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In The Time Of The Butterflies Persuasive Essay

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“The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.” In the United States, Americans are blessed to have the right to freedom. Unfortunately, in underdeveloped countries, freedom is limited. For instance, in many Latin American countries, the governmental leader obtains most power. The citizens have no rights to freedom, as they are trapped in a cruel country where innocent people are killed each day. As a matter of fact, civilians fear to speak up, but there are a few courageous citizens who speak up against the government. For example, “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela and the historical fictionalized account, “In The Time Of The Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez reveal individual's role in overcoming oppression. “In …show more content…

During Juan's time, the government severely restricted constitutional liberty and killed those who were against it. Juan lives in a government where his rights are limited, he did not have freedom to privacy. Juan writes to his loved one, Mariana because she has decided to leave the country and escape to Paris. Juan knows his letter can jeopardize Mariana’s safety as well as his. He fears of getting his letter censored, so the only way he believes he can save his letter is by getting involved with the government. In fact, Juan decides to apply for a job as a censor. After getting the job, he works cautiously to get promoted to the next level, closest to his letter. While working cautiously, Juan did not consider the lives of the innocent soldiers he censored through his job. He became so obsessed with his job that he didn’t realize he was a part of the cruel government. Juan was so caught up with his job that “when his letter to Mariana reached his hands, naturally he censored it without any regret. (188)” As a result, Juan turned into the very little thing he hated and fought against in the beginning, a censor. As a result, he did not overcome oppression due to his fear of breaking the rules of a

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