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
In Maria Viramontes’ Under the Feet of Jesus Estrella is a confused, angry girl who is attempting to figure everything out. Estrella is unable to figure anything out without the help of Perfecto Flores, but with his help she is able to create some understanding about the importance of education and becomes less angry. Viramontes uses tone and figurative language to help show Estrella’s growth and development. The beginning of the passage has an angry tone.
In the except from the novel “ Under the feet of Jesus” by Helena Maria Viramontes shows the development of Estrella from being angry to understanding what she needed to do to succeed. The author uses figurative language and selection of detail to show the changes Estrella’s character went through, which reveals that knowing what things are is beneficial. The author uses figurative language like similes and metaphors to show Estrella’s frustration with her teacher and her understanding of tools. The author says, “ all that a jumbled steel inside the box… seemed as confusing and foreign as the alphabet she could not decipher.”
In the Dominican Republic, women were expected to go by what their husbands and fathers said. Women portrayed to have less power and authority than men. In “In the Time of the Butterflies”, the Mirabal sisters showed something very differently, instead they demonstrated the equal authority they have with their husbands. Their power challenged gender limitations that were forced on them by their patriarchal Dominican culture. Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa all were sisters who became involved in political movements against President Trujillo.
In chapter 11 of In the Time of Butterflies, a positive aspect of prison for Maria Teresa is the strong relationships she built with the other women because it gave her something to depend on while she was going through tough times. On April 8, Maria Teresa wrote about her conversations with the other women in prison. Her and another lady Magdalena started talking about the strong connection that all the women shared in jail. After the conversation began between the two, the other women came over to Maria Teresa and Magdalena and started to share their ideas and opinions. All the women were starting to come together as a group and their relationships were getting stronger.
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.
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.
Gender roles are timeless stereotypes that belong in the 1950s, yet sixty years later they still exist. Even today, gender roles are still prevalent and simply change to fit new adaptations of society, but have become less stressed over time. In the two literary pieces, In the Time of the Butterflies and Othello, men control women in some way whether it be as their father, husband, or a man of acquaintance. Both pieces illustrate that a woman's place in society is thought of as being subordinate to a man’s, which causes women to feel inferior to men, and also to seek their approval.
Religion in The Butterflies The theme of religion is found throughout the book In the Time of the Butterflies. Julia Alvarez uses the theme to give life and development to the characters as well as advance the story. It provides a brighter more pure side to contrast the events of the Rebellion and Trujillo’s actions. Religion also keeps the people of the Dominican Republic together providing guidance for them.
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.
Throughout ‘In the Time of the Butterflies’, Julia Alvarez creates Dede’s chapters during the present day, rather than in the 1960’s like the other sisters, and it tells the back and forth session she has with Julia Alvarez. Dede’s heroism mainly comes from her sisters’ death because she has to grow past it even though she is reminded of it almost everyday. In the novel it says, ““I mean, you’re so open and cheerful. How do you keep such a tragedy from taking you under?”... “There were many many happy years.
Maria Teresa- Mirabel Maria Teresa- Mirabel, otherwise known as Mate, is the youngest out of the four Mirabal sisters and one of the three to fight in the revolution. Throughout the novel, In The Time of The Butterflies, we see Mate's POV in the form of multiple diary entries. Her first diary entry began when she was just nine years old up until her time in prison at the age of twenty-five with breaks in-between. Through the eyes of these diary entries we see Mates character grow from a cheery, naive girl into one of brave, young women. This is especially shown through Mates last diary entry, in which Alvarez uses Mate’s inner dialogue and actions to paint us the final picture of Mates emphatic nature, resilience, and determination to stand
In this controlled assessment I will explore the ways sympathy for and/or dislike of a character is created in a text or texts I have studied. The characters I will discuss are Mrs Rutter and Kerry from the story The Darkness Out There, also I will talk about Eveline from the story about When The Wasps Drowned. Eveline is said to be eldest from her siblings so she is in charge of them
Which would be the lesser evil: being mauled to death by a ferocious tiger or being forcibly married to a stranger? In the short story “The Lady of the Tiger” by Frank R. Stockton, a semi-barbaric king rules a kingdom in which the citizens are judged of their innocence in a trial where they would, by chance, be immediately rewarded with marriage to a beautiful damsel or punished with death by a tiger. When the king 's daughter is caught in a love affair with a young man, the king sentences her lover to a trial and the princess, armed with the knowledge of which door leads to each option, must make a decision as to which way she will point him towards on the fateful day. Through the character traits of being lovestruck and determined, the princess highlights the way love muddles one 's judgement. To begin, the princess is madly in love with the young man.
“The Unicorn and the Wasp” Known as the “Queen of Mystery”, Agatha Christie has written over seventy detective novels, and fourteen short stories (Wikipedia). Her first novel, The Mysterious Affairs at Styles, was originally written as a dare but was later published in 1920. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, And Then There Were None, and Murder on the Orient Express are the most known and read of her many books. In the 2008 Doctor Who episode “The Unicorn and the Wasp”, the writers used Agatha Christie’s life as building blocks for the story line. During the show, the main character called The Doctor travels in time to 1926 for an elegant cocktail party.
