In The Time Of The Butterflies Book Report

The novel written by Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies, is about four sisters: Patria, Dede, Minerva, and Mate Maribal. They live the the Dominican Republic during the presidency of Rafael Trujillo, a ruthless leader. As they grow up, resistance groups start assembling, and the sisters join in hopes of saving their country, while also trying to live their lives. The theme of fighting and also trying to maintain normalcy in life is the best theme in the entire book. In the beginning the sisters are sent to a church high school to study there. That is the first environment where Minerva sees anyone protest against the President. It’s one of their first encounters of defiance. Even though this is going on in their country and school, the sisters are still being educated. They learn about their bodies and are still going through school. Even as a teenager, Minerva is having to deal with and see the reality of what her country and school are going through. It is quite a bit of pressure to put on teenagers, not to mention the added pressure of boys during this time. As the sisters grew up, they obviously start to think about boys more and more often. From crush to crush and boyfriend to boyfriend, the sisters get married, each to their own husband. They went from kids, to having kids themselves, but this is a new

Seeing what the characters in the book had to deal with is unbelievable. The sisters balance the life of a rebel with their home life. It doesn't always work out but they try to anyways. They make sacrifices and try to understand the consequences. “But Minerva, your own child—" I began and then I saw it did hurt her to make this sacrifice she was convinced she needed to make,” is what Patria said to her sister Minerva concerning her child. She was juggling a lot and wanted to keep everyone safe. Having to make those kind of decisions is