On the surface, Patria is portrayed as the most mundane of the Mirabal sisters because she is very religious and family-oriented character. However, Alvarez uses these characteristics and emphasizes on the events that led up to her loss of faith in order to shape her motivations for joining the revolution. In the beginning of the novel, Patria had no interest in being part of the revolution. However, her views change when surprise invasion when she was on a religious retreat. During the explosions, Patria witnesses a traumatic event when she looks out the window and witnesses the death of a young boy. She relates to this boy as if he were her own son and the terrible scene had a profound impact on her. After this traumatic event, Patria began to doubt God’s ability to protect her and her family. In her narration, she says, “I'm not going to sit back and watch my babies die, Lord, even if that's what You in Your great wisdom decide” (Alvarez 162). This event had a compelling effect on this character in two aspects. In one aspect, since Alvarez emphasized on Patria loss of faith, she was able to to transform the character, Patria from an ordinary, religious woman into a strong member of the revolution. In another aspect, by highlighting this traumatic event in Patria’s life, Alvarez was able to create depth in
On the surface, Patria is portrayed as the most mundane of the Mirabal sisters because she is very religious and family-oriented character. However, Alvarez uses these characteristics and emphasizes on the events that led up to her loss of faith in order to shape her motivations for joining the revolution. In the beginning of the novel, Patria had no interest in being part of the revolution. However, her views change when surprise invasion when she was on a religious retreat. During the explosions, Patria witnesses a traumatic event when she looks out the window and witnesses the death of a young boy. She relates to this boy as if he were her own son and the terrible scene had a profound impact on her. After this traumatic event, Patria began to doubt God’s ability to protect her and her family. In her narration, she says, “I'm not going to sit back and watch my babies die, Lord, even if that's what You in Your great wisdom decide” (Alvarez 162). This event had a compelling effect on this character in two aspects. In one aspect, since Alvarez emphasized on Patria loss of faith, she was able to to transform the character, Patria from an ordinary, religious woman into a strong member of the revolution. In another aspect, by highlighting this traumatic event in Patria’s life, Alvarez was able to create depth in