Although different, the cultures in In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez and Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Makandaya share a lot of the same conflicts. Conflicts between the characters and society are what cause the themes. The two books are very different but they share three main themes that are still prevalent in societies today. Feminism, societal classes, and the struggle of power are the themes that fill both books.
In any culture women are often confined by expectations of womanhood. In both stories the female characters challenge those expectations. The main characters of In the Time of the Butterflies are all females who stand up for what they believe in and don’t give up. “’What if I can’t’ Dede’s voice shook. ‘Jaimito thinks
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For the families in Nectar in a Sieve, “there is no margin for misfortune” (Makandaya 136) because they live subsistent lifestyles. The low class families rely on their crops and if the crop fails they could starve. The landowner lives a lavish lifestyle and the majority of the population lives day to day. Families will pay a dowry in order for their daughters to be married and if they are a poor family their daughter will marry poor. The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor in most cases. In In the Time of the Butterflies the rich would go to school and the poor would work on the farms. Most of the citizens in their town were poor farmers who didn’t know how to read so unless you were a lucky farmer who made a lot of money it was likely that you and your family would remain poor and uneducated. "In the last few years, Papá had made a lot of money from his farm. Now we had class. And, Mamá argued, we needed the education to go along with our cash.” (Alvarez 12) is an example of the classes set by society. In both books the lower class stayed poor and the upper class stayed …show more content…
In Nectar in a Sieve, “Nature is like a wild animal that you have trained to work for you.” (Makandaya 43). The people’s fate is determined by the weather, the tannery, and the landowners. If their crops fail they could starve and if the landowners sell your land you have to move. The characters in the book have no control over their lives. They want and deserve power, but power is hard to gain. In In the Time of the Butterflies Trujillo has all the power. When the sisters realize that Trujillo is a dictator they don’t give up their fight for rights. “It 's the secret of Trujillo" (Alvarez 16) that gives him power. The big secret is that he got all his power by killing people. People who know the secret are afraid of what he will do if they tell or do something about it. Dede’s sisters died because they fought for their rights and Trujillo had more power. In both books the lack of the characters’ power caused conflict.
The themes in In the Time of the Butterflies and Nectar in a Sieve are mainly caused by conflict with society and people. The characters in the books try to defy the boundaries set for them which creates developed themes. The cultures in the books are different in many ways but both deal with the same problems and themes. The themes that are in the books and in societies today are feminism, societal classes, and the struggle of
In The Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the rule of Rafael Trujillo directly affected all four Mirabal sisters, Patricia, Dede, Minerva, and Maria Mirabal. The rule of Rafael Trujillo directly affected Patricia Mirabal. Patricia grew up as the oldest of four girls, and she was naturally the nicest, simplest of the four girls. She married early and had kids before she turned 20. But as she grew older, her faith was restored.
Within the novel, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” Mate, Minerva, Dede, and Patria had to create decisions to overcome obstacles that would transform each of their lives. Throughout the book, all of the sisters changed somehow. They all grew up, matured, and saw things how they never viewed before. While looking at these things at a different perception, they learned to make decisions that were sometimes brave and sometimes cowardly. Each of the Mirabal sisters had to choose whether or not to be fearful and give up, or be courageous and stand her ground, or make sacrifices to show her strength throughout the novel.
What is power to a human? As time has gone by, there have been many forms of control and influence in the world. Many strive to achieve total rule over a society or group of individuals. Yet the question still presents itself to the average man. Why does man desire power so greatly even though there is visible trouble that follows? Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron”, and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, whether through the situation or the character themselves, depict the evils and hardships due to an imbalance and poor management of power.
Defiance in the name of freedom against the political clutch of a powerful dictator can bring about the consequence of inhumane punishment and loss, however, by preserving and telling the story of a great loss, one honors the memory of sacrifice and can find closure, making the cause worth the fight. The legitimacy of this statement is evidently valid when paired up behind the sacrifice of the three Mirabal sisters in the book by Julia Alvarez: In The Time of The Butterflies. Is any life worth living trapped in fear of harm or even death? How much misery and suffering can one tolerate from a higher power, before they seize opportunity to rise against the greater force. What triggers, and to what severity, drive one to the last resort of risking everything, including their life, in amends for something better; the liberating taste of freedom from fear? Can the quality of life even become so unbearable to generate such a gamble?
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is an account of the four Mirabal sisters’ lives in the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship. Three of the Mirabal sisters - Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom by participating in the underground movement which opposed Trujillo’s dictatorship. Their participation in the revolution was a threat to Trujillo’s power and this resulted in the three sisters being killed. The novel tells the story from the point of view of each of the four siblings. The sisters, also referred to as, “The Butterflies,” each had a different approach to dealing with life under Trujillo’s reign. Minerva, the first person from her family to join the revolution, was motivated by principles and she contributed consistently to the revolution. Dede is the only survivor from the Mirabal sisters’ family, this is because she did not participate in the revolution. However, she takes care of the deceased children and tells the story of
These three major themes which were appearance vs reality, the importance of free thought, and man vs. society were revealed throughout the book in many different scenes, and through many different characters. These major themes gave us a better understanding of the book and the characters of the book, and what some of them wanted to achieve.
