In The Time Of The Butterflies Power

People who have a position in the government can start off doing good things for the people and country, but will become power hungry and want to be in control of every little thing. This hunger for power can be seen in the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, which demonstrates how the daily lives of the citizens in the Dominican Republic are affected under the rule of their oppressive ruler, Trujillo. Alvarez focuses on 4 sisters, the Mirabal family, who strive for equality and democratic rights. The 4 sisters have all been been oppressed by Trujillo´s ridiculous laws. Enforcing unnecessary laws on society makes sure that Trujillo stays in complete control, which compels the people to strive for more freedom and rights,

especially women. The power hunger can also be seen in France, before and during the revolution. Before the revolution, the king and queen were treating the third estate unfairly by making them pay all of the taxes. Then, during the revolution, Robespierre took over. He started off with good intentions to overthrow the king and queen for more equality, but he then began sentencing anyone who was against the revolution to the guillotine. The oppressive type of regimes in both the Dominican Republic and France eventually cause the people to rebel for a more democratic society. When people are not allowed their natural rights, they will strive for freedom, allowing social change to occur, which happens when there is an overall unhappiness of the people and a need for democratic rights.
When people are treated unfairly and poorly, their quality of life is not favorable, so therefore eventually, the people will revolt.

People ought to live in a society where they feel safe and welcomed; however, when harsh and unnecessary laws are put into place, the people will be unhappy. In the novel, Minerva goes to the government to study law, and after five years, she receives her law degree. She gathers the whole family for her graduation only to learn that she will not be handed “the license to practice. [... Trujillo] was planning all along to let her study for five whole years only to render that degree useless in the end. How cruel!” (Alvarez 138). Trujillo is threatened by powerful women like Minerva, so he does not hand her “the license to practice,” law, meaning she cannot become a lawyer. Minerva could be a threat to his reign, so once Minerva has a position in the government, she will be powerful enough to create a rebellion to overthrow him, endangering his position in society. Therefore, he simply let Minerva “study for five whole years only to render that degree useless in the end,” causing outrage in the Mirabal family. Not allowing women to have many rights or do what they please, creates overall unhappiness in the society, leading to the people revolt, like the Mirabal sisters and many others eventually did. Similarly, the first step of a revolution is described as the overall unhappiness of the people (Steps of a Revolution Notes). This displeasure can be seen in the third estate during the time of the French revolution because they were not treated well by the king and queen at the time, they worked the most but were also taxed the most. Not being treated equally to the other estates, caused the third estate to strive for a voice in the government, which, ultimately, led to the rebellion to overthrow the king and queen. Overall, the unhappiness of the people against the government will cause a rebellion for more freedom and equal rights.

The lack of democratic rights seen in both the Dominican Republic and France led to the rebellion and eventual overthrow of the leaders. The people in both countries are not all treated equally or fairly. Minerva does not receive her license to practice law simply because Trujillo does not believe in women having equal rights as men. As well as in France, as the famine resulted in the further taxes against the third estate, which was 97% of the population. This large majority of the people being unhappy and not treated equally, eventually leads to rebellion and the overthrow of the government. In any society, including France and the Dominican Republic, if the people feel dejected, they will keep rebelling for more freedom and rights until they get what they long for and deserve.
If the people in a society have different ideas about how the country should be run, and how the people should live than the government, they will eventually revolt, bringing about social change. The government does what they believe is right, but if that is different from what the citizens believe how they should be able to live their lives, it will lead to further consequences. When Dede begins to realize that Trujillo’s regime is redundant, she believes it needs to be overturned. She admits that Lio, a communist, was right, that “this was an absurd and crazy regime. It had to be brought down” (Alvarez 78). Dede begins to see the extent of Trujillo’s regime, now convinced that it is “absurd and crazy”. People in the Dominican Republic do not have a good quality of life, they are tied down by Trujillo´s ill-advised laws, and when they recognize this, they realize that the government ¨[needs] to be brought down.¨ Dede´s beliefs differ from those of Trujillo, on behalf of the fact that Trujillo has faith that how he is running the government is the best thing he can do for the country. He admits that one person controlling everyone is more fitting, that the people do not need much freedom, they just need a strong leader to guide them. Not agreeing with how the government runs the country causes overall unhappiness of the people. Similarly, during the French Revolution, Robespierre took over and started the reign of terror, killing anyone who was against the revolution at the time. He believed that what he is doing was the best thing for France, but the people did not see eye to eye with him. They eventually revolted due to that large difference of opinion. In both countries, the people revolted against the government, or Robespierre, because they had different ideas about how the country should be run. The people were therefore unhappy with the society and their quality of life, longing for more democratic rights. Different ideas and beliefs play a large role in societies, meaning the government has to be careful as to not upset the people. Thus, when the people and the government have different intentions, the people will rebel for a more democratic society and more freedom.
When the government is not doing their job of making sure the populace is content, and not helping the country for the better, social change will occur. The government needs to be substantially trying their best to reform the country. However, if a government is merely using their high-status position for their own good, all sorts of problems will arise. In the novel, Dede´s friend, Elsa, claims that her husband, Roberto Suarez, “had been held in prison once for 3 days for printing a picture in which Trujillo’s bare leg showed” (Alvarez 263). Trujillo enforces many over the top, undesirable rules including the law that people are not permitted to simply print a picture of Trujillo in which his “bare leg showed”. Trujillo needs to focus on the country and the population´s happiness, not trying to control every little thing every person does. Trujillo is not doing his job well, nor is he making the country better, and therefore the people are unhappy. Similarly, “an ineffective government, no matter how strong, will always be overthrown” (Revolution Notes) This quote explains how if a government is not making sure that its people are happy, the people will revolt. Whenever a country’s government is ineffective, and it affects the quality of the daily lives of the people, they will revolt. For instance, in France before the revolution, the government was not doing what was best for the majority of the people. The king and queen were making 97% of the people pay all of the taxes, while the other 3% paid little to nothing. This was an unfair regime, which was also not the most effective, and certainly not favored by the majority of the people. Forcing the people to do whatever the king and queen wanted eventually led to the people revolting. This will always occur no matter how strong the government is, if they are not doing it’s job. Trujillo’s regime is strong, he knows how to control everyone, but that did not stop people from rebelling until they got what they what. Similarly, in France, the king and queen had a way in compelling the people to do whatever they pleased, they were a strong government; however this also did not stop the people from eventually overthrowing the government. Therefore, as what happened in France and the Dominican Republic countries, no matter how strong a government is, if it is ineffective, it will always be overthrown.
When people do not have enough rights or freedom, they will strive for a more democratic society, eventually resulting in social change. What happened in France and the Dominican Republic can also be seen everywhere in the old and modern day world. Everywhere, countries are fighting for more freedom, more democratic rights. Every day, more and more countries are reaching a more democratic type of government. It all starts with one unhappy person that can lead a whole rebellion, all it takes is one person to overthrow a government.