Who Do You Consider a Hero in In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

when Minerva meets her second friend who is an enemy of Trujillo. He is the one who is most

even died for this cause. Minerva Mirabal is a heroine because of the way she stood up to

be seen. From distancing herself from her own husband to only saving her children from death,

Minerva was a truly incredible person. She was just as ordinary as anyone else, but

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

heart when it comes to important topics. She emphasizes the values of family, God and

Within the novel, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” Mate, Minerva, Dede, and Patria had to create decisions to overcome obstacles that would transform each of their lives. Throughout the book, all of the sisters changed somehow. They all grew up, matured, and saw things how they never viewed before. While looking at these things at a different perception, they learned to make decisions that were sometimes brave and sometimes cowardly. Each of the Mirabal sisters had to choose whether or not to be fearful and give up, or be courageous and stand her ground, or make sacrifices to show her strength throughout the novel.

Minerva is in no way a push-over. This is hero-like quality to have, she stands up for what

paved the way for religious freedom. She was a great leader in the cause for

saw her as being a determined individual that knew what she wanted. Everyone saw the same

“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

Although the sisters joined the revolt to stop Trujillo, they also joined to make the Dominican Republic a better place. During their involvement with the rebels, the sisters became known as The Butterflies, because they were a sign of hope and change. The sisters had a unique characteristic that they sparked a change in people. Rufino, their driver, said, “A Dio’ Dona Dedé, you think I’ll let anything happen to the butterflies? They’ll have to kill me first” (269). Rufino said he would give his life so save the sisters during their prison break of the men captured by Trujillo. Rufino was willing to put his life on the line for the Butterflies, because he knew they were a symbol for their movement due to their dedication towards a better future.

heroine from the book In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. There were four

an author which truly achieved many firsts for women. She was the first woman to

Minerva McGonagall can trace “Gonagall” back to the Celtic name “Conegal”, which means “the bravest”, while Minerva has much older roots. Minerva was the Roman counterpart for the Greek goddess Athena, most commonly associated with wisdom and war. There are