Minerva says to her mother, “I’d just left a small cage to go into a bigger one, the size of our whole country” (Alvarez 19). The small cage Minerva talks about is being trapped in the Mirabal household, thinking Trujillo is a God. After she learns about the rebellion, her views of her dictator are ruined. Her whole life she has not thought anything of women not having a voice in the government, but Minerva turns herself around and discovers her strength to change that. Although Minerva fears Trujillo, she does not show it towards him. When the Mirabal family receives an invitation to Trujillo’s party, they are shocked to see that he would especially like to see Minerva present. While Trujillo is dancing with Minerva, he becomes forceful with her and begins to throw himself onto her. Minerva knows not to give into what he…
The novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, explains the life of the four Mirabal sisters. There was Minerva, Maria Teresa, Dede, Patria. The only survivor was Dede. These girls played a major role in getting rid of the dictatorship of the Dominican Republic. Las Mariposas was their code name. They fought to overthrow Trujillo out of office, even though he forced himself in. Patria, Mate, Minerva lost their lives trying to free others.…
| Minerva’s revolutionary friend has been caught. This is significant because Minerva has been hanging out with her and is a revolutionary as well and she must get rid of the diary that she gave to Maria Teresa. This means that Minerva might get caught and imprisoned as well.…
In The Droughtlanders, by Carrie Mac, Twin brothers Eli and Seth, both Keylanders, live inside a privileged and protected city surrounded by huge walls to protect them from the filthy, sick Droughlanders. Eli’s mother teaches him to view Droughtlanders sympathetically and Eli changes his opinion about them. As a result Eli joins a rebellion group against the Keylands. Initially Seth is furious about Eli’s decision and attempts to hunt Eli and kill him but ultimately realizes the truth and joins his brother. At the beginning Eli and Seth have a bitter hate for each other which intensifies due to their different view points regarding the Droughtlanders. In the end, they make up and the hate they had between them fades away. Right from the start Eli and Seth do not get along, this relationship soon turns into hate and distrust between them. Near the end Seth also changes his mind about Droughtlanders and they get along.…
Trujillo employed this method against people whom he believed had wronged him or to impede their efforts of defeating his government. The author demonstrates this through the unfortunate series of events experienced by the Mirabal family. For instance, after the incident where Minerva rejected Trujillo's improper advances by slapping him, her father is "sent to the capital for questioning," but in reality it was more than a matter of questioning. Minerva's father was subject to extreme torture as punishment for his daughter's audaucity, and it was later discovered that "he has gone mad" due to his imprisonment. Furthermore, the three Mirabal sisters exposed themselves and their family to greater danger as they commenced with their political activity. They were being constantly spied on, received numerous threats, and were eventually imprisoned. Likewise, other individuals were suppressed by the SIM. Trujillo himself has implied the use of cruel tactics to silence educators of communism or politics that contradicted his own, when he quotes "but we've been teaching those teachers their lessons all…
In the Time of the Butterflies is a book about a family of sisters that fight to take back their right of freedom in the Dominican Republic. The Mirabal sisters grew up in a prosperous family and were well cultured and educated women at a time when most women did not obtain a good education. It is important to know what the Mirabal sisters did for their country and how their past actions still affect and impact the people today in the Dominican Republic. To win this freedom, the Mirabal sisters had to give up their well-being, give up their childhoods, and give up their lives. Julia Alvarez, the author of the book, takes the readers through these sisters’ journeys of fighting against their dictator Trujillo, and the many adversities while…
Nevertheless, it is the actions of Minerva; along with experiencing the way the Butterflies have affected Trujillo’s prisoners that gives Maria Teresa the opportunity to understand how she can be courageous in the fight alongside her sisters. Prior to this character shift in character, trying to convince herself she was brave, the feeling was empty and meaningless, providing Maria Teresa little comfort to ways she was assisting the revolution. However, as she initiates her transformation, similar to a butterfly, she begins to fully comprehend what these concepts of freedom and courage mean to her, as well as how she can implement them in the fight against…
Rafael Trujillo impacted the lives of the families in both, In the Time of Butterflies by…
