Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

The novel, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, tells the story of the four Mirabal sisters during the time of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. All four sisters take turns narrating the novel, making them each the protagonists of their chapters, but overall, Dede is the main character throughout the story. She is the second-oldest sister, the one who keeps the shelves stacked neatly, the one who can read and write. Dede is also the only sister who didn't join the revolution and wasn't killed in the 1960 ambush. She is the one who survives, which makes her the one to tell that story of her sister’s deaths. Her survival, in my opinion, is the most important part of the book. This makes her the main protagonist

When Dede is given a choice to join her sister’s revolution, she thinks long and hard about it. She is afraid because she knows that if she thinks about it long enough, between what’s right and wrong, she will eventually agree. Her husband does not allow it. “When he got upset, he would just raise his voice. But that night, he grabbed her by the wrists and shoved her on the bed, only—he said later—to make her come to her senses. Swear!, he'd scream to make sure she wouldn't go” - Dede (3.9.64) . At this point in her life, she loses her voice to speak out for herself. Now, as an adult, she has changed into a totally different personality from that as a child. She had a voice, She was always very cheerful, she would volunteer to stay back to help her sisters. Now, she waited and didn't give her opinion to her husband, she just went along with what he thought. "A chill goes through her, for she feels it in her bones, the future is now beginning. By the time it is over, it will be the past, and she doesn't want to be the only one left to tell their story." - Dede (Chapter 1 pg 10) . But all is not lost, slowly Dede starts to rediscover her lost voice and personality. She regains her voice towards the end of the book, after her sister’s deaths. When Dede and Jaimito pass the SIM (servicio de inteligencia militar) post on their way to the sister’s bodies, she screams at them in disbelief. Jaimito quickly revs