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 short story “The Moths” by Helena Maria Viramontes, the author uses symbolism and characterization to paint the scene of a girl in a literary fiction that has lost her way and ends up finding herself within her Grandmother through the cycles of life. Through the eyes of an unnamed girl we relive a past that has both a traumatic ending and a new leash on life; however, we do not get there without first being shown the way, enter “The Moths”.
So are we just going to ignore the fact that Monarch Butterflies are in trouble?We’re just going to ignore the fact that we could easily help, but we choose not to?The monarch butterfly is an insect that relies their life on milkweed plants and is currently facing the problem of milkweed declining, but it can be solved by planting milkweeds causing the butterfly population to increase rapidly.
What Does Brian Caswell want to tell the reader about Being Different In the novel, A Cage of Butterflies? What Does Brian Caswell want to tell the reader about Being Different?
Three different things are endangering the monarch butterfly. First, is the deforestation of Mexico. Through illegal logging of the forests and the thinning of the canopy the monarchs are left vulnerable to the elements including frost and freezing rain (Wexler, 2004). Second, is a genetically engineered corn. The corn is engineered to be insect
Courage is an important trait that needs to be present in order to affect change. The book in the time of butterflies by Julia Alvarez demonstrates this need for courage in the story of the four Mirabal sisters who acted with courage to create change in the Dominican Republic. They do this by showing great courage in the face of oppression. Minerva was one of the bravest of the Mirabal sisters. She shows: moral, intellectual, emotional, and physical courage throughout her life. These are demonstrated in her leadership and her heroic actions of resistance. Some of her main sources of courage were her childhood friends, her family, her sense of justice, and desire for equality. She shows courage repeatedly sticking up for what is right despite of threats,
Mark Twain stated “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear”. To be courageous, one must be fearless, strong, and faithful. In the story, “In the Time of Butterflies”, four sisters have to display courage during a time of a bloody revolution. They have to overcome many obstacles including imprisonment, death and divorce but they all revolt and stay strong to themselves and their families and never give up.
The Dominican Republic’s dictator Rafael Trujillo had thousands of people killed because of their disobedience to him. From the 1930s to 1960s the country was under the control of Trujillo. He had taken control of the Dominican Republic and used his power against people who decided not to follow him and his laws. The four Mirabal sisters, Minerva, Patria, Mate, and Dede were all risking their lives because of their involvement in the underground, against their harsh dictator. In the book In the time of the Butterflies, the four Mirabal sisters perspectives are impacted by the underground movement against Trujillo because of each of their involvement with the revolution.
“As Americans, we want peace -- we work and sacrifice for peace. But there can be no peace if our security depends on the will and whims of a ruthless and aggressive dictator. I'm not willing to stake one American life on trusting Saddam Hussein.” -George W. Bush. President Bush promised America that he would bring down Saddam Hussein no matter what it took. But why? Why would the president make such an imposing promise? In order to ensure the safety of his people (the Americans) such terrorists must be brought down. President Bush was willing to sacrifice the lives of many heroic soldiers to halt terrorism from afflicting this country. Are the lives of these young brave soldiers worth the sacrifice that is needed to bring change into the
“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” (Andre Gide) In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, four sisters are led through a risk infested journey in which they must overcome hindrances with hollow consequences. This historical fiction novel takes us through a rollercoaster of events, incorporating everything from the partialities towards women, to life below the oppressive administration of the Dominican Republic’s dictator, Rafael Trujillo. The events painted by the four sisters give us some insight as to the positives and negatives of life in the Dominican Republic. As the novel progresses, we see the diversity in relation to the
Structure is salient, especially in literature. So much can be revealed solely through the way a novel is written. Two prime examples of this are Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. Alternating points of view are present in both, and that detail exposes connections between two seemingly unrelated novels. Although Richard Mayhew and Dedé Mirabal are two very different characters, they share the struggle of loss and a lack of ipseity, but are resilient and overcome their hardships, which is shown constantly throughout each novel.
The monarch butterfly, as known as Danaus plexippus, is often called the milkweed butterfly because its larvae eat the milkweed plant. They are also sometimes called "royalty butterflies" because their family name comes from the daughter of Danaus, ruler of Argos. There are many other interesting facts about this butterfly including its anatomy and life cycle, where the butterfly lies on the food chain, the migration from Canada to Mexico, why the butterfly is being threatened, and lastly, what is being done to help the butterfly.
The setting in the two novels plays important roles in both of the plots. In The Butterfly Revolution, the setting shifts in the very beginning of the story. In the journal Winston Weyn receives for his birthday from his uncle, he describes his home. Winston also shares with us that from his parents he half-heartedly accepted a trip to High Pines for the summer. Winston was not like most boys, and instead of playing baseball and doing things that most boys do, he read books. This bothered his brother Howard, which just encouraged Winston to read more and more. His father and mother, both concerned, had multiple talks with Winston but none of these talks resulted in anything. “And here I am, sitting on a thin and kind of smelly narrow mattress on my bunk in a cabin at High Pines” (22). He went from the comfort of his own bed to the smelly mattress of High Pines. The central conflict of the story begins at the camp. This shift of setting allows the real story to begin. Later in the novel, the setting shifts again. Some of the boys begin to venture off into the girls camp, or Low Pines. After the revolution has begun, they take over the girl camp, also. If the girls’ camp was not involved, two out of the three deaths would have been prevented. John Mason would not have died under the
“In the Time of the Butterflies” takes place in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. The author, Julia Alvarez is a native of the country, but moved to the US at a young age. She first heard about the sisters roughly around 1986 and instantly felt the need to share their story with the world. In the book, Alvarez tells the story of the Mirabal sisters and their fight for freedom against the Dominican dictator Trujillo. Rafael Trujillo reigned for about 30 years until his assassination in May of 1961. Trujillo’s reign of terror began in 1930 and the violence soon followed. The self centered dictator changed the names of cities and murdered roughly about 20,000 Haitians from the neighboring country. The book not only tells the sisters’
It was exceedingly difficult for me to choose which photos were my favorite. Partially because there was a large quantity of photos to choose from and partially because there were photos that, when I was taking them, I thought for sure that they would turn out well. However, when I saw the finished product, the picture wasn’t able to capture the same feeling as when I saw it in person. My favorite photo is the picture of the monarch butterfly resting on the yellow daisies. I choose this as one of my favorites, not because the subject matter was especially unusual or interesting, but because of the editing I was able to do to the photo. I don’t have much experience editing photos, so this project introduced me to some of the basic features available in Photoshop. I was able to darken the edges and blur some of the outer flowers so that the eye is drawn towards the center of the picture. Then I was able to alter the color of the flowers so that they were a brighter shade of yellow making the contrast of the yellow flowers to the orange butterfly more dramatic. After I did this, the photo looked too bright; so I made the shadows on the flowers more prominent and increased the overall saturation of the photo so that some of the darker areas balanced out the brightness of the flowers and the butterfly. I ended up centering the butterfly in the middle when I cropped it because I didn’t think the rule of thirds would apply well to this particular picture. I am happy with the