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Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

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In Julia Alvarez’s novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, a young, naïve girl transforms into a prominent figure in the revolution against Leonidas Trujillo as we read page after page of her most private thoughts. This character is Maria Teresa (Mate), the youngest of the Mirabal sisters. Alvarez weaves Maria Teresa’s story as a coming of age story under a dictatorship, and slowly, but thoroughly, shows us how it corrupts childhood innocence and forms revolutionaries. Mate’s chapters in the novel are solely journal entries. In Julia Alvarez’s words, “Techniques are just tools on the wall to help you get at what best reflects the stories in your heart to tell. For me, certain characters are more real, or more realized, depending on the angle …show more content…

Still just a little girl, her entries in this chapter are often mundane. She draws her new shoes, Minerva’s swimsuit, and lists her christmas presents, but this section shows us that Mate is observant and intelligent. She takes control of the narrative, and we get to see her in a different light. She says, “I don’t know if you realize how advanced I am for my age?” directly addressing one of the issues that comes with being labeled as the baby, maturity (Alvarez 32). Further, when Mate learns that Minerva is doing “dangerous things” because “she wanted [Mate] to grow up in a free country” she writes her reaction on the page, outlining her growth for us. She goes from saying, “I am taking these few minutes to wish El Jefe Happy Benefactor’s Day with all my heart” to “I see the picture of our president with eyes that follow me around the room… Before, I always thought our President was like God, watching over everything I did,” her changing ideas are right in front of us (Alvarez 37, 39). And although she does not explicitly state she no longer thinks he is like God, her words carry an air of anxiety. She is beginning to understand the danger of her country’s dictator, and we continue to see her evolve into a revolutionary. “Everything looks just a little different,” she says, and right alongside her, we see how her perceptions change as her journals

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Part II of the historical fiction novel In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez focuses on the Mirabal sisters as they grow up. Dedé brings us back to a volleyball game with Lio and Jaimito. One day, when Dedé is reading her mother the newspaper, she accidentally reads too much and her mother learns Lio is a communist and he is no longer allowed in their house. Because of this, when Jaimito and Dedé go on dates, they pick up Lio on their way. One night, Jaimito proposes to Dedé in her father's car and are surprised to find Lio hiding in the back seat.

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In the Time of the Butterflies is a book about 4 sisters, Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and María Teresa. The book is about the three girls growing up and their experiences during the time of the underground movement to overthrow Trujillo. The book was written in memory of Dedé’s 3 sisters who had been ambushed and murdered, which we are aware of since the beginning of the novel. The beginning chapter of the book is describing Dedé as she waits for a woman who is going to interview her about her three sisters, she then goes into a flashback she has of her family talking at the dinner table and her father mentions someone named Trujillo, which then gives a hint at who this book might be formed around. Through the book, we read stories about times in the girls’ lives when they were going to school at Inmaculada Concepcion and being at home and falling in love, as well as there run ins with Trujillo himself.

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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.

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Sacrifice; Exploring the Impact on the Mirabal Sisters “Nothing great was ever accomplished without making sacrifices” (Anonymous). Las Mariposas meaning “The Butterflies” sparked a revolution. In order for the revolution to kick off, three strong, outspoken women had their lives taken away. The sisters didn’t make grand gestures; they took small steps, and they planned every detail. In The Time Of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, she shows that you can’t rebel against something unless you’re willing to sacrifice everything.

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876 Words | 4 Pages

In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez follows the lives of the 4 Mirabal sisters: Minerva, Mate, Patria, and Dede in their efforts against the oppressive rule of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. All 4 sisters have varying values and identities that dictate the way they respond to adversity and develop throughout the novel. Patria, the eldest and most religious sister, has a strong connection to her faith, while simultaneously trying to figure out its connection with her internal and external struggles. Throughout the novel, Alvarez shows how Patria's identity, namely her commitment to religion and driven, family oriented nature become a source of stability during adversity, showcasing the connection between faith

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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.

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Gaining Color In the beginning, butterflies’ wings are transparent and colorless. By growing and flying in the light, they are able to stain their wings and achieve the vibrant colorful wings they are famous for. The Mirabal sisters did not start off as the faces of the underground revolution against Trujillo.

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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.

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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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667 Words | 3 Pages

In order to provide for the family, “Ambrosch hired his sister out like a man, and she went from farm to farm, binding sheaves or working with the thrashers,” Antonia selflessly sacrifices her dignity. Though at first responding indifferently to Jim’s question of going to school, saying “I ain’t got time to learn…School is alright for little boys. I help make this land one good farm.” Revealing her true desire for an education to Jim, Antonia asks him to tell her of all that he learned in school. The magnitude of Antonia’s altruism is great; therefore her abrupt transformation from self-sacrifice to self-absorption is astonishing.

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804 Words | 4 Pages

Marxist Criticism focuses on class struggle and power structure in a literary piece (Davidson). In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez can be analyzed using Marxist Criticism to show how power is maintained in the novel. Trujillo maintains his power by convincing girls to live in his homes, jailing citizens who try to overthrow him, and killing citizens that he has large problems with. Trujillo uses his authority to make all of his citizens obey him so that he can keep his power, or else they must deal with severe consequences. Trujillo acts this way to prove that he is the man in charge and ultimately prove that he is unbeatable.

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1708 Words | 7 Pages

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.

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One of the strongest traits to possess is not courage nor intellect, but rather love for one another. The novel, In the time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, perfectly illustrates the capabilities love can accomplish. Love is shown to bond families like the Mirabel sisters together and evoke emotion that encourage others to sympathize with them. The stories about the Mirabel sister’s children, husbands, and themselves, paved a path to ending Trujillo’s regime. The emphasis of love that the sisters and their families share is prevalent throughout the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, as it influences them to protect and sacrifice for one another, which ultimately inspires a revolt to successfully end Trujillo’s regime.

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458 Words | 2 Pages

Butterflies Reflection In The Time of the Butterflies I am exposed to many different viewpoints. An important one being Minerva Mirabal. This novel takes me through the crazy lives of the Mirabal’s. This family is in a personal war against El Jefe Trujillo.

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777 Words | 4 Pages

The Mirabal sisters were revolutionaries who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. During the revolution, they were given the code name “Las Mariposas”, or “the butterflies”. The term “mariposa” suits each sister in a different way. Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and Mate Mirabal each have their one reason to be compared to a butterfly. The nickname “mariposa” shows who the Mirabal sisters are; they transformed from domestic, innocent mothers and wives into brave, defiant martyrs for national freedom.

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