Analysis Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a historical fiction novel about the tragedy of the late Mirabal sisters. Though the book is acclaimed by parents, students, and teachers for it’s fictional adaptation to the historical moments of that time, sadly it was challenged due to its diagram of how to build a time bomb. Port Washington is a school district with a goal of furthering students intelligence through literature and ensuring the safety of their students and families. A school in that district, Paul D. Schreiber High, had this novel on the list of books to be read in sophomore English class in 2000, the book was voted to be banned because of its easy descriptions of malice. This book is an opportunity to enrich the student's

All books have to receive a final approval by the members of the school board, but when In the Time of the Butterflies was discussed, it had enough votes to be reevaluated. The board was a skeptic because it have received just riveting praise but the information was so easily attainable that it caused the book to be challenged and voted on to be banned from the curriculum.The controversial aspect that was holding the novel back was the fact that the book gave instructions on how to build a bomb, in the middle of one of the sister’s diary entries (Alvarez 144). The top of page 144 displays the malevolent image along with a vague descriptor from Maria Teresa, “..., I’ve got to memorize this diagram before we burn the master” (Alvarez 143), the diagram gives what materials would be necessary and detailed instructions on how to set off a time bomb. There were many armed weapons being lightly discussed throughout the beginning of the novel but, it never got as malicious as when the diagram was displayed, “circulating a book to the students about making a bomb would be the wrong thing to do” (Saslow 2). Children of all ages turn to books for guidance, inspiration, and an escape, the board was also worried if they approved the book, it could result in violent repercussions. The Board and parents did not want to take that risk or

Home to their only high school Paul D. Schreiber High, this close-knit community is the area trying to ban In the Time of the Butterflies from their high school’s roster. Considering Port Washington’s is known for its passion for the safety of their community, it’s not a surprise that the book was banned in Port Washington. Port Washington has a Safety and Substance Abuse Task Force, it’s a committee created to help preserve a safe and drug-free learning environment. Most of the presentation are mandatory for students and their parents; they tell stories of children who suffered at the hands of alcohol, teen suicide, distracted driving as a way to inform their community to make sure it does not happen in theirs. The committee's goal is safety for their students, and a book about violence included a diagram of how to build a bomb was read in class, the safety of the students could be put in jeopardy. Lots of the meetings and conferences are held at the Paul D. Schreiber High, the school who wanted to read Alvarez’s novel. Precautions seem to be a fairly prominent thing in this county, so challenging a book with a bomb diagram seemed to be the only solution the board had to ensure those high school kids well-being. But for a school district that is known for its open-mindedness, they were pretty quick in voting to ban the book in the first place. The Board is responsible for all the schools in the