Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

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As the historical fictional work of Julia Alvarez in In the Time of The Butterflies goes on, Alvarez is actually the interview woman, telling the story through the interviewer’s eyes. In the beginning, Papa predicts Dede’s future and not any of her sisters’ futures which inform readers that not only are all the sisters’ special but that Dede has her part to continue the legacy of her sisters. After living under the control of Trujillo, an evil and corrupt president, the sisters risked their own lives by starting rebellions and joining movements secretly against Trujillo. Dede, who didn’t join the rebellion, watched helplessly as her family fell apart: First, with the death of Papa, and later on the deaths of her sisters who were arrested. These sisters were nicknamed Mariposa which means butterflies to show how fearless they were to stand up for their beliefs. To start off, Alvarez picks Sinita, a girl whose whole family has …show more content…

Dede followed her husband and didn’t get involved until it was over (Alvarez 172). Dede really wanted to join the rebellion, but she didn’t because she was loyal to her husband, following his lead. She may have not joined the rebellion, but her actions proved that she regretted her decision. This is shown when she wants Fela to clean out the shed (Alvarez 64). Fela hanged a picture of Trujillo in the shed and after seeing the picture, Dede was furious and told Fela to clean out the shed. She basically told Fela to get rid of the picture. She didn’t even mention the name Trujillo which shows her hatred and fear towards him. Not only did she regretted it physically, but mentally as well. “Why? Why didn’t she go along with her sisters” (Alvarez 177). 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