Having power is to have complete control over a group of people whom are willing to do anything that a person in high authority wants to do. It is obtained through deception-based channels . In other words, people get power by lying – this is what Rafael Trujillo did. Typically, in a dictatorship, the use of authority is utilized to ensure that a country remains under the control of the dictator. In Julia Alvarez's “Before We Were Free ,” life under Rafael Trujillo was deplorable. The people of the Dominican Republic lived in a society which was governed by intense fear. These people were afraid of being killed by the SIM – the primary control agency which kept control of the country. They kept this control by ensuring that if any form of rebellion …show more content…
towards Trujillo is shown then the perpetrators would be killed. Throughout the novel, many people combated Trujillo's free-will restricting oppression by tuning into illegal radio stations and turning his portrait to face the wall. In the novel, a young girl named Anita, whom the book revolves around, details her personal experience in Dominican Republic during this time. She talks about how she combatted Trujillo's tyranny through her ability to resist temptation. Many kinds of power came about from this dictatorship, such as the power to resist and the power to oppress. The author, Alvarez, is attempting to portray that power is intricate as it has many different forms and interpretations. Through Anita’s experiences, she says that power can be found in almost any situation. She also makes it clear that possession of power is not exclusive to people with high authority, such as Trujillo. It is, instead, something that can found and demonstrated in a person who is oppressed in society. In “Before We Were Free,” Julia Alvarez showaxs that those who possess the power to resist will be able to combat the oppression of others. Trujillo’s power to oppress others, enables him to essentially, do whatever he pleases with them.
The Dominican Republic[in the past]was a nightmare to live in[as the book puts it]because many people were afraid of doing anything that lead them to getting killing—if such act was infringing on one of his a laws. Trujillo’s immense power allowed him to do things to a person, whether they liked it or not. For example: his ability to “make people disappear.” The novel, Before We Were Free,”- Alvarez states, “ They go around investigating everyone and then making then disappearing them”(Alvarez 14). One of Trujillo’s many examples of oppression: make perpetrators disappear. This is a form of oppression because it prevents them from displaying any form of “free will.” The creation and enforcement of a law is to prevent citizens of such country to be civilized, but the difference here is that: no one is allowed sully Trujillo’s name—this restricts the Dominican people of their “freedom of speech”, which is a form of free will. During these times, voicing your opinions was considered “taboo” because it will ultimately lead to someone’s …show more content…
demise. On a similar tangent, another example of Trujillo’s brutal acts of oppression would be his ability to make the people see him as “god”—but doing so indirectly.
In Protagonist’s[Anita] diary, she talks about the many times she has prayed to her god, rather than Trujillo. Her religion revolves around catholicism, something that Dominican integrate into their everyday lives. Trujillo’s oppression was so robust, that it was able to convince, some of the most devoted catholics of the Dominican republic, to pray to him rather than god. Alvarez states, “[...]the worst stories Oscar tells are the ones about El Jefe. When I first heard how nad he was from Lucinda, I felt so confused. Everyone has always had always treated El Jefe like God. I shudder to think how many time I’ve prayed to him instead of to Jesus on His cross. “He does even worse things than crucify people, “Oscar tells us one time. “He disappears them”(Alvarez 48). Rafael Trujillo’s god complex, was loud and strong, a few decades ago. It made the Dominican people feel obligated to pray to him, as opposed to Jesus Christ. It may not be apparent, but this is a form of oppression, because it made it seem that praying to someone other than himself was illegal, even though anyone doing so could not easily be caught. Anita’s fear and confusion is a great show the reader a snapshot into how “impactful” Trujillo was—in terms of his profound
oppression. To combat these grotesque forms of Oppression, many people, like Anita, used their power of “resistance” to persevere these dark times. For example, in many households in the Dominican Republic, are obligated to have a portrait of Trujillo, somewhere in the house—probably to assert his dominance without actually being there. Anita was often turnover the portrait, to face the wall—so that his oppression does not influence her when she is at home. A lofty move for Anita, but a great example of how an oppressed person can use their power to resist, to combat the oppression of others. As powerful; relentless, and scary as Trujillo was—Anita did whatever she could, to try not to let his oppression phase her, which must have been a great feat. Another powerful act of resistance that a big portion of the book revolves around is Anita’s diary. Whilst hiding in closet of the Mancini’s house, Anita took to her journal writing, because she wanted to keep record of Trujillo's awful reign—she also needed something to vent to. The act of journal writing is extremely risky—especially during those times. But Anita did it anyway, because it was her unique way to combat is oppression. Knowing of the consequences, Anita did it anyway because she felt like people of the modern world, should no of Trujillo and the things he did. The diary is written from her perspective- which is great for those that want to know of the individual experiences of living in an oppressed society.
