In the Time of the Butterflies is an award-winning book written by Julia Alvaraz, a famous Latina writer. This is the story of the four Mirabal sisters during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. The sisters make a political commitment to overthrow the Trujillo regime. Throughout the book you can see the family being prosecuted, humiliated, tortured and imprisoned, all for going against the government in secrecy. When they are caught they are all put in danger. This story is set in both the present (1994) and the past (1943) by the perspective of Dedé, the only surviving Mirabal sister. The book starts off in “present” day 1994. Dedé is asked to speak about the tragic tale…
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is a work of historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic during the oppressive regime of Rafael Trujillo. The four Mirabal sisters, Patria, Dede, Minerva and Maria Teresa pass through different versions of themselves to stop the reign of this tyrannical dictator. The theme of the courage to stand up to tyranny is most exemplified through Minerva because she discovers herself and becomes consistent with her beliefs throughout the resistence of the regime.…
Historical fiction novel: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is about four sisters living through the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. In my opinion Alvarez’s work of historical fiction is more beneficial rather than detrimental towards helping the reader understand the Mirabal sisters history and what actually took place. For instance, it allows the reader to re-experience how much Trujillo’s regime really impacted the sisters lives, accordingly, by Alvarez making the characters alive it gives the reader a sense of empathy too.…
“To infinity, and beyond”, a common phrase used by a well known hero called Buzz Lightyear. A hero can be described in many different ways. Many people consider a hero as someone who is handy, brave, trustworthy, strong, faithful, or even powerful.…
Although it is a novel of fiction, the historical facts that are mentioned in the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies written by Julia Alvarez, come alive through the lens of four courageous sisters pushing reformations for all. Living as a prosperous farming family in the city of Ojo de Agua in the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1960, the Mirabal family was privileged enough to have four strong-headed daughters named Maria Theresa, Minerva, Patria, and Dede. The sisters were lucky enough to be given an excellent education from attending the Colegio de Inmaculada Concepcion, or the school…
Pg. 20: I lifted the covers, and for a moment, I couldn’t make sense of the dark stains on the bottom sheet. Then I brought up my hand from checking myself. Sure enough, my complications had started.…
In Julia Alvarez’s “In The Time of the Butterflies”, the four Mirabal sisters, Minerva, Maria Teresa, Patria, and Dedé, struggle with accepting principles such as courage, freedom, andfear. As the sisters began to become symbols for freedom during a revolution, each must discover what these concepts mean to them and how to apply them in their fight against a dictatorship. When Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic, sends three of the Mirabal sisters to prison in an attempt to silence their rebellion, Maria Teresa begins to develop a deeper understanding of her role alongside her sisters in the battle against Trujillo, as well as concepts of courage and bravery. In prison, Maria Teresa feels inspired and understands the true feeling of…
1. All the sisters lose their innocence pretty early into the novel. Minerva was the first to learn about the real world around her. While at boarding school with Patria and Maria Teresa, she meets a girl named Sinita who tells her the truth about Trujillo. Minerva realizes that her country isn’t as she thought it was. Patria realizes the same thing while out on a retreat in the mountains. She witnesses a young man about the age of Noris, get gunned down. That’s when she realizes how bad the Dominican Republic is getting because of Trujillo. Maria Teresa was very immature throughout the novel but once the girls were taken to prison, she had really become aware of the trouble she had gotten herself into. Dede loses her innocence the same way Maria Teresa does. When the girls were arrested, she was forced to take care of the children and be strong for the rest of her family.…
Dedė’s life was always affected by the dictatorship of Trujillo. Even though she was not part of the regime, she still suffered. Dedė’s martyrdom was to be alive without her sisters. All the things she has sacrificed has made her a heroine today.…
For decades, the Dominican Republic was ruled under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. His harsh ways destroyed the chance for freedom, equality, education, and happiness for the citizens. In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, the Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva, Dede, and Maria Teresa, politically take a stand in hope to fight for their country. They were Las Mariposas, “the butterflies,” the strong sisters of the face of rebellion and leadership fighting against the moths, the political army of Trujillo. Butterflies and moths, creatures alike, yet different in significance, illuminate the different opposing sides that underline the struggle of the Dominican Republic.…
Death is a word associated with loss, grief and sadness, but in the novel In the Time of the Butterflies we see death in a whole new perspective; martyrdom. Strong, independent, caring, honest, and having firm beliefs are all characteristics we see in a martyr especially in Patria. In the novel we explore the wonders of Julia Alvarez’s writing and get to witness Patria as a martyr and an individual who fought for the right of women against a dictator: Trujillo.…
In the Dominican Republic, Trujillo is a living god to the children and the adults as well. In the Time of the Butterflies, Patria, as a child, accepts Trujillo, but sees God as the only god present. Yet as the novel progresses, similarities between the two are shown, especially with the use of their power. Even though this confuses Patria, a new faith in motherhood forms controlling both of Patria’s faiths. Julia Alvarez shows that despite how Patria treats God and Trujillo in the different manner to protect her children, Patria views them as having the same power.…
Your summer reading assignment is Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Get a copy as soon as you can from the School Store at Lamar High School for $9.00. Also, if you qualify for free/reduced lunch, then you can get a voucher for the novel from the Business Office.…
Prose exposes numerous straw man arguments with To Kill a Mockingbird. Prose critiques the novel in a confident, yet slightly harsh manner. She believes that the novel could’ve been different if there was just a bit more detail. Prose interprets To Kill a Mockingbird in a way that focuses on prejudice and racism.…
Did you know that bees are found in almost every corner of the globe and make almost all crop life through its pollination? Maybe you did, but we tend not to think about it very often. And by it I mean the insects. Seemingly countless bees, and all insects for that matter, stretch throughout all of planet Earth. This ridiculously large amount of insects is split up between six million and ten million different species. That’s an insane amount of variety! The Insect Fair puts this variety into perspective. I spoke with the manager of the Farm Store Dawn Taccone about the fair. He noted how diverse all the arthropods are from each other, saying, “[they] have 500,000 insects split between several thousand different species.”…