The Living Martyr free essay sample

Through the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez took the tragic story of the Mirabal sisters and made it her own. She molded and developed the Mirabal sisters into relatable characters over the course of the novel as to make the deaths of Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria even more traumatic to the reader. Although Dede did not fight the regime with her sisters, she still suffered because of Trujillo. Even though Dede lived, she can still be considered a martyr because her life was altered by Trujillo’s dictatorship. To start off with, Dede’s martyrdom can be attributed to the sacrifices she made. Dede had to sacrifice her personal life. After the death of her sisters, there were six children that had to be raised. Dede and her mother stepped up to the plate and took the responsibility of caring for the motherless children. Dede raised Minou, Manolito, and Raulito and her mother raised Jacqueline, Nelson, and Noris. We will write a custom essay sample on The Living Martyr or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Dede also sacrificed her private life to people inquiring about her sisters (Alvarez 316). Every year when November 25th rolled around, television crews arrived, a celebration was held at the museum, and Dede gave obligatory interviews (Alvarez 3). All of them wanted to hear the heroic tale of the Mirabal sisters and inevitably forced Dede to relive painful past. She even wondered when she stopped receiving visitors recounting the events of that horrid night and when she became oracle (Alvarez 312). In these ways and many others, Dede made great sacrifices. Additionally, Dede underwent emotional struggles as part of her martyrdom. When her sisters would visit the men in jail, Dede would become a nervous wreck. On their last journey to the prison, Dede stood by the jeep preventing it from leaving. She told Minerva, â€Å"I’m going crazy with worrying. I’ll be the one locked up forever, you’ll see. In the madhouse. †(Alvarez 288) As a reaction to her sister’s death, Dede was paranoid of her relatives being on the road after dark. After her interview, Dede scolded Minou for traveling so late while recounting that if only her sisters had waited until morning to cross that mountain road they might still be here today (Alvarez 173). Also, the day Dede was notified of her sisters’ death was one of the greatest emotional struggles. She had been  awake all that night worrying about Minerva, Mate, and Patria when she received word of the accident. All of her friends marveled at her behavior always mentioning that she should have seen herself. When she laid eyes on her sisters in the morgue, she was hysterical (Alvarez 301). The fact that Dede could deal with the myriad of emotional struggles and have the strength to continue life is another reason to deem her a martyr. Finally, Dede suffered an immense amount of personal losses. The most obvious loss, of course, is that of her sisters. Dede made known on several accounts that she wanted to be dead with them, until Jaimito made her realize that living without them was her personal martyrdom (Alvarez 308). She also lost her father after he was convicted and died from a heart attack in prison. Dede later began to question these losses as true losses and began to see them as people being set free (Alvarez 317). Some might believe that Dede is not a true martyr; however, she knew that her fate was tied up with her sisters and she stated, â€Å"if they suffered, then I suffered too, and if they died, I would not want to continue living without them† (Alvarez 193). Making that statement proved her martyrdom and that she was the bigger person who could learn to live with heartache. In conclusion, Julia Alvarez perfectly weaved together the intricate lives of the Mirabal sisters in order to show martyrdom. Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria all died for the sake of their country, subsequently inducting them into martyrdom. However, Dede’s personal martyrdom was to be alive without them. Even though she did not fight the regime alongside her sisters, her life was still affected by Trujillo.