Doña Guadalupe is a woman of great strength and power, power and strength which she draws from her devout faith and her deep and loving compassion for her family, and power and strength which is passed down to her children. “‘Well, then, come in,’ she said, deciding that she could be handle this innocent-girl-stealing coyote inside. On going into the long tent, Salvador felt like he’d entered the web of a spider, the old woman was eyeing him so deliberately” (360). Doña Guadalupe is a very protective woman, which is extremely speculative when it comes to her children, this is especially true when it comes to boys, because she has not gone this far only for all of her hard work to be ruined by a no good boy. This shows how protective she is, she loves her family, and especially her kids so much that they themselves must pass her test before being able to pass on to her children. “The newborns were moving, squirming, reaching out for life. It was truly a sign from God” (58). Doña Guadalupe is also a very devout and faithful person. She sees God in everything and in everyone and by that fact, what she sees and who she sees is true, and she tries to be a model of clairvoyance for the family. “Doña Guadalupe put the baby’s little feet in a bowel of warm water, and the child clinging to his mother. He never cried, listening to her heartbeat, the same music that he’d heard from inside the womb” (57). Finally, Doña Guadalupe is very passionate which allows for a great model upon which her children follow. This further shows how she is clearly th...
Miguel Melendez’s book, “We Took the Streets” provides the reader with an insightful account into the activities of the Young Lords movement established in the latter years of the 1960s and remained active up until the early seventies. The book’s, which is essentially Melendez’s memoir, a recollection of the events, activities, and achievements of the Young Lords. The author effectively presents to the reader a fascinating account of the formation of the Young Lords which was a group of college students from Puerto Rico who came together in a bid to fight for some of the basic rights. As Melendez sums it up, “You either claim your history or lose authority over your future” (Melendez 23). The quote is in itself indicative of the book’s overall
I read the book Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. Anita, an eleven year old girl, is suddenly sent into a very scary and unknown world, right in her own home. Her cousins are running away to the United states, but to get away from what? Her parents are keeping secrets and she tries to get information from her sister, but finds out very little. Anita finds herself struggling when she is forced to grow up very quickly and try not to act as scared as she feels at times. Through the view of a young girl, this story really captures what it’s like to feel like immigration is the only option for a family.
Initially, Patria had always strongly believed in God which made her ignore the prejudices which occurred during Trujillo’s reign, for example people being killed by the dictator (53). Patria had a still born baby and the pain of losing a loved one made her relate to families who had lost their relatives due to Trujillo’s injustices (53). Suffering from the pain of her loss, made her lose faith which resulted in Patria’s beliefs evolving from a God centered view towards a people centered faith. The evolution of her faith is aided by her experience during the pilgrimage, when she heard Mary tell her to turn around her religious views towards needy people. This is because all her life she had been focusing on God and not serving
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina is without a doubt one of the most known figures within the Dominican history. The “Era de Trujillo” (The Trujillo Era) occupied the Dominican Republic for the long period of thirty-one years. His dictatorship started in 1930 and ended with his assassination on May 30, 1961. Trujillo’s Career began with the occupation of the United States in 1916. During this time he was trained in a military school, and became part of the National Police, a military group made by the Unites States to maintain order in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo stood out during his military career and rapidly ascended within the military ranges. Under the government of Horatio Vasquez Trujillo received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was put in charge of chiefs and assistant commanders of the National Police . This new position gave him the opportunity to be part of the overthrowing of Horatio Vasquez. Trujillo was sworn into presidency on August 16, 1930. Marking the beginning of what is known as the cruel, violent and controversial part of history in the Dominican Republic.
