ipl-logo

In The Time Of The Butterflies Identity Essay

777 Words4 Pages

Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is a work of historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic under the rule of Rafael Trujillo. The tragic story depicts the life of four sisters rebelling against a deadly dictator and trying to make a justified society. Dedé, Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal unit together to fight against an oppressive and destructive government. These four individuals are composed of different and unique characteristics form together to create a threatening power towards an unjust group of leaders. The theme of coming-of-age and identity in the novel In the Time of the Butterflies is best exemplified through the character of Maria Teresa because of her character development from a immature and …show more content…

Mate willingly chooses to fight in the revolution without any influence of her sisters support. Mate can not comprehend how a free nation could be a controlling stratocracy. She even compares God to Trujillo, someone of grace and equality for everyone. Learning about her honorable president’s mischievous ways was unimaginable. Mate expresses, "Everything looks just a little different"(39). She understands Trujillo is not a man of principles, rather someone who follows rules that he pleases. 21-year-old Mate is later recruited to a national underground by Minerva and her husband, Manolo and remains undercover while living with Sonia, her collegiate roommate and revolutionary friend. Mate jokes about neighbors suspecting scandalous actions are conducted in their apartment and says, “Now I can finally use my talents for the revolution”(143). She is now at a point in her life where she does not care about what others think of her, unless it is someone she could potentially marry. Mate has always been in love with idea of having a husband, and after meeting revolutionary engineer Leandro, she marries him. The young Maria Teresa, who would never kill a fly, is now a revolutionary bride fighting for her present and future

Show More
Related
683 Words | 3 Pages

Once out of prison, Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa drove across a mountain pass to visit their husbands in prison, but they are ambushed and murdered under the request of Trujillo. Their deaths were stage to look like a car accident and Dedé was forced to live on and tell the world of how Trujillo destroyed their

Read More
286 Words | 2 Pages

In the Time of the Butterflies, characters are seen making morally challenging decisions. Maria Teresa, Mate, is the youngest Mirabel sister. She is described as virtuous and fears elementary things. However, Mate and Minerva are held captive in prison. Fortunately, The OAS Peace Committee schedules to interview a prisoner in each pavilion, Mate has been selected.

Read More
752 Words | 4 Pages

In the Time of the Butterflies is a historical fiction novel written by Julia Alvarez. The book focuses on the lives of the four Mirabal sisters who were killed on November 25th, 1960 as a result of organizing against the government. Throughout the novel, the sisters are oppressed and hurt by the many men in their lives. The book takes a view that is not very tolerant of men. The men often do things that hurt the women in their lives, such as physically hurt them, cheat on them, or control them against their will.

Read More
892 Words | 4 Pages

She really wanted to join the movement against Trujillo which shows how badly she wanted to follow her sisters’ leads. In the end, she lived on and continued the legacy of her sisters which shows her role in bringing down

Read More
705 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1234 Words | 5 Pages

The historical fiction novel In the Time of the Butterflies written by Julia Alvarez illustrates how important historical and political shifts in a government affect the lives of the characters in a society or culture. The characters in this society are punished for acts of rebellion because of Trujillo’s ruthless dictatorship. The sisters

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
845 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, the author, Julia Alvarez, uses the Mirabal sisters to show how the sanction of a man changes the outcome of their

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

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

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

It provides a role in character development shown predominantly in Patrias character. It shows the extent of Trujillo’s actions against the Dominican people by showing Patrias desperateness for her son. These examples depicted in the book show how the theme of religion has an impact on In the Time of the

Read More
804 Words | 4 Pages

When applying Marxist Criticism to the novel, readers can see that one way Trujillo is able to maintain his power is by convincing women to live in his homes. Trujillo owns many homes and has a woman live in each one. He uses his power to manipulate women to live secluded from their friends and family. The only thing that Trujillo gets out of doing this is having a fling, but he is able to show

Read More
1377 Words | 6 Pages

In society many find that males hold dominance and make all of the major choices. This is just a stereotype that many people seem to believe. There are many stereotypes for a variety of concepts but that does not mean they are true. There are few females that stand up against sexist stereotypes, but for the few people who have spoken out against them literature has been an effective way of getting their message out. Feminism has impacted literature in several ways; it allows people to share their messages about stereotypes.

Read More
540 Words | 3 Pages

Trujillo's dictatorship, resulting in the revolution, influenced Patria's physical courage to truly show. By joining the revolution Patria's moral courage counteracted her fears and encouraged her to take a step towards making a change . Finally after getting her son taken, sacrificing herself showed what she would do for someone revealing her emotional courage. This novel puts a whole new perspective on courage by demonstrating different types of courage . Many different behaviors and beliefs can link to courage; bravery, fear, and even religious faith.

Read More
458 Words | 2 Pages

“A woman with a mind of her own. So you want to study in the capital, eh?” (Alvarez 99). This quote shows Trujillo’s interests in Minerva. It also signifies Minerva’s fearless and driven personality.

Read More
1382 Words | 6 Pages

It revolves around the flight of the princess to escape the awful marriage to his father (Perrault, 1977). Charles Perrault uses the princess’ character to reveal the major themes of overcoming evil, child abuse and incest in the story. Perrault also brings out the moral that it is better to encounter awful challenges in life than to fail in one’s duty. He shows that although the virtue may seem unrealistic, it can always triumph. The author uses various literary devices to reveal the various morals of the story.

Read More

More about In The Time Of The Butterflies Identity Essay

Related Topics

Open Document