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In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

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How far would you go to stand up for what you believe in? In the time of the butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a novel that tells the story of four sisters in the Dominican Republic who get involved in a movement against regime of Rafael Trujillo. With each sisters perspective, it is clear the harsh ways Trujillo’s regime has impacted people in the Dominican Republic lives over the years and how people have rebelled against it. Each sister has sacrificed so much to just to stand up for what they believe in and stand up against Trujillo. In Julia Alvarez’s novel In the Time of the Butterflies, she depicts the Mirabal sisters as revolutionaries through the characteristics of bravery and commitment. One of the main ways Alvarez portrays the Mirabal …show more content…

Mate is so committed to her part and effect of the revolution community that she won’t tell the government anything at all, even through torture, just so she can stick to her beliefs and not let the revolution stop. In the book it says, “We’ll have to use stronger persuasions. I guess Johnny said. Tie her down. Bug Eye stood before me, holding a rod with a little switch. When he touched me with it, my whole body jumped with exquisite pain. I felt my spirit snapping lose, soaring above my body and looking down at the scene.” (Alvarez 1455). This accentuates the horrible treatment Mate went through while in prison and just how committed to staying quiet for the revolution no matter is going on Mate is. She went through horrible pain and also witnessed her husband being tortured and still stood strong. This characteristic of having such strong commitment helps depict her as a revolutionary because she stood up for what she believed in no matter the circumstances and was willing to face the consequences of her actions. Another way Alvarez portrays the Mirabal sisters as revolutionaries is through their ability to be confident in themselves and stand up to powerful people and take risks.

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Do you have secrets that you would never tell anyone else? In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez formats Maria Teresa’s chapter as a diary to offer the reader a more personal connection to the character and her life story. Maria Teresa, who is eleven and twelve in this chapter, confides in her “Little Book” and tells it things that she would never tell others, like how she cries when others laugh at her (Alvarez 31). Through the reader being able to read her diary, they know something that Maria Teresa’s family and friends do not know giving the reader a more intimate connection with the character. It also allows the reader to become more invested in the story because they now want to see if any of Maria Teresa’s secrets have

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Minerva was so passionate about being a revolutionary she was willing to leave her son with her sister to continue and pursue what it is that she wanted. The sisters being revolutionaries changed a lot for them, but they did whatever it took it was a passion for them. The girls constantly did what they needed to they were determined and

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In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez portrays the Dominican Republics in a time where Rafael Leonidas Trujillo is the ruthless dictator. Throughout the novel, Trujillo accentuates the idea of manipulation by controlling all aspects of Dominican life and manipulates Dominicans from an early age by alluding himself to be the ideal leader. In the beginning of the novel there is a passage from a textbook that is meant for young Dominican children: “All through nature there is a feeling of ecstasy. A strange otherworldly light suffuses the house smelling of the labor and sanctity.

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In the book In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Minerva is shown to be motivated to fight for the revolution and for the people. This revolutionary mindset has led her to fight against Trujillo, led her into prison, and eventually led to her death. Her attempts weren’t for nothing though as Trujillo would fall shortly after and Minerva and her sisters would be remembered as leaders of the revolution. Throughout her life Minerva’s relationships and health has been greatly impacted by her revolutionary ideologies because of how devoted she is to her goals, her relationships with her sisters, and her mental health struggles after being released from prison. Minerva’s driving motivation throughout a good part of her life had been

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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

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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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Liliana Villa In this section of In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez uses various literary elements specifically interior monologue, and figurative language to show how Mate discovers she is willing to sacrifice herself for the movement. Mate was taken by officers in hopes she could be used as persuasion towards Leonardo through torture. When Leonardo tells the officers to leave her out of it, the officers in turn beat Leonardo. Mate, being in shock, began screaming for them to stop, she claims “It felt like my very own stomach was being punched”, which shows at first Mate was only thinking about what was happening to her own life.

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Family is the most powerful weapon for people to live a delighted life. In the book, “Before we were free” and “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez spoke about the brave families who struggled to bring freedom to the entire country. All the Mirable sister supported each other when they need each other help. “In the Time of the Butterflies” by Alvarez mentioned about Minerva, the main character of the book who fight against the dictator, Trujillo. Similarly, “Before we were free” Alvarez talked about Anita’s father and his fellow who fought against the ruler and bring freedom to the country.

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She outwardly displays her developing courage, unlike the many, many girls whom Trujillo had taken advantage of. This undaunted and reckless gesture was one that was a large step in the revolutionary efforts. If a young woman could stand up against Trujillo, the whole of the country could unite to stand up to him as well. I compared this to the flight path of the eagle in my painting, taking off above the flames and rising higher, lifting away from the heat. As Minerva

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(Alvarez 269). As the clock ticks to the horrible ending for the Mirabal sisters, they still do everything they can to help the revolution. Their uncle tells them that Trujillo told him “My only two problems are the damn church and the Mirabal sisters “(Alvarez 281). Minerva knows that she is caught in Trujillo’s net. “Not only was there nothing in the world we could do to

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The courageous acts of the Mirabal sisters Harrison Thomas In the novel in the time of the butterflies, Julia Alverez the author shows how the Mirabal sisters were extremely determined to take down Trujillo and his dictatorship. Throughout the novel the Mirabal sisters Dede, Minerva and Patria were all seen participating in the rebellion using courage by their side to do numerous things. Some off these things consist of slapping Trujillo, running away from armed guards, and even sneaking out every night to keep the secret away from Dede’s husband. Finally, the sisters are all seen caring and looking out for each other all throughout the book using courage to help make their decisions.

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Throughout her book, she showed the reader how she was able to overcome these challenges she was faced with. The main conflict she presented in her book was the movement she and her family led against the Spanish speaking ladino population of Guatemala. This movement was needed because the Indian tribes were being taken advantage of, one of the tribes being the one that Rigoberta and her family were a member of, the Quiches. The ladino population believed they could take the Indian land; they were wrong the Indians began to build weapons and traps which they would use against these invaders. The readers were able to see the power and determination Rigoberta and her people.

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Courage what does it look like? For instance, In the time of the butterflies, written by Judy Alvarez Minerva gives one of the most sadly beautiful examples through themes of loss, torture, and depravity of her dreams. One of the first and best examples of Minerva's courage is at the Discovery Day Dance. Minerva is invited to one of Trujillo's banquets and is asked to dance with him.

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Four Mirabal sisters against the different aspects of life brought by the Spanish. In the novel, In The Time Of The Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, the four sisters experience several different challenges following the colonization of the Dominican Republic. The Spanish colonized the Dominican Republic in the late 1400s, bringing many different values and beliefs along with them. Some examples of things the Spanish brought were government, religion, and education. The government ideas and beliefs that came with the Spanish to the Dominican Republic created tensions and apparent corruption throughout the book, especially with Minerva.

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Emily Sandrini Ms. Phelps World Lit 4 18 February 2023 In The Time Of The Butterflies Essay In the book In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, one of the main concepts of the book is love motivates people to fight, and this is best shown through the youngest Mirabal sister, Maria Teresa. When Maria Teresa meets her husband, Leandro, she becomes motivated to finally join the mariposas and help the revolution, which shows how love is a great motivator for many people. Love is a great motivator for many people, it can cause you to do things for other people you’d never expect you would do.

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