Around one third of the countries in the world have once or currently lived under a communist state. Countries where the government holds too much control often cause unhappiness, rebellion and injustice. In “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez, Alvarez illustrates the internal and external struggles of the Mirabal girls, choosing rebellion instead of compliance while dealing with the injustice of an authoritarian dictator. In addition, the Economic Times accurately describes how an authoritarian government can often be toxic. Lastly, the Human Rights Watch describes the similar way North Koreans feel while living under an overpowered and corrupt government. By describing the unreasonable rules and guidelines of an authoritarian …show more content…
“The regime was going insane, issuing the most ludicrous regulations. A heavy fine was imposed on anyone who wore khaki trousers and shirts of the same color. It is against the law now to carry your suit jacket over your arm” (Alvarez 78). Minerva understood that these regulations were insane. The government leader, Trujillo, controls what the people can wear, or even how they can carry their jacket. This creates little individuality and enjoyability in life. This injustice causes the citizens to have little to no freedom in what they do. Furthermore, this injustice is shown in many other ways in the book. As the storyline of the book began to proceed, the Mirabal family gained prominence and success and Trujillo sent invitations to them for dinner parties. At one of them, he was flirting with Minerva, so they left early. The next morning, “Governor de la Maza is just now returning from the party. Our absence was noted, and of course, leaving any gathering before Trujillo is against the law” (Alvarez, …show more content…
This goes to show how unjust it is to unwillingly live with such a powerful government. In addition, you can witness this injustice in a more tangible realm, such as in North Korea. North Korea is a communist, or authoritarian state, run by Kim Jong Un. The concerns in the book are similar to the concerns that North Korean citizens have. According to Human Rights Watch, “North Koreans say they live in constant fear of being caught in a system where official procedures are usually irrelevant, guilt is presumed, and the only way out is through bribes and connections”(Human, 3). These fears that the North Korean natives have are almost the exact concerns that the Mirabal girl, and others, have. In the book, the presumed revolutionists were put into jail without a trial and they weren't allowed the right to give their side of the story. This is similar to how North Koreans stated that their justice system has little official procedure and that guilt is assumed. To add, the Mirabal girls only got treated somewhat well and then got out of jail because of their connections. They had connections to a guard, so they could then get packages
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.
In the Time of the Butterflies is a historical fiction novel by Julia Alvarez based on events that occurred during the rule of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. This book shows the hardships the Mirabal Sisters had to go through while being part of an underground effort to overthrow the dictatorship of Trujillo. It also shows that ultimately, it was their courage that brought upon their own death. Alvarez wants us to understand anyone and everyone has the potential to be courageous.
“The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.” In America, Americans are blessed to have the right to freedom. Unlike other unfortunate countries, their freedom is limited. In many Latin American countries, the government’s leader has all power of the Country. Citizens have no rights to freedom, they are trapped in a cruel country where innocent people are killed each day. Civilians fear to speak out to the regime of leader; However, there were a few courageous citizens enough to speak out against the government. For example, “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela and the historical fictionalized account, “In The Time Of The Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez reveal individual 's role in overcoming oppression.
In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, takes place in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo’s control of the country. Dedé and Minerva are two extremely different Mirabal sisters, shown by how they respond to Trujillo taking over their country. Dedé and Minerva are only two of the sisters. There are four in total: Minerva, Dedé, Patria and María Teresa. The four sisters take turns throughout In the Time of the Butterflies telling their stories from the 1940s while living in the Dominican Republic. Manipulating her point of view and attitude, Julia Alvarez uses an impassioned style of writing to portray Minerva’s strong leadership and an explicit style of writing to portray Dedé’s willingness to compromise.
outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. I'm going to tell you about a book called in the
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.
in some way or another. She was naive and impulsive, but she meant well. But was she
Two weeks is all it takes for a caterpillar to completely transition into a butterfly. Compared to our span of life, this seems like a rushed transition; however, there are certain ways that humans can change just as quickly as a caterpillar. Although these are not physical changes like the caterpillars, they still remain significant. In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez the characters experience changes in values, personal opinions, and political views. The character Patria fits the image of a butterfly as she rapidly changes in result of certain situations . Over the course of the book Patria quickly undergoes several momentous changes as she alters her political stance and values.
