Tob Essay

In the Time of the Butterflies Essay A lot of courage is needed to revolt against a dictator and risk one's life, and possibly other's lives for a country. In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, Minerva Mirabal (one of 4 sisters in the story) shows a lot of courage by standing up against her country's leader, Rafael Trujillo, and for what is right, risking her and her family's lives. She performs in front of him, while knowing his secret, that he is a horrible dictator that abuses his power, she slaps him at a party and them leaves, which is illegal, and she protects her sisters with her life. It takes courage, guts, and bravery, to fight for what you believe in, and the events in this story show these traits. In part one of In the Time of the Butterflies, Minerva shows courage by keeping Trujillo's secret. Her friend Sinita told her "as much as she knew" (Alvarez 17) about Trujillo and his secret, "(Minerva) was shaking by the time she was through" (Alvarez 17). At this point in the book, Minerva learned that Trujillo's secret is that he became president in an unlawful and immoral way. "Trujillo became president in a sneaky way... he was in the army, and all the people who were above him kept disappearing until he was the one right below the head of the whole armed forces" (Alvarez 17). She has the guts to keep the secret and not tell a single soul, knowing that if she does her as well as her entire family could be killed. She knew she had to do the opposite of the right thing (in this case) in order to protect her family. She would soon gain the courage to do the right thing no matter what the consequence. Later, the Mirabal family is invited to attend a party hosted by Trujillo. They do attend, and Minerva and Trujillo begin to talk. Trujillo comes on to her, and forces himself on her. She slaps him because of it. She "(sees her) hand... come down on the astonished, made-up face. (Alvarez 100)" Minerva has the courage to stand up