In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, fits many story structures, such as tragedy and hero’s journey because so many events happen in the book, the events could be looked in many different views. In the Time of the Butterflies fit a tragedy structure because people were cheating and harming others. Cheating and harming others is unethical behavior. Minerva founds out that her father been having an affair with a woman named Carmen and they had four daughters together. This story also contains betrayal as a structure. Then, Dictator Trujillo ordered his troops to murder three of the four Mirabal sisters and Sinita’s family. In the Time of the Butterflies is also structured as a hero’s journey because the novel is about four sisters
The book I, Juan de Pareja took place during the 17th century in Spain, where Juan de Pareja was a slave. This was during the Renaissance where art was becoming more popular. Everyone at this time, then started to believe science and how everything works and focusing on themselves even more(humanism). Juan was enslaved for about 45 years but was then freed by his master Diego because he felt remorse he did not free him sooner. Another reason was that he developed sympathy and mutual affection for Juan and his master had an opportunity and a chance to free him from slavery .
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.
Butterflies Reflection In The Time of the Butterflies I am exposed to many different viewpoints. An important one being Minerva Mirabal. This novel takes me through the crazy lives of the Mirabal’s. This family is in a personal war against El Jefe Trujillo.
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.
In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez uses Minerva and Dede to discuss gender roles because both the characters of Minerva and Dede respond to gender roles in completely different ways. To begin, once the challenges of Trujillo become more intense, Dede finds herself unable to handle it, “She shuts her eyes tight and wished blindly that everything would turn out all right” (pg. 78). This statement is important because it illustrates the gender roles women should take on throughout the novel. Specifically, this quotation shows how Dede hopes for her husband find a solution to the issue at hand, as she closes her eyes instead of facing the problem. Alvarez uses Dede to exemplify the characteristics a woman should acquire,
Religion in The Butterflies The theme of religion is found throughout the book In the Time of the Butterflies. Julia Alvarez uses the theme to give life and development to the characters as well as advance the story. It provides a brighter more pure side to contrast the events of the Rebellion and Trujillo’s actions. Religion also keeps the people of the Dominican Republic together providing guidance for them.
Women’s struggle for power in a patriarchal society has been a monumental fight throughout the ages, and even now women around the world fight for the right to simple rights like an education, and voice within society. In Julia Alvarez's book In the Time of the Butterflies the character Minerva Mirabel portrays women’s fight for power through her own personal struggle for power in her home against her father, and in the Dominican Republic society against Trujillo, and patriarchal norms of the time. Minerva’s struggle for power in her family is displayed through her thoughts and actions concerning her father’s patriarchal rule of his household, and her going against what was assumed to be the way a daughter was supposed to behave. She doesn’t follow her father blindly, and trust him simply because of his authority, she treats him as someone equal to her.
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 foundation and development of a human being stems from the individual’s position within his/her life (for instance, his/her opinion, stance, about oneself in regards to his/her own expectations) and within his/her communities as a member of a household, a race or even as a gender. The key factor of this notion, take in consideration the vast knowledge a person can evaluate against their own understanding. A person emerge into the world as a blank slate that unconsciously and continuously devouring and weaving in stories told in voices that evokes correlation identification with an image created by a mother, father, brothers, sister, aunt, uncle, cousins, grandma, grandpa, and even nicknamed strangers into their root and skin. An open-minded
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.
Imagine you and your family living under a gruesome dictator and having no freedom . Julia alvarez “ a genetics of justice “ is a novel about a young girl and her family living under a dictator with a totalitarian government in the dominican government. In this novel you learn about her journey and how she becomes to be the women she is today . “No flies fly into a closed mouth “is a quote used by her mother through the text. In the novel it also talks about the dictator and is unusual daily life .
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.
Throughout history, women have made a name for themselves. By rising up and fighting for something that they believed in, the Mirabal sisters made a name for themselves in the Dominican Republic and in Julia Alvarez’s novel In the Time of the Butterflies. By applying a theory to a novel, readers can relate the book to the world they are living in today (Davidson). Feminism can be defined as a dynamic philosophy and social movement that advocates for human rights and gender equality (“Feminism”). Feminist Theory involves looking at how women in novels are portrayed, how female characters are reinforcing stereotypes or undermining them, and the challenges that female characters face (Davidson).
It revolves around the flight of the princess to escape the awful marriage to his father (Perrault, 1977). Charles Perrault uses the princess’ character to reveal the major themes of overcoming evil, child abuse and incest in the story. Perrault also brings out the moral that it is better to encounter awful challenges in life than to fail in one’s duty. He shows that although the virtue may seem unrealistic, it can always triumph. The author uses various literary devices to reveal the various morals of the story.