San Rafael

Literary elements are the salt of literature. When used correctly, they bring out the flavor of a story, but when misused, they ruin the original creation. In This Boy’s Life: A Memoir, by Tobias Wolff, and In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, literary elements are used to create delicious stories. This Boy’s Life: A Memoir chronicles the author’s childhood and adolescence in Seattle during the 1950s, which includes a broken home, lying, stealing, and cheating. In the Time of…

Born and raised in New York City, it is easy to say that it is common for one to go to a Dominican hair salons located throughout uptown Manhattan. Growing up I have always gotten my hair done by Dominican women, and getting my hair cut involved constant compliments of having “pelo muy bueno” and other women trying to convince me to not cut it. But what made my hair so special to be held in a high throne for it to be too good to cut, why did these women not appreciate their own hair as much? The…

Haitians, the timeline of how Trujillo got to be the dictator of the Dominican Republic, etc. As I researched then continued to read the novel, it amazed me how well Alvarez told the story while adding and creating these characters. I researched how Rafael Trujillo manipulated his way up to becoming the dictator and instead of having a narrator explain this part of history, a character named Sinita told Minerva as a secret that Trujillo was a bad man. As I researched I also found out that if…

The Mirabals; Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa, were the butterflies of the rebellion against Trujillo. They helped start the Fourteenth of July Movement against the regime. For many Dominicans, they were their hope of restoring the country from corruption and injustice. They were a symbol for courage, as they freed themselves from the shackles of El Jefe and stood up to him. They did not settle for oppression. Just like butterflies, they spread their wings, showing off their beautiful colors,…

Social change often happens as a result of individuals or the society taking steps against someone or something they don’t accept. Social change is always happening around the world in many countries as they fight for their rights. An example of social change can be a group of people joining forces to remove themselves from a dictator’s rule. In In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the Mirabal sisters join together to change the society and to liberate themselves from the tyrant,…

War is generally characterized by individuals violently uprooted, international and domestic tension, unfortunate mortality, and militaristic weaponry. Although many scholars have identified war as a universal trait of human nature, others have argued that it is the result of socio-economic, religious, political, and other differences. Frequently, the marginalized voices of civilians and soldiers in war are overlooked, due to the large media attention given to the destructive battles that occur.…

their time of need, held its first annual gala to honor the memory of recent fallen NYPD members. The event, held in Staten Island, brought together over 500 NYPD members, including families of fallen NYPD officers, Russell Timoshenko, WenJian Liu, Rafael Ramos, and recently killed Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo. Councilman and former New York Trump campaign co-chair Joe Borelli was also in attendance to give his thanks and support to members of the NYPD, as well as comedian Artie Lange. A non-profit…

In the novel "In the time of the Butterfly" by Julia Alvarez theirs four Mirabal sisters that live in Dominican Republic. The Mirabal sisters are all referred to as "butterflies". In the time of the butterflies talks about how the four courageous sisters came together to save their country. The sisters start of by not knowing nothing political to fixing it all. There's time when they struggle and put themselves at risk but they always worked together to go against Trujillo. They all show freedom…

To start, on August 6,1960 "Julia Alvarez and her family moved to New York City, exiled due to the tyranny of Trujillo."Alvarez's family left the Dominican Republic."Since Alvarez's father participated in the underground plot which was cracked by the SIM,Trujillo's famous secreat police" other members were captured and started giving out the names of other members including Alvarez father and the only ways for Alvarezs family to survive was moving to the United States. Four months after the…

The Mirabal Sisters are seen as huge icons in the novel in real life. They showed that regular people can end a difficult empowerment to save a nation. It had all started with one sister, and her name is Minerva Mirabal. Minerva was the kind of girl who wanted to do good for others, in the novel and the history books. She encouraged people to join the underground to end the regime that transpired in the Dominican Republic. In the novel, she finds out that Trujillo is an atrocious man from her…