Sisters Take a Risk In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

580 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is courage about minerva

Mirabal Heroines
Believing that there are things worth risking your life for is a quality that is well respected.
The Mirabal sisters are all considered heroines for their work against Trujillo. Three of them even died for this cause. Minerva Mirabal is a heroine because of the way she stood up to
Trujillo. She is respected throughout the Dominican Republic. In every aspect of her life, she worked against him for the good of her country. Her heroic life was especially shown by her friendships, her desire to attend law school, and her work in the national underground.
All during Minerva's life, some of her closest friends opposed Trujillo. The first of which was
Sinita, a girl she met at school. ""Trujillo is the devil," Sinita said as we tiptoed back to our beds," (19). Sinita told Minerva the secret of Trujillo and how he had killed her family along with many others. She was the first to ignite the fire of rebellion inside Minerva. Sinita was not the only rebellious friend Minerva met at school. Maté noted, "This new friend of Minerva's,
Hilda, is really rude." (31). Hilda was hidin...

Show More
Related

  • Heroic Sisters in In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    Minerva Mirabal was the most heroic of the Mirabal sisters. Rafael Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic for 30 years; he was oppressive, creepy, and a little insane. The Mirabal sisters were killed because they tried to rebel against him. Minerva is heroic. Because she was the first of her sisters to join the rebellion, she went to law school, and she slapped the dictator with a slap.

    Read More

  • Overview: The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

    1140 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1938, Minerva’s father permitted her to go away to boarding school along with her two older sisters, Patria and Dedé. Alvarez’s writing on behalf of Minerva speaks volumes as to the point of view Minerva had growing up. “And that’s how I got free. I don’t mean just going to sleepaway school on a train with a trunkful of new things. I mean in my head after I got to Inmaculada and met Sinita and saw what happened to Lina and realized that I’d left a small cage to go into a bigger one, the size of our whole country,” (Alvarez 13). Minerva’s father, said that out of all his daughters, Minerva should have been born a boy. The other Mirabal sisters said that she was their father’s favorite daughter because Minerva acted the most like a son to him. She almost became the son he had always wanted, but never had. Due to her father’s influence, as Minerva grew up, she aspired to being a lawyer. Something which was unheard of for a woman in the ‘40s.

    Read More

  • In Time of the Butterflies Plot Essay

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    Minerva and Maria Teresa are two characters in Julia Alvarez’s In Time of the Butterflies. Minerva is one of the four main characters of the novel, as well as Maria Teresa. Minerva is the second youngest of the family and is very caring and kind. She was talking to her friend Sinita, who was one of the girls she met at school, and told her, “Tell me Sinita, maybe it’ll help” (Alvarez 16). Her friend Sinita told her the story about her brother’s death and Minerva felt sympathetic for her lost. Maria Teresa is the youngest of the Mirabal sisters and the ...

    Read More

  • Character Bravery and Courage: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    Out of all the Mirabal sisters, being courageous was Minerva’s specialty to show how she feels without being verbal with her emotions, and to get her point across. Right from the beginning of the book Minerva chose to create actions that were not only courageous, but reckless. After Minerva found out about her other sisters she crashed her father’s Jeep into his Ford at his other lover’s house. As always, she wanted to make a scene, “My voice was as commanding as his. ‘You’ve lost my respect,’” (Alvarez 89). Her father was extremely disappointed with her, but she wanted him to know that what he was doing was extremely wrong. Crashing her father’s cars was definitely brave, and especially since she did it in front of her other family without any second thoughts. Towards the middle of the book, Minerva informed Mate about some things she did not know, “Manolo and Minerva have explained everything. A national underground is forming,” and this is when Minerva explained more about how they created a national underground to try to get everybody freedom no matter what happened (Alvarez 142). This national underground was a h...

    Read More

  • Ida B Wells Research Paper

    1829 Words  | 4 Pages

    turn the light of truth upon,”10 which is something she truly fought for and succeeded

    Read More

  • Maria Teresa Mirabal Character Analysis

    720 Words  | 2 Pages

    Maria Teresa Mirabal, also known as Mate was born on October 15, 1935. She is the youngest out of all the Mirabal sisters and we mostly get to know her from her journal entries. Mate received her diary from Minerva on the day of her first communion. At school, people would make fun of her for having the diary and would steal it from her. Mate used to think differently about Trujillo as a little girl, she thought he was someone that everyone loved and should be respected. On Benefactor’s Day, she wanted to give Trujillo her best wishes, "I am taking these few minutes to wish El Jefe Happy Benefactor's Day with all my heart. I feel so lucky that we have him for a president." (37) Mate’s sister Minerva starts to get in trouble at school for leaving

    Read More

  • Rafael Trujillo: Dictator of the Dominican Republic

    1634 Words  | 4 Pages

    Derby Lauren, The Dictator's Seduction: Gender and State Spectacle during the Trujillo Regime, Callaloo 23.3. Summer 2000, pp. 1112-1146.

