Harrison Keyser
Mr. Strom
Humanities 9, Period 1
March 13, 2017
Patria Mirabel—A Revolutionary Warrior
“‘If you had seen what I saw on that mountain,’ weeping all over again for that dead boy. ‘How can we be true Christians and turn our back on our brothers and sisters—’” (Alvarez 166) The embodiment of Patria Mirabel's character is this quote, a woman who dedicated her life to terminating and rebirthing the government system of her home country, the Dominican Republic. Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies revolves around the dictatorship of the Dominican Republic—the dictator being Rafael Trujillo, also known as El Jefe—and the four Mirabel sisters, named Patria, Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Dede. These sisters are what started …show more content…
Additionally, Dede wanted to become a revolutionary, however, her husband forbade it. The three sisters fought a long war with the government, including being jailed, losing their land which had been in their family for four generations, and Maria Teresa being raped in prison after refusing to answer the government’s interrogations. Eventually, the three revolutionary sisters were murdered on November 25, 1960 while on a car ride to visit their husbands in a faraway prison. The murder was staged to be an accidental car crash, but it was soon found out that the sisters were assassinated by Trujillo’s men. The oldest of the four sisters is Patria. Patria is a caretaker, and always has been. Religion is very important to her; she almost decided to become a nun. The only reason she decided not to become a nun was because she also wanted a man. By the time she was 17, she had found one, and had married a man named Pedrito Gonzales, who would later support her in the revolution. Patria made the decision to become and remain a revolutionary because of her caretaking personality, her dedication and devotion towards God, and events in her life such as
Mr. Strom
Humanities 9, Period 1
March 13, 2017
Patria Mirabel—A Revolutionary Warrior
“‘If you had seen what I saw on that mountain,’ weeping all over again for that dead boy. ‘How can we be true Christians and turn our back on our brothers and sisters—’” (Alvarez 166) The embodiment of Patria Mirabel's character is this quote, a woman who dedicated her life to terminating and rebirthing the government system of her home country, the Dominican Republic. Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies revolves around the dictatorship of the Dominican Republic—the dictator being Rafael Trujillo, also known as El Jefe—and the four Mirabel sisters, named Patria, Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Dede. These sisters are what started …show more content…
Additionally, Dede wanted to become a revolutionary, however, her husband forbade it. The three sisters fought a long war with the government, including being jailed, losing their land which had been in their family for four generations, and Maria Teresa being raped in prison after refusing to answer the government’s interrogations. Eventually, the three revolutionary sisters were murdered on November 25, 1960 while on a car ride to visit their husbands in a faraway prison. The murder was staged to be an accidental car crash, but it was soon found out that the sisters were assassinated by Trujillo’s men. The oldest of the four sisters is Patria. Patria is a caretaker, and always has been. Religion is very important to her; she almost decided to become a nun. The only reason she decided not to become a nun was because she also wanted a man. By the time she was 17, she had found one, and had married a man named Pedrito Gonzales, who would later support her in the revolution. Patria made the decision to become and remain a revolutionary because of her caretaking personality, her dedication and devotion towards God, and events in her life such as