Heroes: An Analysis Of Mate's Heroes, By Julia Alvarez

Courage has always been a trait that has captivated humanity. Whether it be out of envy for another’s strength or drawing strength out of another’s accomplishments, people have always been fascinated in the idea of a hero. People erect grand stories of superheroes, with alluring abilities, that show uncanny courage in the face of danger. Humanity also recognizes the heroes whose actions fabricate history, and they too have stories told about their courage, stories of everyday people doing extraordinary things. However, somewhere along the line the difference between these two types of heroes is lost, and their identities merged. The face of normal, everyday heroes starts to look like the face of Superman, and a disconnect between what people

By doing this, Alvarez is able to bridge the gap that exists between reader and hero. Alvarez counterracts the ideology that these heroes are some divine beings that cannot be explained by showing that the Mirabal sisters are not different from anybody reading their story. Maria Teresa’s journal is an excellent example of powerful characterization. A large portion of Mate’s journal in the beginning chapters is devoted to talk about boys, shoes, and church. What appears to useless rambling about teenage girl problems proves to be a significant tool used by Alvarez to highlight Mate’s innocence and to normalize her. An example of Alvarez’s diary format states, I adore my First Communion shoes that I recently received. They are white, made of leather, and have just enough heel to make me look like a young lady (Alvarez 30). Furthermore, simply writing about shoes in a girl’s diary transforms into material that is used to make Maria Teresa a very genuine and relatable character. This informal and laid back style of writing that Alvarez uses, and how she unravels the personal life of these girls, is how she achieves normalization. This characterization is highlighted in Marta Vizcaya’s, “Remembering Dominican heroines in new novelistic context,” when she details Alvarez’s response to an interview question, I just assumed that they were no different than me. They were flesh and bones, they want to grow old, have children, have husbands, and live a simply life that we all aspire to have (Vizcaya 2). This response demonstrates that the reader and Mirabal sisters all share the basic wants of living a prosperous life. It is through highlighted similarity between reader and character that the Mirabal sisters are normalized. Furthermore, each character represents a different aspect of life, from Maria