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Chang-Tzu The Butterfly Analysis

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Every story consists of a purpose. Chuang-tzu’s purpose of imagining himself as a butterfly in “The Butterfly” was possibly to describe the creature he showed utmost respect for. Although Chuang-tzu could have chosen a much larger fiercer animal such as the tiger, lion, or wolf he choose the most free animal. Butterflies may symbolize a variety of concepts to people however what many may see is that Chuang is describing peaceful bliss. As he compares himself to the butterfly he states that, “Was Chuang-tzu dreaming himself the butterfly, or was the butterfly dreaming itself Chuang-tzu?” (Taoist Anecdotes 416) meaning that whether he was the creature or the creature was him they both have tranquility and similar mindsets. His personality which
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Ha Songnan incorporates the structure of Fractured Narrative in her short story “Waxen Wings.” The whole movement of the short story is disjointed. Songnan’s exposition commences by Birdie’s unconsciousness in the hospital: “During what seemed like a nap...seasons changed in the front lawn, right below your hospital room window”(Songnan 163) from there, Birdie just gets flashback after flashback. The story shows Birdie’s journey through childhood into adulthood. Showing the reader how she changes from talking about one topic and changing the topic in

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In The Time Of Butterflies was written by Julia Alvarez. Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American poet, novelist, and essayist. She wrote In the time of Butterflies in 1994. The book divided into four sections, which make the sisters to have their own sections. The story took place in Dominican Republic during President Trujillo’s dictatorship government.

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This is a fiction book based on the historical facts about the Mirabal sisters, Trujillo and the Dominican Republic. Just imagine yourself being in the country which is ruled by the dictator. Would you stand up for your country or would you just be a traditional woman? In this, In the Time of Butterflies book by Julia Alvarez, Minerva led the anti- Trujillo movement and tried to get the independence, after she found out how horrible he is.

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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.

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Literary Analysis of “Waxen Wings” Failure is a grueling issue to consider even if it’s a natural way of life. Ha Songnan’s “Waxen Wings” expresses to never give up on your dreams because sometimes it takes failure to discover achievement. The nameless South Korean girl, “Birdie”, travels back to her childhood. As a child and even as an adult she has a brilliant imagination that consists of flying; yet, imagination is a ignominy in her culture.

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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.

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Courage Courage is strength in the face of pain. Julia Alvarez portrays different types of courage in her novel, In the Time of the Butterflies. The novel is set during the time of Trujillo's dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. As a result, some of the Mirabal sisters; Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria, to take a step in joining a revolution against him.

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Each dictator in history is known for something different. Trujillo’s character in In the Time of the Butterflies is known as being the “devil” and making people miserable (Alvarez 24). Marxist Criticism is based on the economic and cultural theory of Karl Marx, who is considered the founder of communism (Davidson). Marxist Criticism can be applied to In the Time of the Butterflies through the way Trujillo’s character maintains his power. Trujillo maintains his power by degrading citizens and instilling fear inside the members underneath his dictatorship.

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The creature is essentially human because he has feelings and emotion just like any other human. When this creature first speaks out about his early life he claims to be "benevolent" and that his "soul glowed with love and humanity" (83). The creature states that when he became alive he showed love and kindness just like any human being. The creature shows various human traits.

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He is aware of his otherness and knows that he is “shut out from intercourse” (84) with the people he holds so dear. It can be argued that this is the point where the creature’s humanity is the strongest throughout the course of story. He has a basic understanding of human societies, he speaks and reads their language, shows compassion and, most importantly, seeks their company and friendship. In his knowledge that social belonging is the missing component to his own happiness, he confronts the people he secretly observed only to, once again, be met with fear and anger (94-95). He comes to realise that he

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Is Ignorance Bliss? The Fault in Being Ignorant of Real and Fake Famous French diplomat Bernard Boursicot, in David Henry Hwang’s M.Butterfly was portrayed as Rene Gallimard. The story and the novel written included the protagonist falling in love with a female Chinese Opera singer who was incognito a Chinese male spy. The play opens with Gallimard in his jail cell, contemplating his life with Song Liling for twenty years, the past and the present.

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C. Song Liling as the Convincing Oriental Butterfly Gallimard meets Song Liling in a German ambassador’s house. At that time, Song is the opera diva performing Butterfly of Madama Butterfly on the stage. In fact, Gallimard is not into opera; however, Song’s performance, especially the death scene of Butterfly, has changed his idea to opera as well as Madama Butterfly. In Gallimard’s previous experiences, he has “always seen it played by huge women in so much bad makeup” (Hwang 16). Nonetheless, when Butterfly is played by an Oriental woman, it becomes convincing to Gallimard.

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M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang generated implications regarding sexuality, race, and ethnicity; however, in my perspective the largest issue was gender. M. Butterfly was a fictional account of a French diplomat who had an affair with a “Chinese opera singer”, who was uncovered to be a man and an international spy. Through all this tension, the play juxtaposed Eastern and Western cultures. For example, Gallimard harbored the stereotype of Oriental women to be perceived as beautiful, passive, and unselfish.

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The creation of the butterfly was influenced by the idea of Owen turning regular aspects of himself into something more beautiful than anything seen before. Without the personal aspect of the butterfly, it would not stand out to Owen because there are no relatable qualities. His personal influence on the world adds a whole new level of beauty in Owen’s

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“Dead butterfly” is about a depressed girl that is holding onto the past by carrying around a butterfly that reminds her of her brother so the mom asks herself questions about past events to figure out why her daughter won’t let the butterfly go. The main tone of the “dead butterfly” is depressed. Bass wrote “We just lived with the dead winged thing as part of her, as part of us, weightless in its heavy jar.” (bass 3.5-7).

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