    Read More

  • In The Butterflies Influence

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    Minerva’s rebellion was caused by both Sinita and Trujillo. Sinita’s role was opening Minerva’s eyes to the real Trujillo. For example, Sinita told her about how “Three of her uncles were even friends of Trujillo. But they turned

    Read More

  • So Far from God by Ana Castillo

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Esperanza, the most liberated of the sisters, devoted her life to make other people’s lives better. She became a reporter and later on died while covering the Gulf Crisis. She returned home, to her family as a spirit. At first, she spoke through La Llorona, a messenger who informed La Loca that her sister has died. All her family members saw her. She appeared to her mother as a little girl who had a nightmare and went near to her mother for comfort. Caridad had conversations with her about politics and La Loca talked to her by the river behind their home.

    Read More

  • The Threat of Anne Hutchinson

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    paved the way for religious freedom. She was a great leader in the cause for

    Read More

  • The Time Of The Butterflies Analysis

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Dominican Republic under the Trujillo regime was considered one of the most violent eras ever in the Americas. In The Time of The Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, commemorates the lives of Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal. These women were known as “Las Mariposas” because of their direct involvement in an underground revolution against Trujillo. In the story, the Mirabel sisters are women with childhoods, hopes, and dreams, who fight for the liberation of their country. After their assassination, they became symbols of freedom and revolution for persecuted peoples all over the world. The Mirabal sisters not only fought against the Trujillo regime, but also opposed the unfair gender roles of that time. In the Dominican Republic,

    Read More

  • Is Dede A Hero Essay

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Jaimito think its suicide. He told me that he will leave me if I get mixed up in those things”. Here is where Dede confesses the truth about her participation with the Mariposas. Although later on she claims to be leaving Jaimito. Dede knew that she needed to join her sisters this was the only way she was going to show her loyalty to the “Mariposas”. Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa husbands were all involved with the “Mariposas” movement. Could this be the reason why they were so committed and involved with the “Mariposas” movement? The support that all their husbands gave them through the journey guided them to influent the change, and to them it was very important. We all ask ourselves could this be another reason why Dede felt so strong about getting people to hear he story, to find the interest in it. Dede made her family home into a museum, this way people can see how they lived when it all began. There is also a monument that tourist or native Dominican that would like to know the story of the Mirabal Sisters. Why is this so important? Its known that a lot of Dominican or people all around the world do not know the story of the Mirabal sisters and what they died for; the truth behind the lies and the unrealistic story telling. Dede’s accomplishment was to let everyone now what happened to her sisters to her father and how Trujillo dictated

    Read More

  • Theme Of Courage In The Courage Of Minerva

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    This is evident in two key moments in the story, both of which involve Minerva’s sisters. In the first, the manifestation of her inspiring Maria Teresa comes when Maria Teresa stands up to her. Behind the virgin mary, maria teresa is infuriated that Minerva won't tell her what they’re talking about so she confronts her about their conversation. This is very similar to the attitude that Minerva would have had in this situation, further illustrating Minerva’s inspiration of Maria Teresa. A second demonstration of Minerva’s inspiring courage in others, once again, comes through Maria Teresa joining of the revolution. While some will say that Maria Teresa’s real reason for joining the revolution came in the form of the man delivering guns, it’s clearly evident that without her sister's involvement in the rebellion, she would not have joined. This shows Minerva true inspirational impact. Even without being the principal reason for her sister’s decision to join the rebellion, the fact that she was a major part of the rebellion, a leader of the rebellion even, was enough for Maria

    Read More

  • Theme Of Resistance In The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Joan of Arc: Saint, or the Devils Right Hand Women?

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...gth in self and faith to stand up with the power of God knowing already that she was going to die. Burning at the stake for what she believed fueled her country and now her heroism lives on in art and writings.

    Read More

More about Sisters Take a Risk In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Open Document