Why did Julia Alvarez choose to tell the story of the Mirabal sisters?
Why did Julia Alvarez choose to tell the story of the Mirabal sisters?
It was this connection to the sisters and a longing to learn more about them and their desire for political rebellion that inspired Alvarez to tell their story. In writing about these sisters, Alvarez works towards her own liberation as a Dominican woman who experienced the Trujillo regime herself.
Did Julia Alvarez know the Mirabal sisters?
However, it was not until 1986 that she became personally involved. In 1992 Alvarez met Dedé Mirabal, a fourth sister who survived, and this encounter resulted in a book (Alvarez 1998, 198, 202) that was nominated for the 1995 National Book Critics Award (Fregoso, 8).
Why did Julia Alvarez write in the Time of the Butterflies?
Three of the four sisters were assassinated during the last days of the Trujillo regime. Although the novel portrays a real situation that occurred in history, Alvarez wrote In the Time of the Butterflies as a fictional story in order to spread awareness of the Mirabal sisters’ journey.
Why is Julia Alvarez important?
Julia Alvarez is recognized for her extraordinary storytelling. Alvarez has won numerous awards for her work, including the Pura Belpré and Américas Awards for her books for young readers, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, and the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature.
Why does Dede not join the revolution?
Dedé: Dede is the second Mirabal sister. She is not as certain about the revolution as her sisters and feels weaker because of that fact. She doesn’t want to join the revolution because she believes that it will lead to death , so she doesn’t. She uses her husband, Jaimito, as the reason she doesn’t officially join.
Who is Patria in the Time of Butterflies?
Patria Mercedes Mirabal Reyes is the oldest of the Mirabal sisters and the most religious. She wants to become a nun, but she gives this idea up and marries Pedrito at age sixteen. She has three children: Nelson, Noris, and Raúl Ernesto.
Is In the Time of the Butterflies a true story?
Her second novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, is based on the real story of the four Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic, three of whom became symbols of resistance after being murdered at the order of the dictator Rafael Trujillo.
When did Trujillo become president?
1930
Dictator Rafael Trujillo became president of the Dominican Republic in 1930 through political maneuvering and torture. He officially held the office until 1938, when he chose a puppet successor.
Why did Alvarez have to move back from the Dominican Republic when she was 10?
Born in New York City in 1950, Julia Alvarez’s parents returned to their native country, Dominican Republic, shortly after her birth. Ten years later, the family was forced to flee to the United States because of her father’s involvement in a plot to overthrow the dictator, Trujillo.
What are some of the topics that Julia Álvarez writes about?
Many of Alvarez’s works are influenced by her experiences as a Dominican-American, and focus heavily on issues of immigration, assimilation, and identity.
Why did Julia Alvarez leave Dominican Republic?
Julia Alvarez was born in New York City on March 17, 1950, the second of four daughters. When her parents became involved in an underground movement to overthrow Trujillo, the Alvarez family was forced to flee the Dominican Republic in order to escape imprisonment.
Is Dede a coward?
Dedé is then the only sister to accept her fear and choose to avoid getting involved with the “butterflies.” At first she seems like a coward for this, and her guilt haunts her for years, but in the end Alvarez shows how Dedé too has been brave.
