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Summary Of In The Time Of The Butterflies By Julia Alvarez

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In the book In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Minerva is shown to be motivated to fight for the revolution and for the people. This revolutionary mindset has led her to fight against Trujillo, led her into prison, and eventually led to her death. Her attempts weren’t for nothing though as Trujillo would fall shortly after and Minerva and her sisters would be remembered as leaders of the revolution. Throughout her life Minerva’s relationships and health has been greatly impacted by her revolutionary ideologies because of how devoted she is to her goals, her relationships with her sisters, and her mental health struggles after being released from prison. Minerva’s driving motivation throughout a good part of her life had been …show more content…

Just as the revolution was really kicking off, three of the four sisters began to play a more and more important role. One day, under the goal to unite the whole family under the evolution, the three sisters approached Dede to try and convince her to join the cause: “An awkward silence fell upon them. Dede braced herself. She expected Minerva to make an impassioned pitch for using the family farm, for a munitions storage. But it was Mate who spoke up, the little sister who still wore her hair in braids and dressed herself and her baby girl in matching dresses” (Alvarez 178). With Minerva being the face of the revolution, Dede expects her to be the one to bring up the revolution and be the sole person responsible for trying to rope her into it. She in no way expects it to be Mate who speaks up. This demonstrates the growing rift between Minerva and Dede, aided in no small part by Minerva’s revolutionary ideas and Dede’s husband. While they still care for each other, Dede doesn’t trust Minerva as much any more and Minerva feels like it's her job to unite the family for the revolution. This rift will eventually be the reason Dede lives but she regrets not helping her sisters. After the brutal stay in prison, Minerva and Mate were released and put under house arrest where they could be with their family: “When we were released in August and put under …show more content…

While Minerva was home she was placed under house arrest. She could only go to two places; the prison to visit her husband and the church. During these visits to church she felt pressured to put on a happy face: “I hid my anxieties and gave everyone a bright smile. If they had only known how frail was their iron-will heroine. How much it took to put on that hardest of all performances, being my old self again” (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. All this pressure builds up inside of her and she doesn’t know who to reveal it to without worrying her family further. After spending time with her family again, Minerva began to wish to be doing more for the Revolution. While under house arrest she is visited by an old friend and she thinks to

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In the book, the one sister that shows the real effort of sacrifice is Minerva which is one of the leaders in the story. “‘But Minerva your own child-’ I began and then I saw it did hurt her to make this sacrifice she

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Minerva was so passionate about being a revolutionary she was willing to leave her son with her sister to continue and pursue what it is that she wanted. The sisters being revolutionaries changed a lot for them, but they did whatever it took it was a passion for them. The girls constantly did what they needed to they were determined and

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In the Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez follows the lives of the 4 Mirabal sisters: Minerva, Mate, Patria, and Dede in their efforts against the oppressive rule of Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. All 4 sisters have varying values and identities that dictate the way they respond to adversity and develop throughout the novel. Patria, the eldest and most religious sister, has a strong connection to her faith, while simultaneously trying to figure out its connection with her internal and external struggles. Throughout the novel, Alvarez shows how Patria's identity, namely her commitment to religion and driven, family oriented nature become a source of stability during adversity, showcasing the connection between faith

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In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez portrays the Dominican Republics in a time where Rafael Leonidas Trujillo is the ruthless dictator. Throughout the novel, Trujillo accentuates the idea of manipulation by controlling all aspects of Dominican life and manipulates Dominicans from an early age by alluding himself to be the ideal leader. In the beginning of the novel there is a passage from a textbook that is meant for young Dominican children: “All through nature there is a feeling of ecstasy. A strange otherworldly light suffuses the house smelling of the labor and sanctity.

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Minerva’s physical retaliation against Trujillo’s advances shows her courage to defend herself. These instances show that Minerva is brave because she is not falling for Trujillo’s tricks, and she stands firm in her rejection of Trujillo despite knowing the consequences. These two instances show Minerva’s courage because she is not afraid to oppose Trujillo in public, despite knowing the risks. The final way Minerva shows courage is through her continued resistance while in prison. She leads secret classes to teach her fellow inmates revolutionary ideas.

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The novel Time of The Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, narrates the Mirabal sister’s stories: their issues stemming from Rafael Trujillo’s regime, and their eventual opposition against him. Living in a time and place of corruption, the sisters watched as Trujillo’s reign of terror grew, and so did a rising revolution against him, prompting each of the sisters to form their own beliefs and ideas. The second youngest sister, Minerva, lived her life as a bold, determined woman; making her a prominent figure, with many looking up to her as a role model. Her interest in politics, paired with her boldness, exposed Minerva to a political environment from an early age: being the first sister to partake in the revolution and enlightened by Sinita’s story.

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Also, Minerva, Patria, and Mate knew the consequences of joining the revolution. So that was their first sign of bravery. Minerva may be considered more outwardly brave because of how she started to rebel against Trujillo at a young age. She was opinionated and knew what she wanted. When she found out about her dad cheating even though it hurt her she never showed it.

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When Dede is given a choice to join her sister’s revolution, she thinks long and hard about it. She is afraid because she knows that if she thinks about it long enough, between what’s right and wrong, she will eventually agree. Her husband does not allow it. “When he got upset, he would just raise his voice. But that night, he grabbed her by the wrists and shoved her on the bed, only—he said later—to make her come to her senses.

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This is a big change for Minerva and something many refer to as “becoming a woman”. She is growing up and is not going to stay the same nave little girl she once was. Through the duality of these two events, Alvarez is able to construct a metaphor of Minerva growing up tying deeply with her opposing the

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