One of those elements being conflict. The conflict between man and nature is illustrated when Bean is starving on the streets of Rotterdam. Another conflict which can be seen through the entire novel is man verses man. Whether it be Bean trying to outsmart Achilles on the streets of Rotterdam or Ender facing Bronzo Madrid in the bathroom, man verses man is sprinkled throughout the book like a lightly seasoned voluptuous steak. This add a hooking factor to the novel making it an excellent page turner and contributing to the claim that this novel contributes to the living memory of the nation. This novel illustrates a Lord of the Flies ideology, meaning that when left unattended children turn into demons. Man versus society is also used when Bean rebels against the teachers in numerous ways. One way was spying on them through the air ducts to gain access to the teacher’s log on in the school data base. Another way was listening in on private conversations among the teachers again while in the air ducts of the school. The reason why Bean was doing this was because the teachers had a monopoly on power in the school and secrets, and Bean wanted to learn the inner workings of the school. Card also utilized bildungsroman in order to convey his idea that growing up has a superfluity of challenges. Card illustrates that by magnifying the problems one-hundred fold with killing the person
In his essay “Land of Opportunity” James W. Loewen details the ignorance that most American students have towards class structure. He bemoans the fact that most textbooks completely ignore the issue of class, and when it does it is usually only mentions middle class in order to make the point that America is a “middle class country. This is particularly grievous to Loewen because he believes, “Social class is probably the single most important variable in society. From womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all other social characteristics of people that we can measure.” Loewen simply believes that social class usually determine the paths that a person will take in life. (Loewen 203)
Intro: Working around the hives; dedicated and faster with each movement. Honey drizzling in golden crevices; a family unit working together, buzzing in harmony. Bees and beehives is a significant motif in the novel Secret Life of Bees: By Sue Monk Kidd because it represents the community of women in the novel. It also represents Lily Owen’s longing and need for a mother figure in her life. And finally, it was significant because the bees lived a secret life, just as Lily and Rosaleen did in the novel.
The setting in the Secret life of bees helps set the overall structure of the book. As the setting changes, and certain events take place, so does the characters views on life. The most change seen is on Lily, the main character. Her values multiply and her perspective on cultural order shifts from one mind set to another. Although one part of the book’s setting limits the opportunities of the characters; the other part opens those and different opportunities. The setting in The Secret Life of Bees is vitally important because it impacts the main character and the people around her through events that transpire in the book.
There were several reoccurring themes that showed up in this novel. First was the idea of a group centered leadership. With this idea Ella baker was trying to bring democracy to organizations. The second theme that was prevalent in the lack of power men were willing to give women during the early civil right battle. Last theme that appeared was the idea of human transformation. Laws and institution might change but the goal should be to change the heart of people.
Poverty on social conditions affects everyone in every part of the world, no matter if they are rich or poor. First of all, everyone is divided into some sort of social class. The most known classes are the economic classes- the lower class, the middle class, and the higher class. The lower class goes through arduous labor all day and night to earn decent amounts of money to provide for themselves and their families. Most likely, they are the only source of income for the entire family. The higher class works hard to keep up or raise their high social status. They also work hard so they don’t loss their social rank, which permits them to hold a higher power over the middle and lower classes. Similarities of decisions made by characters in these two literary works will analyzed to understand the meaning behind the actions and influences of the social classes on each other.
In the Time of the Butterflies is a book written by Julia Alvarez about the four Mirabal sisters and their lives during the Dominican Republic revolution. The revolution was meant to overthrow dictator Rafael Trujillo. Patria Mirabal was the oldest of the four sisters and the most religious. She was convinced that she wanted to be a nun, but later starts to change her mind.
Power. The definition of power is: “the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events.” When one thinks of power, they likely think of police officers and other law enforcement, presidents and other government ranks or royalty. One might even think of someone who is barely above them as a hierarchy, like their parents, co-workers, or teachers. Seemingly ordinary people can get into a powerful position, but unfortunately, not all who are in power use it for a good cause. In the novel The House Of The Scorpion, there are multiple powerful characters throughout it. Between a royal drug lord, the family of Scorpions, and the evil keepers of the orphanage; the protagonist of Nancy Farmer’s novel, Matteo
In the novel, Nectar in a Sieve, the author, Kamala Markandaya creates various themes. One theme from the book is that tensions can be caused by modernization and industrial progress. This theme is highly prevalent throughout the story and broadens the reader’s outlook on modernization. Markandaya writes of a primitive village that is going through a severe change. Her ability to form a plethora of characters with different opinions, yet to share one main culture, helps highlight the tensions in the village.