Social Change In The Time Of The Butterflies

Social change happens for many reasons, but usually it happens in very similar stages. Social change happens as a result of oppressed people being so unhappy with their representation or the status quo, that a single catalyst can trigger them to take action against their oppressor. This essay will examine three of the stages that every revolution seems to go through; unhappiness, catalyst, and action. The historical focus will be on multiple revolutions in the enlightenment era and the literary focus will be on The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.
Unhappiness with the status quo leads to social change because governments are not doing their job of protecting the natural rights of the people. John Locke, a famous enlightenment philosopher believed that governments were put in place to protect people’s rights to life, liberty, and property. Locke believed that people needed these rights in order to be content. When the government is no longer fulfilling its purpose, people become unhappy
The catalyst is a trigger event that causes people to take action. The character Minerva from In the Time of the Butterflies had her personal catalyst when she talked to a girl named Sinita. Minerva is a morally driven and outspoken character. Minerva met a young girl named Sinita who described her experience with the regime, “After Trujillo became the head of the army….they killed my brother….Sinitaś story spilled like blood from a cut. After hearing about the injustice in her country these characteristics motivated her to be a part of social change. On a grander scale, entire groups of people can have a catalyst to take action like in Mexico. The catalyst for the Mexican revolution began when Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla made a speech and declared independence from Spain. Similar to when Minerva talks to Sinita, Hidalgoś speech lists injustices in which Spain has committed against them and this inspires people to take