaves a lasting impact on the country. Dedé’s friend, Lio, is aware that she is struggling with this recent loss and in an effort to lift her spirits he explains to Dedé, “Look what the girls have done!’’And she retorts, “...the free elections, the bad presidents now put in power properly, not army tanks… Our Country beginning to prosper, free zones going up everywhere, the coast a clutter of clubs and resorts. We are now the playground of the caribbean, who were once it's killing fields. The cemetery is beginning to flower”(318). Aware of the consequences, Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa spend the majority of their adulthood rebelling against their ruler, Trujillo. Although the sisters were murdered, they sacrificed their lives for a purpose. Due to their courage, the country now has a more democratic government and has changed from a war zone to an area where people come to relax. Similar to bright flowers sprouting in a cemetery, the sisters accomplish their goals and create a legacy for themselves in a situation where they were set up to fail. The eldest sister, Dedé, is the only one left to spread the courageous story of her sisters. However, being the one left alive, she is asked many questions.