Rhetoric Device: Anaphora

"A cortege of guards in dress whites came through, followed by a handful of sorry-looking boys, their skulls visible under their shaven heads, their eyes big and scared, their faces swollen with bruises."

At the end of Chapter 10, Patria is awaiting the release of her son Nelson. This is a very significant event as Patria repeatedly talked about it and prayed for this day to come. As the prisoners are released along with her son, she is stunned with their conditions. Alvarez describes the group as "a handful of sorry-looking boys, their skulls visible under their shaven heads, their eyes big and scared, their faces swollen with bruises" (Alvarez 255). This anaphora is filled with vivid imagery and the reader can easily visualize the guards bringing them in. The repetition of the word "their" emphasizes the state of the boys and the torture they faced like how with their skulls were visible and the bruises. Along with that, Alvarez writes “their eyes big and scared” showing the fear they held.  This all ties back to the overall theme of authoritarianism to show how people are punished if they disagree with dictators even if its for something they stand for.

The feeling Patria got when seeing her son

Change and Transformation: Patria

Before reading Chapter 8, Patria is seen as a warmhearted, religious citizen who is obedient to the law and will not support the rebel movement. However, during Chapter 8, she begins to experience a transformation in which she turns to a woman who is willing to oppose Trujillo's regime for the good of her family. This transition is present as Patria watches a boy being gunned down by government forces. What made this dramatic was how she connected this boy with her children. For example, Patria described him as "a boy no older than Noris" (Alvarez 162) and even carried him as if it was her son. She then states that she is "not going to sit back and watch her babies die, Lord, even if that's what You in Your great wisdom decide" (Alvarez 162). From this point on, she considers herself a changed woman and joins the rebel movement alongside her sisters as she can no longer watch her country being mistreated by Trujillo, which reveals the theme of Change and Transformation. Patria is now Mariposa #3!

This scene sort of depicts how Patria carried the dead boy

Figurative Language

"We've traveled almost the full length of the island and can report that every corner of it is wet, every river overflows its banks, every rain barrel is filled to the brim, every wall washed clean of writing no one knows how to read anyways." 

At the end of Chapter 6, this anaphora stood out for me the most for the reason that it portrayed the situation of the country with Rafael Trujillo in power. Not only that, it shows how the population of the Dominican Republic lives under political oppression. The rain represents Trujillo's power so by describing that it was everywhere emphasizes the theme of authoritarianism. The people can not do anything about this due to the fact that "no one knows how to read or write," (Alvarez 117).  The government is able to manipulate the civilians without them noticing. Because of this, they are not able to recognize the harm that Trujillo causes. Also, the revolution is slower to start.

The state of the Dominican Republic under El Jefe