Sacrifices Made by Las Mariposas

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Grace Strandoo Language Arts, 10-2 January 22, 2013 Sacrifices Made by Las Mariposas Rafael Trujillo, commonly nicknamed El Jefe (The Boss), governed the Dominican Republic from 1930 up until his assassination in 1961. Trujillo was only formally president from 1930 to 1938 and from 1942 to 1952; he sustained unqualified power as a military strongman, with puppet presidents taken from his ring of family and close friends. During his regime, Trujillo authorized the killing of thousands of Haitians, who were trying to cross the border. In a time of such darkness for this country an underground revolution was started. The Mirabal sisters played a prominent role in the revolution. Not only did they stand up at a time when few people would, they also defied the roles of women in that era. In the novel In the time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez uses figurative language and character development to convey to people who are unaware of what sacrifice really is, throughout the novel the Mirabal sisters or “las Mariposas” are exemplars of this as they sacrifice of their time, energy and hearts to help not only their family and friends, but the countless strangers who are suffering from the wrath of Trujillo. In order to show the sacrifice the sisters went through, Julia Alvarez uses figurative language; such as metaphors and similes. Dede is the second born of the four sisters and the only one to survive Trujillo’s regime. Dede opens up her whole life to benefit others “She is setting up her life, as it were on exhibit.”(5), she does this because she knows it can help her country. Dede has sacrificed her life after the others deaths. After the death of the sisters and the end of the regime, people became very interested and Dede gave up her home for the sake of others knowledge. She must open up her life in order to better the understanding of the sisters and the

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