In the Time of the Butterflies
The title is significant because it represents how the Dominican Republic was governed by a dictator, his name was Rafael Trujillo. A group of three sisters formed a resistance to combat his rule. They became known by Las Mariposas or in english the butterflies. Their ultimate goal was to overthrow Trujillo. Alvarez chose this title to illustrate the journey that caterpillars proceed through to become butterflies.
In the Time of the Butterflies is a nonfiction novel about life in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo’s rule seen through the eyes of the Mirabal sisters. Julia Alvarez wrote this book because she wanted to tell the story of what she had to flee from with her family in the Dominican Republic. This book was published in 1994 and was written to show what it was like to
…show more content…
They don’t want to anger their family but some of the ideas force them to make a choice of loyalty and civil duty. This is significant because they can either bite their lip and follow their family or they can disagree with family and upset everyone. The first external conflict is how Trujillo rules the Dominican Republic. This is significant because he treats them horribly such as how he takes young girls out of school and uses them for sex until he is done using them. Minerva faces an external struggle about her commitment to the revolution against Trujillo. This is significant because even after being imprisoned for months she still remained loyal to what she believed in.
In this novel, the story takes place in the Dominican Republic during many years starting in 1938 and going to 1994. Key settings include their father’s farm and Inmaculada Concepion. The mood of the story is an older rustic feeling because it of how in started in the early 1930s. It is significant because it determines how the reader feels about subjects such as Trujillo’s
In the novel "In the time of the butterflies" the Mirabel sisters are sisters who live in the Dominican Republic under the dictator Rafel Trujillo. Everyone pretends to agree with his decisions and go along with the flow except the Mirabel sisters. They are strong courageous butterflies who sometimes face cowardice.
Then, Dictator Trujillo ordered his troops to murder three of the four Mirabal sisters and Sinita’s family. In the Time of the Butterflies is also structured as a hero’s journey because the novel is about four sisters
Imagine a man who is the intimidating dictator of the country, and has intentions to hurt and kill anyone who stands in his way. Now imagine leading a revolution against this dictator, becoming one of his obstacles. This was how Minerva, Patria, Dede, and Maria Teresa Mirabal lived their lives. These girls lived in the Dominican Republic during the time when Rafael Trujillo was the dictator. They led a revolution against him, which ultimately sabotaged their lives.
Imagine living during the reign of Trujillo’s oppressing regime in the Dominican Republic. The events the occurred during this time were horrific, whether it was torture, or the assassination of innocent people Trujillo and his men were always installing fear into the people of the Dominican Republic. In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies she delivers a firsthand account of the horrors of Trujillo’s regime, and how four sisters contributed to the ultimate downfall of Trujillo’s power. There were four sisters, but one particular one had the most effect on leading the revolt, and that is Minerva Mirabal.
In 1960, three sisters Minerva, Patria, and María Teresa are members of a secret movement against Trujillo-- all except for Dedé, the surviving sister. Throughout the novel, all of these sisters develop in many areas. One of these important areas include the struggle of being a “good Catholic girl”. María Teresa (Mate), the youngest of the Mirabal sisters, goes through many struggles that gradually develops her
Butterflies Reflection In The Time of the Butterflies I am exposed to many different viewpoints. An important one being Minerva Mirabal. This novel takes me through the crazy lives of the Mirabal’s. This family is in a personal war against El Jefe Trujillo.
It provides a role in character development shown predominantly in Patrias character. It shows the extent of Trujillo’s actions against the Dominican people by showing Patrias desperateness for her son. These examples depicted in the book show how the theme of religion has an impact on In the Time of the
The Mirabal sisters were revolutionaries who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. During the revolution, they were given the code name “Las Mariposas”, or “the butterflies”. The term “mariposa” suits each sister in a different way. Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and Mate Mirabal each have their one reason to be compared to a butterfly. The nickname “mariposa” shows who the Mirabal sisters are; they transformed from domestic, innocent mothers and wives into brave, defiant martyrs for national freedom.
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is a work of historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic that focuses on the four Mirabal sisters who bond together to rebel against the corrupt leader of their country, Rafael Trujillo. The four Mirabal sisters, Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and María Teresa form closer relationships with each other as they figure out a way to bring down the tyranny of Rafael Trujillo. Although they have a mutual goal, each of the Mirabal sisters has different feelings and thoughts throughout this time period. The theme of coming-of-age and identify is best exemplified through the character of María Teresa, known as Mate, through the ways she matures throughout the novel and becomes her own person who stands up for what she believes in.
Marxist Criticism focuses on class struggle and power structure in a literary piece (Davidson). In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez can be analyzed using Marxist Criticism to show how power is maintained in the novel. Trujillo maintains his power by convincing girls to live in his homes, jailing citizens who try to overthrow him, and killing citizens that he has large problems with. Trujillo uses his authority to make all of his citizens obey him so that he can keep his power, or else they must deal with severe consequences. Trujillo acts this way to prove that he is the man in charge and ultimately prove that he is unbeatable.
In paragraph 27 it states ,”there were still old cronies of the dictator around who would love an excuse to go after my family after my father ,after her ,” the cronies were loyal servants to the dictator even when he was dead so alvarez's mother thought they were still in danger of being captured or killed ,because of the cronies the mother would live in fear unlike alvarez who didn't fully believe they would come after them . Alvarez wrote her novels knowing they may wreak havoc on her family members who were still in the dominican republic and maybe her parents and sisters. In paragraph 29 and 30 it talks about the last novel she wrote about the island and how her mother thought about it ,”I don't care what happens to us i'm so proud of you ,” her mother says ,alvarez wrote the novel at the risk of her family but her mother and her new the story had to be told and the things the people had to go through
The sacrifice of the Mirabal sisters persists to influence and connect with those in the Dominican Republic. A New York Times article describes the result of courageous actions by the Mirabals as being, “marked change in the political climate has completed the transformation of ‘the Butterflies,’ as the sisters were known in their days as members of the anti-Trujillo underground, into symbols of both popular and feminist resistance” (Rohter). Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal defy the abilities of women to overthrow Dictator, Rafael Trujillo and his tyrannical supremacy. In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez demonstrates a fictional style to explain the true events the sisters underwent to terminate the division
Because the sisters are constantly surrounded by acts of the rebellion against the government, this ultimately influences them to get involved, which causes them all to have more courage for themselves as well as others around them than they have
From the moment that the Dominican republic was free from Trujillo’s dictatorship, contrasting viewpoints have come up regarding the sacrifices of the Mirabal sisters. While some argue that the Mirabal sisters sacrifices were not beneficial and worthwhile to the revolution because it resulted in the orphaning of their children and three young lives were lost. Others argue that the Mirabal sisters sacrifices were effective for the revolution since it changed the future of their country. I deem the sisters sacrifices are justifiable because their sacrifices had an important purpose. Isn’t it true that Trujillo's was absolutely in power for 31 years however, because of the three young sisters his cruel regime ended.
Essay In the novel ‘In The Time Of The Butterflies” there are many themes that are shown. There was one theme that stood out the most, which is the theme of power. Who holds the utmost power in the novel?