Memory is both a blessing and a curse; it serves as a reminder of everything, and its meaning is based upon interpretation. In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies Dedé lives through the memory of her family and her past. She tells the stories of her and her sisters lives leading up to their deaths, and reflects upon those memories throughout her daily life. Dedé lives on for her sisters, without her sisters, but all along carrying them with her throughout her life, never moving on. Dedé lives with the shame, sadness, and regret of all that has happened to her sisters, her marriage, and her family. Dedé’s memories serve as a blessing in her eyes, but are a burden
Patria was always helpful and played a motherly role. She was the eldest sister of four. Her younger siblings were Bélgica Adela Mirabal Reyes, María Argentina Minerva Mirabal Reyes, Antonia María Teresa Mirabal Reyes. Her parents were Enrique Mirabal Fernández & Mercedes Reyes Camilo. They were the “Butterflies”, a group of sisters who went against Trujillo, the brutal dictator of the Dominican Republic. They were assassinated November 25,1960 for wanting freedom for their country.
Out from the kitchen and into the world, women are making a better name for themselves. Although humankind tends to be male dominated, men are not the only species that inhabit the world that they live on. In Julia Alvarez's novel In the Time of the Butterflies, the women of the Dominican Republic are expected to grow up to be housewives and lacking a formal education. Women may be cherished like national treasures, but they are not expected to fulfill their truest potentials as human beings.
In the end, both regimes eventually fell, but not before millions of lives were taken. These stories shed light on how correct both Bastiat and Marx were about how government should be run. They show how a government that is too controlling and too forceful on its people will never have a long-lasting existence. The power of government must have limitations, and the individual rights of the members of society must be taken into account and respected. Government is needed in society and plays a very crucial role in the longevity and success of a nation.
During the 20th century, the rise of communism sparked rage in people throughout the world. More towards the end of the 1900's the fall of communism and dictatorships was just the beginning of what would eventually be a large democratic change for several countries. 1989: Democratic Revolutions at the Cold War's End, speaks about the change brought to several different countries from the 1980's-1990's and plans to show "the global transformations that marked the end of the cold war and shaped the era in which we live"(Pg V). During the cold war, communist had power and control over a large area and spread communism throughout several continents. This book specifically hits on six different studies of where communism and dictatorship affected these areas and what they did to stop it. Poland, Philippines, Chile, South Africa, Ukraine, and China throughout the end of the 20th century created revolutionary movements which brought them all one step closer to freeing themselves and creating democratic change.
Rae Yang’s Memoir “Spider Eaters” is a poignant personal story of a girl growing up amidst the political upheaval during the establishment of People’s Republic of China under Mao Zedong’s Communist leadership. Yang describes the fascinating journey of her life from her early years as the daughter of Chinese diplomats in Switzerland to a student in an elite middle school then a fanatic Red-guard and eventually a laborer in a pig farm. Her experiences through the revolution serve as an eye-opener and lead to her eventual disillusionment of the Communist revolution in China. There are many factors that contributed to her growing discontent with communism such as the anti-rightist movement which was an effort to rule out any criticism against the government, corruption and violence of the party leaders who abused their power and continued to exploit the peasants, the false claim of proletariat dictatorship used merely to eradicate bourgeoisie and further the interests of party members.
Throughout history dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini and Kim Jong-Iland have used fear to manipulate thousands, if not millions, of people. Anthem by Ayn Rand explores a dystopian world where man is completely controlled. He complies to every order and demand without hesitation and is wholly satisfied with the way life is because it is all he knows. It is said to fully dominate a man, dictators must not only enslave his body but also destroy his mind. The manipulation in Anthem is far past fear alone; the leaders in Anthem also strip individuals of their identities, turn people into “robots” and leave the population naïve.