In The Time Of The Butterflies Analysis

This image illustrates how Trujillo's system truly brunts the lives of Patria, her sisters, and their fellow people. To them, Trujillo is almost godlike. He usually gives them arcane commandments, smites those who contravene his power, and is delimited by wealth. Patria shows her disbelief in how callously God is behaving toward her because of her child's death. Throughout In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez’s Patria Mirabal develops from an optimistic young Catholic girl to a woman who doubts; subsequently, that educators can further come to understand the influence of God on one’s actions.

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”.

In the Time of the Butterflies during the 1940s, in the Dominican Republic, the ruler or dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo punished people if they didn’t do as he told them and plenty of other cruel things. He ruled for about 30 years, so the people were tortured for quite a long time. He became the dictator by eliminating everyone who had power above him. He even married his wives just to use them to get the the top and control everyone. It was just an unfair way to handle things and an unfair country overall. In her book, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” Julia Alvarez incorporates the history of the famous Mirabal sisters by telling the history of their life and how it was back then for their Dominican Republic country. Julia Alvarez

The development of characters transpire as a result of significant events in their lives. Events such as learning a new skill have the ability to transform a character’s life. Estrella in Helena Maria Viramontes’ novel Under the Feet of Jesus flourishes into an individual who once got upset over skills she did not have and was upset at the process of learning, but now understands how vital education is. Estrella was infuriated by her lack of understanding about the Perfecto’s tools and the letters on the chalkboard. She was especially agitated when the educators would not give her the answer right away The selection of detail shows the connection between two things she overcame. The tone and figurative language shows more detail about Estrella’s transformation.

Grief and tragedy not only change you, but also reveal who you truly are. A transformation of faith, especially through anguish, is a theme throughout the story that binds many of the characters together, but impacts Patria’s life most prominently. In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, depicts the life of woman who goes from an aspirant nun, to a person with a lack of faith, and then back to having a strong faith in her religion. Events within the novel constituted these changes in Patria’s life with examples being her husband’s influence, the miscarriage of her third child, and the family pilgrimage which acted as a rekindling.

Minerva with her revolutionary fever and contagious spirit seems unstoppable for a time in her fight against Trujillo’s regime. Despite warnings to watch out for her safety and well being, Minerva continued to push boundaries and dared to go where all other Dominicans feared to go. Patria was the religious, faithful sister, who showed her hidden boldness starting a Christian revolutionary group and joined with Minerva. Maria Theresa was the happiest, the most upbeat, Mirabal sister. In the beginning, she was only along for the ride, but as she continued to work towards the change for her country, she became more and more inspired and touched by her own goals. Lastly, Dede was always the most cautious and careful sister. She was one who remained uninvolved with her sisters’ revolution. Dede had warned the others that were danger and that should not go up to the secluded prison. She and although her sisters tried more than once to include her in their cause, she refused. –From Smith In The Time Of The Butterflies (http://www.blogger.com)

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.

“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

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

Rafael Trujillo, a Dominican dictator, developed a harsh reputation as being one of the most violent and domineering leaders of South America in his thirty-one years of power. In The Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez provides insight into the effects of Trujillo’s infamy by sharing the stories of three Dominican sisters and their struggles to gain independence and speak their truth. The Dominican-American author dramatizes the lives of the Mirabal sisters, three historical women who were assassinated in 1961, for their involvement in the anti-Trujillo movement. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria, a Cuban critic of Latin American literature, provides a bias insight with regards to the novel.

An example of this ia relating the Mirabal sisters to butterflies. Regina M. Cutter Edwards, an Entomologist, states, “Butterflies are deep and powerful representations of life. [...] Around the world, people view the butterfly as representing endurance, change, hope, and life” (Edwards). The term “butterfly” was the sisters code name for the movement. The butterfly was a symbol for them, not only because that is what they were called, but also because they symbolized what it meant to be a butterfly. The Mirabal sisters changed from being little children, following their parents, to individuals leading a revolution and having other people follow them. When Minerva was young she stated, “I had thought it was caused by the bandages I had stated tying around my chest so my breasts won't grow” (Alvarez 23). She put bandages around her breast so Trujillo wouldn’t take her to be one of his ladies. Minerva started out as a person that was fearful into a person that was fearless. Patria and Mate also have the the code name Butterfly #1 and Butterfly #2. Mate states, “Then everyone was beating on the bars, calling out ¡Viva la Mariposa! Tears came to my eyes. Something big and powerful spread its wings inside me. Courage, I told myself. And this time, I felt it” (Alvarez 238). Mate changed into having courage and endurance as she grew up in Trujillo’s

The Mirabal family, heroes of the Dominican Republic, revolutionized the Dominican dictator by overthrowing him. Minerva, María Teresa, Patria, and Dedé Mirabal were the leaders each putting their life at risk to fight for what they believe in. The four sisters worked together in order to make a difference, all putting a bountiful amount of courage, some more than others, so that they can put an end to the dreaded dictator’s reign, with the help of Julia Alvarez, spreading the word in her book In the Time of the Butterflies.

Butterflies is a short story written by author, Patricia Grace who is a Maori author that lives in New Zealand. She is known and celebrated for her short stories that often carry a variety of moral ideas. Her short story Butterflies, is no different. It contains one very important idea that is communicated effectively using symbolism.

In the middle of the story, the Mirabal sisters join the movement to expose and overthrow Trujillo. Minerva and Maria Teresa marry two men, Leandro and Manolo,

Julia Alvarez’s novel In The Time of the Butterflies tells the story of the Mirabel sisters, yet not just the story but more importantly, the curated story of the three heroines by their surviving sister, Dedé. Through the use of historical fiction, Alvarez highlights the notion of instability in both history and memory. Making the reader question how history is formed and how reliable or accurate that history to be. Dedé’s story and her last chapter in particular express such notions. Dedé, still coping with the sudden loss of her sisters, struggles to deal with and properly address the death of her sisters. Dedé experiences a sense of disjointedness after the death of her sisters. This anxiety and feeling of disruption stems not only from the loss of her sisters but also from the fact that she is unable to find where she fits into the history of her sisters, experiencing an anxiety of identity. This same incoherent and disjointed narrative of the entire story ties into both trauma and feminist theory. Applying Whitehead’s theory of trauma literature shows how this trauma for Dedé is represented while Gilbert and Gubar’s theory of “anxiety of authorship” explains the root of her trauma.