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Symbolism In In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

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After reading In the Time of the Butterflies, one can clearly see that Dominican-American author Julia Alvarez thoughtfully and purposefully incorporated a plethora of symbols throughout the story in order to carefully craft her novel. From instances as large as the title of the novel, to concepts as simple as the weather each day of the narration, Alvarez shows deep consideration in utilizing the literary device of symbolism consistently throughout the story. Alvarez took the time to deliberately focus and place emphasis on the element of symbolism in order to not only recognize Dominican culture, but to highlight the journey of the Mirabal sisters as they left their mark on society and fought back against the oppressive Trujillo regime. As …show more content…

The symbol of the butterfly is meant to represent each Mirabal sister, and embody the theme of freedom and transformation- not only for the Mirabal sisters themselves, but for the entirety of the Dominican country. The butterflies, or mariposas, provide a sense of freedom to the citizens of their country and inspire others to spread their wings and fight against the Trujillo regime. The effect of the butterflies is widespread throughout the nation, even in church during holy communion when “Father Gabriel bent down and whispered, ‘¡Viva la Mariposa!’” (Alvarez 259). Each Mirabal sister personifies a a free and transforming butterfly in their own unique way. For instance, Patria Mirabal transforms in the novel as she drastically alters her position in regards to the revolution against Trujillo and decides to join her sisters, exclaiming “I inched towards courage the best way I could, helping out with little things” (Alvarez 154). Furthermore, Minerva Mirabal, the “ringleader” of the mariposas, portrays freedom and transformation through her courageous sacrifice in which she chooses to give her only child, Manolito, to her sister Patria in order to be solely dedicated to her role in the revolution. As she makes this sacrifice as a mother, it is with the intention of being a part of a transformation that will create a better future for her child, so that they can live a life of

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Three examples of men who do this are Manolo, Minerva’s husband who cheats on her, Jaimito, Dede’s husband who is abusive, and Enrique, who is the exceedingly controlling father with a secret second family. All three of these men hurt people in their lives and are portrayed negatively by the author. The first man, that the novel is not deeply accepting of is Manolo. Manolo is described as “tall and very handsome and so romantic,” by Maria Teresa but the book soon casts a disapproving light

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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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Gabriel, a vaquero, who exposes the love of the llano, expresses his way of life and freedom. Their kids, three eldest sons, two daughters, and youngest son Antonio, the protagonist, become

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Minerva’s assertiveness affects her livelihood because she is deceived by Trujillo and now cannot practice her law degree. Trujillo’s unfair government forces Minerva to change her life plans, and she now must endure the punishment of finding a brand new way to make a living. Later, María Teresa again voices her very own thoughts in her diary as she describes her experience of living in a prison cell. She explains that “The fear is the worst part.

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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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In the Dominican Republic, a leader named Trujillo oppresses the people of the country hurting everyone who happens to get in his way. It was Minerva, one of the sisters, who spoke out and declared the cruelty the people are faced with. Her passion and leadership is shown from the very beginning as a child. Her influence also carried on to the other sisters making them become more strong in their beliefs. Sadly, the other sisters had plans and their own ideas of how to live their lives.

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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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Butterflies are exceedingly beautiful. They gracefully fly as the sun beams on them endlessly. Their delicate wings allow them to be “free”. In Julia Alvarez’s novel “In The Time of The Butterflies”, four sisters (The Mirabals) from the Dominican Republic, encounter many obstacles. The novel takes place during Rafael Trujillo’s rule.

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As a reader just being introduced to the character Patria with this quote you can clearly tell Julia Alvarez’s intent on how we look at Patria. The author intends to show and describe the character as a

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Reading through the intrepid journeys of this novel, we come to learn about each of the four Mirabal sisters, along with her attitude and actions towards her merciless leader. In Julia Alvarez’s In The Time of the Butterflies, readers are introduced to four sisters living under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, the head of the Dominican Republic. All sisters harbor an intense hatred for the state, but among them, two sisters in particular bear stronger differences than the others—Minerva and Dedé. Minerva is an adamant character who delves deeper into the secrets of Trujillo and the coming revolution, whereas Dedé’s character shies away and lingers in the back.

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Focusing on Patria, after listening to advice about joining the revolution she has made her final conclusions about what she wanted to do about the situation. Julia Alvarez uses Patria's faith in God as an illustration of courage. Patria is a very religious person. She used her faith in God to help her get through difficult situations demonstrating moral, physical, and emotional courage in time of danger.

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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,

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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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“M. Butterfly” was a play written by David Henry Hwang in 1988. Besides based on the true story of the scandalous affair between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and the Chinese spy Shi Pei Pu, “M. Butterfly” is also inspired by the Italian play writer Giacomo Puccini’s famous opera, “Madama Butterfly”. Although critics usually refer the work as a demonstration of dangers inherent in living a life satisfied with shallow stereotypes and misconceptions, the work can be understand in a deeper level with its historical context. As stated by Hwang, “the action of the play takes place in a Paris prison in the present, and, in recall, during the decade 1960-70 in Beijing, and from 1966 to the present in Paris. ”(6) In world history, the 1960s was the time where the Second World War (1937-1945) has ended.

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Minerva is the heart and soul of Las Mariposas’ revolution for freedom because of her restlessness and determination for change. She is the ringer leader of “Las Mariposas” and appears to be the bravest. Though Minerva may was never considered domestic, she did not originally have a revolution on her mind. She dreams of going to law school and is determined to attend no matter how long it takes. Having seen Trujillo’s injustice, Minerva’s interest in the revolution is sparked by meeting Lío, and grows through her experiences in the capital.

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