While she is in prison with Maria Teresa for being involved in the revolution, they are given the opportunity to leave but she does not accept it. She convinces Maria Teresa to not accept it either as it would mean that “[they] thought [they] had something to be pardoned for” (236) and it would not be right for them to be free “unless everyone else was offered the same opportunity” (236). Minerva could have easily left the prison but she has faith that she is doing the right thing by staying, regardless of the fact that the condition of the prison is unhealthy as she and her sister are locked up in a tiny cell with other women. Minera is also often put in solitary confinement for misbehaving but it is still not enough to make her want to accept the jail pardon. Maria Teresa states that “it was like the time Minerva wanted to do the hunger strike” (236). Minerva and her sister were already half-starved yet Minerva still felt it was necessary to fight for change. Her urge to continue to challenge authorities despite the struggle conveys that the sacrifices she makes are not used in vain. Therefore, Minerva is able to do whatever she must do to take Trujillo…
Minerva Mirabal was born on March 12,1926 and she is the third youngest out of all the Mirabal sisters. She is seen to be the most rebellious out of all the sisters and probably the bravest. Minerva is the one who brings the revolutionary thoughts to the family and she is the one that actually opens her eyes to the injustices happening in her country. The reason why Minerva joined the revolutionary movement was because she met a girl by the name of Sinita, Sinita tells Minerva about all the horrible things Trujillo has done to her family; Minerva then considers how Trujillo isn’t the saint as everyone proclaims him to be and how being aware of what is happening has set her free, “And that's how I got free. I don't mean just going to sleepaway…
Minerva and her three sisters Patria, Dede and Maria Teresa ("Mate") live on a farm in Ojo De Agua. Minerva, the outspoken sister, convinces her father to send her, Patria and Mate away to attend school. When school is over, Minerva wishes to study to become a lawyer, but women are not allowed in law school. So the sisters return to the farm, and Minerva meets and falls in love with Lio, a member of the resistance, who gives her the nickname "Butterfly". In my opinion Lio influenced Minerva’s involvement in the underground movement to over throw Trujillo and his government. Lio was forced in hiding because of his actions against the government.…
The oldest sister, Patria, came across many complications throughout her life but she did not have to go through it alone. Patria was the oldest Mirabal sister of the four girls. She was the sister who wanted to go away and become a nun; however her Papa disagreed upon the matter “Patria as a nun would be a waste of a pretty girl” (Alvarez 11). Once Patria was sent away to school she realized being the religious one of the Mirabal family was indeed what she wanted, even if she had to disappoint someone of her family. It takes a strong willed person to be able to stand up against her family and go after what she believes in, no matter if anyone important to her has different ideas upon the matter. Once Patria realized that the school was no longer suited for her needs, she then returned home to help Papa out with the farm. Patria later married the love of her life, and they had two kids; Noris and Nelson. During this time period it was a blessing from God to be blessed with the presence of another life. Patria was so excited, until she discovered something was wrong with her third child, “And I realized I was giving birth to something that was dead” (52). No mother can ever imagine losing a child. In order to get over the incident and move on with one’s life one has to be able to believe in herself and…
Carroll writes about Sister Antonia’s extraordinary drive to establish the College of St. Katherine in her leadership role as Dean and later as President. One aspect of how she planned to fulfill this particular goal is by ensuring that her staff was given as many opportunities to obtain their educational advancements. She denotes the travel both locally and internationally the women had embarked on in order to further their educational degrees. Along the same lines, Ryan’s depicts Sister Antonia’s dreams for the school’s potential for striving for excellence in the Catholic school system and its goals for the future. Ryan also makes mention of how these women broadened their educational pursuits by traveling near and far to other countries.…
Both Jane and John are working full time during the days, while Tom is responsible for household chores and is searching and applying to get into med school. They can be considered to be at the working middle class in the socioeconomic scale. The family is very…
Minerva is the individual that always makes sure that she is perceived as strong; however, in actuality this strength and desired image is only a deception of herself. Many heroes, courageous leaders, and brave characters in stories never have health problems or other character flaws exploited. However, Minerva is shown in the book to always have problems with her health. She is always described as being sick, weak, and needing rest. Another down flaw of her character exploited in this book is that she gets captured and thrown in jail. Once in jail she breaks down losing…
