Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor allows people to take books that they normally wouldn’t think to analyze in a certain way and opens a whole new spectrum on literature. In the TIme of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez connects with the idea and principles of Foster’s book if you take a deep look in the book you are reading. Like Foster says in chapter seven or the bible, In the Time of the Butterflies is a literary work able to connect with this chapter, having a bible reference to extend or emphasize the story thematically.

In the Time of the Butterflies, a novel by Julia Alvarez, takes place in the Dominican Republic during the time of the Trujillo regime. The main characters are four sisters, Minerva, Patria, María Teresa, and Dedé, who fight against Trujillo’s oppression. All of them except for Dedé get killed in the end by Trujillo. A great amount of violence occurs over the course of the novel.

In her novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez unfolds a dramatic character transformation of the Mirabal sister, Maria Teresa. She is detailed to be a very thoughtful character who always seem to look out for others, especially those important to her in life. Alvarez induces this empowering development of Maria Teresa through the usage of diction, point of view and selection of detail.

Julia Alvarez in her book In the Time of the Butterflies uses lots of describing, connecting and helping us to realize things that happened in 1960, in Dominican Republic. The book genre is historical fiction, in this genre truth is often based on emotion validity rather than factual reality. Author looks up the ways to demonstrate the essence of each person's thoughts, feelings, and emotions. In this book it tells about three sisters that with the revolution have released people of their country from the dictator’s oppression. It is not a secret, for Dominican Republic it was a very hard time. Throughout the novel, Alvarez uses violent imagery, which I think supported the deeper immersion into this time situations. In the book there are four

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.

For decades Minerva, Maria Teresa, Patria and Dede’s bravery and heroism have lived in the heart of many Dominicans who suffered from the ruthless dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. The Mirabal sisters were four brave women who defied the traditional role of women in their Era and had a major role during revolution against Trujillo. Much of their story has been told in books and in movies from many different accounts. In Julia Alvarez’s novel “In the Time of the Butterflies”, she writes fictionalized personal accounts of the Mirabal sisters. Julia Alvarez structures her Novel in three parts with each chapter having a first person narrative for each sister. Alvarez personalized the way each of them would speak, feel and think, to even structuring Maria Teresa parts in the Novel as journal entries. This paper is an attempt to analyze how the structure of Julia Alvarez’s novel “In the Time of the Butterflies” can give the reader a better understanding of the Mirabal sisters, while utilizing Manuel F. Medina’s “Writing From Memory: History, Stories And Narrative Voices In In The time of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez”.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a historical fiction novel about the tragedy of the late Mirabal sisters. Though the book is acclaimed by parents, students, and teachers for it’s fictional adaptation to the historical moments of that time, sadly it was challenged due to its diagram of how to build a time bomb. A school called, Paul D. Schreiber High, had this novel on the list of books to be read in sophomore English class in 2000, the book was voted to be banned because of its easy descriptions of malice. Port Washington is home to that local high school, and has a goal of furthering students' intelligence through literature and ensuring the safety of their students and families.This book is an opportunity to enrich the

People are not allowed the freedom of speech under Trujillo’s rule, and if they speak out against him, they will all be murdered by the SIM. After hearing Sinita’s story, Minerva realizes the injustice of Trujillo’s regime. She decides to join the underground revolutionary movement even if she has to sacrifice her life. The loss of personal freedoms is often the results of abuse of power.

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a novel about breaking the chains – not just from Trujillo, but from the societal idea that men should rule in a patriarchal fashion. The idea of female subordinates rising up in a fiery fashion is an age-old notion, and I believe that the true voice in Alvarez’ novel comes in this form. The subplot screams through like a banshee, especially when The Butterflies are brutally murdered without ever laying a finger on Trujillo as one may expect. So then what was the purpose of experiencing the live of The Butterflies day in and out? The answer is clear: to support a case for women everywhere to have the courage to stand up to their oppressors and gain equal footing in society. To gain insight in to this philosophy it’s critical to examine crucial plot details such as the relationship of each woman and her husband, the evolution of The Butterflies’ mentality through the course of the story, and a brief look at the history of the Dominican Republic to learn their societal norms and how Alvarez chooses to integrate these facts in to her fictional work.

“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 trait that Patria Mirabel greatly acquired is amazing faith. Patria would go to huge measures to do what she knew was right. She and her sisters showed acts of bravery in the fight against the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. These acts are what caused them to be seen as modern heroes. In Julia Alvarez’ novel In the Time of the Butterflies Patria Mirabel and her sisters were just four ordinary girls from the Dominican Republic that saw a need in their country and wanted to do something about it.

When writing about important historical figures, people often make the error of building these figures into the image of an invincible, godlike hero, when in fact, they are ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things. The author of In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez, takes a historical figure, Minerva Mirabal, and shows the completely human side of the woman who inspired the revolution against the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo. Despite her self-doubt and other insecurities, Minerva exhibits remarkable courage that inspires a revolution.

Courage: an attribute that evokes hope in the optimistic and fear in the vengeful. This virtue can be hereditarily gained or awoken from within an individual. However, how one acquires courage is not the only pivotal moment in a person’s life; the transforming nature of courageous acts can come to define an individual’s personality. This is clearly seen in Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies. Three prime examples of courage’s fortification of people are the “Mariposas,” Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa Mirabal. These three sisters display masterful control of their courage when they resist the oppressive dictatorial regime in the Dominican Republic. Their valor helps inspire the hopeful citizens and infuriate

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.

“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’