Castillo first shows the reader her distrust of patriarchy and its vertical structures through La Loca Santa’s death. The first structure under scrutiny here is the Catholic Church. After La Loca awakens she throws herself into the air and lands on the top of the Church, saying that those below her carry the same scent that she had smelled while in hell. With Loca high above the others she can be seen as a “substation” for a new Chicana Christ figure (Delgadillo 895). She tells those gathered below that she has been sent back to pray for them so that they would be able to see their Creator in heaven. Father Jerome pleads with her to come down so that the congregation could pray for her. She then reminds him that it is she that was sent to pray for them. With La Loca in the position of a Christ figure of the system, the structure of the system, in this case religion,...
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 United States is known as the “land of the free” attracting many immigrants to achieve the “American Dream” with the promise of equal opportunity for all. However, many groups, whose identities differed from the dominant American ideology, discovered this “American dream” to be a fantasy. In the 1960s, movements for civil rights in the United States of America included efforts to end private and public acts of racial discrimination against groups of disadvantaged people. Despite the efforts made to empower the disadvantaged groups, racialization and class differences prevailed leading to social inequality. The novel My Beloved World is an autobiography written by Sonia Sotomayor illustrating her early life, education, and career path, explaining the unresolved contradictions of American history and how they continue on in society. Prejudice against certain socioeconomic classes and races prevented equal opportunity. Sotomayor’s text explicates the racialization and class differences that many Puerto Ricans experience while pursuing a higher education, revealing the contradictions between the American promise of equal opportunity and discrimination against Puerto Ricans.
In her work, “This is Our World,” Dorothy Allison shares her perspective of how she views the world as we know it. She has a very vivid past with searing memories of her childhood. She lives her life – her reality – because of the past, despite how much she wishes it never happened. She finds little restitution in her writings, but she continues with them to “provoke more questions” (Allison 158) and makes the readers “think about what [they] rarely want to think about at all” (158).
Diaz describes Trujillo by writing, “You might roll your eyes at the comparison, but, friends: it would be hard to exaggerate the shadow of fear he cast over the Dominican people and the shadow of fear he cast throughout the region” (224). Trujillo put so much fear into the people of the Dominican Republic that Beli did not know it would ever affect her. In a world where no one gives her such feelings, the Gangster makes Beli feel beautiful. But, the Gangster is a pimp and exploits women, which shows the degradation of women such as Beli.
Religion holds a powerful position in the lives of Latinos. It provides a built in censor of right and wrong in the form of extreme guilt (Aranda 150). The chapter "A Rice Sandwich" divulges the way guilt is established. Here Esperanza wants to eat at the canteen for lunch, but the nuns just insult her, and this makes her cry. She says they were "...pointing to a row of three ugly flats, the one the raggedy men are ashamed to go into. Yes...though I knew that wasn't my house" (Cisneros 45). The fact that her victimizers were nuns made her even more embarrassed about where she lived than she already was.
Power has been defined as the psychological relations over another to get them to do what you want them to do. We are exposed to forms of power from the time of birth. Our parents exercise power over us to behave in a way they deem appropriate. In school, teachers use their power to help us learn. When we enter the work world the power of our boss motivates us to perform and desire to move up the corporate ladder so that we too can intimidate someone with power one day. In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness Kurtz had a power over the jungle and its people that was inexplicable.
In Beth Brant (Mohawk) “This is History,” the main theme in the story is to show readers that women came first and love each other in society. She is trying to find a identity for herself and have connections with things around her. She is willing to appreciate nature and earth. She is taking the beauty of everything around her. Including pregnancy and women. “First woman touched her body, feeling the movements inside, she touched the back of mother and waited for the beings to change her world.”
...er the revolution, the mentality of the people of San Domingo was foreover changed. Slavery would never be accepted again by the inhabitants. "Any regime which tolerated such practices was doomed, for the revolution had created a new race of men" (242). This new race of men were aware of their self-importance. "There was no need to be ashamed of being a black. The revolution had awakened them, had given them the possibility of achievement, confidence and pride. That psychological weakness, that feeling of inferiority with which the imperialists poison colonial peoples everywhere, these were gone" (244).
Power is authority and strength, which is any form of motive force or energy, ability to act, or control. When too much power is given, a dictatorship government can form, in which all decisions are made by one authority. In the book Animal Farm, by George Orwell the author portrays how “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Lord Acton).