Back in the present (1994), Dede considers how Fela, their longtime servant, thinks that she is possessed by the spirits of the dead Mirabal sisters. She had accidentally come across Fela's shrine to the girls one Friday in the shed behind the house. She had ordered Fela to move the shrine, but Minou scolded her for being intolerant. Minou often stops at the shrine, which is now down the street. She asks Dede where Lio Morales now lives, since Minerva has asked her to deliver a message to him—just to say hello, and to state how much she thinks of him. When the interview woman presses on, asking Dede, "When did all the problems start?" Dede begins to speak about Lio Morales. She met him one "hot and humid afternoon" while she was organizing her father's shop with Minerva. They are finishing up before they head to Tio Pepe's to play volleyball with their friends. Dede knows that her cousin Jaimito, on whom she has started to have a crush (even though he once annoyed her), will be there. Mario, one of their distributors, arrives with Lio, and introduces him as his cousin. He knows Elsa Sanchez and Sinita Perozo from the university. When Dede mentions that they are committed to playing volleyball, Minerva invites Mario and Lio. Minerva gets their father's permission, and the girls go to Tio Pepe's with Mario and Lio.A few weeks later, Lio is still joining them for volleyball. Jaimito suggests that the girls come to play. As they take off their shoes and begin to assign positions, Dede notices that Minerva and Lio are missing. She is unsure if it is actually an accident, but she hits the ball into the hedges, startling the hiding couple. Once Lio emerges from the hedges, Jaimito starts a fight with him, and the game ends in awkwardness. Lio and Jaimito both begin to come to the Mirabals house more and more. When Maria Teresa accidentally reads aloud to Mama a newspaper article that reveals that Lio is "a…
The golden-cheeked warbler, native to central Texas, have been on the endangered list since May 4th, of 1990. These birds live in the Ashe juniper (cedar), oaks, as well as other hardwood trees found throughout this region. The golden cheeked warbler are endangered due to the clearing of much of their oak woodland and tall juniper habitat for the installment of homes, roads, stores, and otherwise human related needs (TPWD). Another cause of their endangerment is the flooding of their habitat during the construction of lakes. Recovery efforts are being conducted by over 400 landowners throughout regions in which the warbler is located, these landowners are being assisted by the U.S. fish and wildlife service to create…
Dan Fagin, a Pulitzer Prize winner in environmental journalism and published author, breaks down science to a more understandable form for the masses. In his talk to Point Park University students and faculty, he addresses the importance of communicating science and the hurdles the environmental journalism community faces when doing so.…
In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, is the story of four sisters who take an emotional journey while becoming a symbol of hope in the corrupt Dominican Republic, as they seek to make a political revolution. Throughout the story, we dig deeper into each sister’s life and learn more about her individual traits. In the book, Alvarez makes the Mirabal sisters come alive throughout the book with her use of foreshadowing, detailed characterization, and selection of detail. The more the reader journeys farther into the book, the more the aforementioned devices become of importance…
Alvarez, Julia. IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing Company, New York City, © 1994 and Plume, an imprint of Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books, USA, © 1995. By permission of Susan Bergholz Literary Services, New York City and Lamy, NM. All rights reserved.…
Bees are amazing. They are so cool. Bees have been around almost one hundred million years. There are many different kinds of bees. Bees see flowers different from what people do. Bees live in different places. They have a head,wings,abdomen,stinger,legs,thorak mouthparts,and a antena. Bees are nifty insects.…
Every day the Earth faces an environmental dilemma that ranges from human factors such as factories which release chemicals into the atmosphere to natural causes such as floods and tornados. It has become hard to pin point which is the most threating to the ecosystem, but in recent times the introduction of an invasive species has played a big part in the wide spread changes in the ecosystem. Changes in an ecosystem can affect many species differently, if they are unable to adapt to the rapid alteration, this can lead to rapid habitat lost and even extinction of a species.…
Epstein, Alex. (2008) “Vindicating Capitalism: The Real History of the Standard Oil Company” The Objective Standard Vol3, No. 2. Retrieved from: http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2008-summer/standard-oil-company.asp…
Kingsolver has always been known as an advocate of nature. She devotes much respect to the other inhabitants of her world. Whether regarding palm groves in Spain, endangered nene birds, tomato plants or pupfish, she speaks with a biologist's knowledge of the flora and fauna around her. Not only does she love…
In conclusion, although involvement to save endangered animals in sometimes necessary, its necessity is hinged on whether it affects the human species directly, and or will negatively affect the longevity of us as a species…
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left” (Benjamin and McCallum, 7). He was speaking in regard to the symbiotic relationship of all life on the planet, which consists of a huge intertwined ecosystem. Each element plays a certain role that is dependent on many other components that work closely together (Higgins, 2007). Society, unfortunately, knows a very small amount about the importance of the honeybee. Ninety percent of commercial crops worldwide owe their existence to the honeybee pollination. (Benjamin and McCallum, 4). Their…
Julia Alvarez a Dominican-American novelist whose own father had escaped Trujillo’s reign during its death climax. She heard from her father about 3 sisters who were political activist. Julia Alvarez wrote a novel called In the time of the Butterflies to create her own form of justice towards the Mirabal sisters and Rufino de la Cruz their driver who was also killed with them. In her novel there are multiple themes present such as corruption and control which is a very significant theme since the Dominican Republic had a corrupt leader for approximately 30 years who did not allow anyone to really express themselves. It seems strange how something we do freely now still has the same consequence of death for justice and peace.…
Have you heard the latest buzz about our sweetest pollinator? Honeybees, the world’s most common and important pollinator, are slowly dying off. One in every three bites of food are pollinated by bees, the Earth would collapse without them (Grossman). Of course everything has an opposing side, and many people believe nothing is wrong with the Earth’s bee population, focusing more on other dying off pollinators. The population of bees is slowly becoming lower, possibly due to pesticides, Colony Collapse Disorder and climate change.…
The establishment of a retirement home disturbs the wildlife and vegetation through the clearing of habitat space for construction, the recreational activities and the commercial interests of residents. Since Bruce Peninsula already faces several threats in its environment such as the decline of top predators like wolves, the clearing of park space to provide land for construction inevitably leads to the further imbalance of the park’s ecosystem. Recreational activities such as fishing or hiking could also disrupt the park’s habitat. Since many of Bruce Peninsula’s habitats are familiar to living in undisturbed areas, such recreational activities for residents have negative long-term effects on the wildlife of the park. Furthermore, the hunting of animals and park products are commercial interests that disrupt habitats if not limited or banned. It’s imperative that communities know that the destruction of natural resources is often irreversible. However, this only contributes to a small part of the negative impacts on habitats and wildlife, as the residential community itself brings more problems to the park.…
When Goodall recalls the time when she met with biologists to discuss about different creatures and the environment, she learns, “Back in 1989, they told me, biologists had realized that the American burying beetle was fast declining, and it became one of just a few insect species to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.,” (35-38). This evidence reveals how insects are seen as less significant to the rest of the species since they are one of the few in the list of endangered animals. This reveals the way we treat insects because people are not taking insects into consideration when it comes to helping the environment. In conclusion, Goodall is persuading the readers that the attention on the lives of insects are not being discussed enough since there are insects becoming endangered. Meanwhile, as Goodall concludes her argument about the difference between convincing children from convincing adults to interest them into making a safe environment for American burying beetles, she emphasizes, “Unfortunately, Lou finds it much harder to interest adults in the efforts being made to save the American burying beetle. “So often the first question,” he told me, “is,…