In the Time of the Butterflies, characters are seen making morally challenging decisions. Maria Teresa, Mate, is the youngest Mirabel sister. She is described as virtuous and fears elementary things. However, Mate and Minerva are held captive in prison. Fortunately, The OAS Peace Committee schedules to interview a prisoner in each pavilion, Mate has been selected. Yet, along with this news, Minerva confronts Mate. The older tells her she must complain and expose what has happened in the cells. If she plans to do this, Santiclo will be executed. Maria Teresa is faced with the choice of disclosing the horrors and having her friend potentially murdered, or do what the guards wish and be compliant. The verdict is influenced by Minerva and the
(Alvarez 259). Prison had torn everyone apart and had forced them to fight for their survival. Reflecting back on this has caused Minerva pain but she doesn’t want to show weakness when everyone is counting on her as the face of the revolution. These pressures on her cause her to break down mentally while still trying to give “everyone a bright smile” and be the one that they look up to.
This is a fiction book based on the historical facts about the Mirabal sisters, Trujillo and the Dominican Republic. Just imagine yourself being in the country which is ruled by the dictator. Would you stand up for your country or would you just be a traditional woman? In this, In the Time of Butterflies book by Julia Alvarez, Minerva led the anti- Trujillo movement and tried to get the independence, after she found out how horrible he is.
Julia Alvarez’s novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, immediately grabbed my attention and intrigued me by the first page. I have never read a book that has brought me so much sorrow yet so much inspiration. Several of the stories in this novel, made me think about how hard it would be to live under a dictatorship. Even though it was very hard to read, I was inspired to be kind to everyone because you never know what someone is going through. We as humans also need to think of those who are living in fear for their lives in dictated countries.
In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez uses the motif of a butterfly to compare the four sisters and depict their experiences. A butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis, and the larvae grows to become completely different than the adult butterfly. They begin as eggs, then become the larva, or caterpillar. They continuously grow throughout this stage caterpillar stage. After full growth, a caterpillar develops into a pupa, or chrysalis; which is kept protected inside a silk cocoon.
In chapter 11 of In the Time of Butterflies, a positive aspect of prison for Maria Teresa is the strong relationships she built with the other women because it gave her something to depend on while she was going through tough times. On April 8, Maria Teresa wrote about her conversations with the other women in prison. Her and another lady Magdalena started talking about the strong connection that all the women shared in jail. After the conversation began between the two, the other women came over to Maria Teresa and Magdalena and started to share their ideas and opinions. All the women were starting to come together as a group and their relationships were getting stronger.
Courage Courage is strength in the face of pain. Julia Alvarez portrays different types of courage in her novel, In the Time of the Butterflies. The novel is set during the time of Trujillo's dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. As a result, some of the Mirabal sisters; Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria, to take a step in joining a revolution against him.
The Mirabal sisters were revolutionaries who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. During the revolution, they were given the code name “Las Mariposas”, or “the butterflies”. The term “mariposa” suits each sister in a different way. Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and Mate Mirabal each have their one reason to be compared to a butterfly. The nickname “mariposa” shows who the Mirabal sisters are; they transformed from domestic, innocent mothers and wives into brave, defiant martyrs for national freedom.
The author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Kesey, presents the ideas about venerability and strength by using his characters and the way they interact with each other to establish whether they are a submissive or a dominant, tamed or leading, venerable or strong. Kesey uses strong personalities to show the drastic difference between someone who is vulnerable and someone who is strong. Nurse Ratchet is a perfect example of how Kasey presents the idea of strength over the venerability of others (the patients). Keys also exhibited vulnerability throughout characters such as Chief Bromden and his extensive habit of hiding himself in all means possible from Nurse Ratchet. Another idea presented by Kesey is a character’s false thought on what
Liliana Villa In this section of In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez uses various literary elements specifically interior monologue, and figurative language to show how Mate discovers she is willing to sacrifice herself for the movement. Mate was taken by officers in hopes she could be used as persuasion towards Leonardo through torture. When Leonardo tells the officers to leave her out of it, the officers in turn beat Leonardo. Mate, being in shock, began screaming for them to stop, she claims “It felt like my very own stomach was being punched”, which shows at first Mate was only thinking about what was happening to her own life.
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is a work of historical fiction set in the Dominican Republic that focuses on the four Mirabal sisters who bond together to rebel against the corrupt leader of their country, Rafael Trujillo. The four Mirabal sisters, Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and María Teresa form closer relationships with each other as they figure out a way to bring down the tyranny of Rafael Trujillo. Although they have a mutual goal, each of the Mirabal sisters has different feelings and thoughts throughout this time period. The theme of coming-of-age and identify is best exemplified through the character of María Teresa, known as Mate, through the ways she matures throughout the novel and becomes her own person who stands up for what she believes in.
In the novel, ‘A Cage of Butterflies’, Caswell explores the dangers of scientific research driven by personal gains rather than for the good of humanity. The author reflects this through the characterisation of the antagonist Larsen, who was originally not driven by his own interests. However, Caswell shows that upon the discovery of the Babies, he is seen to be blinded by his personal pursuits seeking wealth and fame, and is seen to dehumanise the Babies for the purpose of his research. Caswell suggests that the human value of self-direction can be seen to be stolen through the selfish pursuits of those in power, corrupting scientific research through the use of dialogue. For example, in chapter XXX, Larsen is seen to state that, “This is
In the novel “In the Times of the Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez, the 4 Mirable sisters tell their stories about how they will destroy Rafael Trujillo. The two sisters that standout the most are Minerva and Mate, which is also known as Maria Teresa. Minerva, thro first person narration and Mate, throw her journal entries are developed to show they are unique personalities, both their feelings and, and how they develop. All 4 sisters fight for theyre rights and against Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic.
In society many find that males hold dominance and make all of the major choices. This is just a stereotype that many people seem to believe. There are many stereotypes for a variety of concepts but that does not mean they are true. There are few females that stand up against sexist stereotypes, but for the few people who have spoken out against them literature has been an effective way of getting their message out. Feminism has impacted literature in several ways; it allows people to share their messages about stereotypes.
Every story consists of a purpose. Chuang-tzu’s purpose of imagining himself as a butterfly in “The Butterfly” was possibly to describe the creature he showed utmost respect for. Although Chuang-tzu could have chosen a much larger fiercer animal such as the tiger, lion, or wolf he choose the most free animal. Butterflies may symbolize a variety of concepts to people however what many may see is that Chuang is describing peaceful bliss. As he compares himself to the butterfly he states that, “Was Chuang-tzu dreaming himself the butterfly, or was the butterfly dreaming itself Chuang-tzu?”