In The Time Of The Butterflies Essay

Childhood is something extremely important in the development of people, and whether their adolescence is good or bad, it often shapes their futures and personalities. The book In The Time Of The Butterflies by Julia Alverez demonstrates this while simultaneously bringing readers into the world of young revolutionary women. Alvarez tells the story of four young women who live in the Dominican Republic and start seeing the world in a new light as they mature from sheltered individuals who speak to barely anyone outside of their family and neighbors, to school girls learning about corruption in the outside world; Minerva, the oldest of the sisters, was the first to start the descent into rebellion. When the Mirabal sisters were young,

One of the more important moments, referring to Minerva's loss of innocence and development as an adult in her society, happens when she discovers that her father has a second family. This upsets her, as it should and she states “‘You’ve lost my respect.’... I was much stronger than Papa, Mama was much stronger. He was the weakest one of all.” (Alverez 89) when confronting her father. This moment really exposes Minerva to the secrets that even those she holds close keep and the weaknesses that even the most strong seeming people have.. It can be seen that in the future, Minerva is more mysterious and secretive about things in her life concerning the revolution. Her exposure to betrayal and discovering these things unintentionally shape her in the future. Even past learning about her father's other family, she then finds an invitation in his pocket from Trujillo that “Caused another uproar- This time from Mama.” (Alverez 89) The invitation mentions Minerva by name, almost in a predatory way, and her being such a young and beautiful woman, it isn't hard to find out why. The fact that her father hid the invitation was yet another blow from a trusted person that may have made her a more guarded person as she