Premium Essay

In The Time Of The Butterflies Analysis

Submitted By
Words 1077
Pages 5
“Women were victims of Trujillo since the beginning of his reign. He rose to power and believed that he could have any women he wanted to.” (Ramirez) In the Time of The Butterflies, the culture in the Dominican Republic under the Trujillo regime is revealed as Alvarez tells the story of the sisters from each one's points of view. The book follows the Mirabal sisters as they work to take down Trujillo, or El Jefe. They each contribute to the cause using their individual skills. MInerva is the smart and rebellious child, and the first sister to become involved with the rebels. Maria Teresa is the sweet, romantic one who quickly grows up in prison and becomes strong enough to withstand torture. Patria is religious and a doting mother, she is old …show more content…
Dedé is the sister who didn’t join the revolution, she chose to stay behind. A very apparent cultural trend is the role of women in this time. The political aspects of the regime impact the culture; just as the government cracks down on it’s citizens, class cracks down on class. In this society, women especially are expected to bow down to the regime and men alike, and to cater to their every will, want and whim.

Within the book, “In the Time of The Butterflies,” women are expected to yield to the whims of important men. When Minerva is dancing with Trujillo she does not want to be as intimate as he insists, but he pushes anyways. “I push just a little against (El Jefe) so he’ll loosen his hold, but he pulls me (Minerva) tighter towards him. I feel my blood burning, my anger mounting. I push him away a little more decisively, again he pulls me more aggressively to his body. (Alvarez 100) Minerva was expected to give Trujillo what he wanted and to not resist. Trujillo or El Jefe, used power and intimidation to get whatever he wanted, and women were not exempted from this treatment. Even during the election he tortured his political rivals to gain power.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

In The Time Of The Butterflies Analysis

...At first, In the Time of the Butterflies seemed like a classic story about some heroic girl at a high school or something by the cover, but it ended up being really intriguing. I enjoyed the fact that it was a fictional story based on historical facts. The Mirabal sisters’ story is truly a unique one that piqued my group and I’s interest. I was oblivious to fact that the Dominican Republic had a dictator about the same time as World War II. Trujillo or El Jefe was a horrible man who brought terror into the country and tricked many people into believing he was a good leader. I learned about some of the horrible acts he did with his power. For example, he murdered every man in Minerva’s school friend, Sinita’s family. Not to mention he was partially...

Words: 406 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

In The Time Of The Butterflies Character Analysis

...“In The Time of The Butterflies,” by Julia Alvarez, tells a story about four courageous sisters who went against the injustice of Trujillo’s dictatorship. Dedé is the second-oldest sister and the one who survived to tell their story. Throughout most of the story, Dedé is always rejecting the idea of joining her sisters fight against Trujillo. The pivotal moment in the story in which Dedés character was psychologically and morally developed was when she and Jaimito were driving through a town with the bodies of her sisters, all the while she was shouting out towards the SIM police, “Assassins, Assassins!” Jaimito tries calming her down in order of not risking being shot or arrested. Dedé at that time wished she were shot so she could be with...

Words: 256 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

In The Time Of Butterflies Character Analysis

...In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a work of historical fiction about the Mirabals sisters fighting the dictator regime of Rafael Trujillo in the 20th century Dominican Republic. The Mirabals, Dede, Minerva, Maria Teresa, and Patria, all grow up under his reign. As Minerva becomes a radical figure against Trujillo, each sister has their own reaction and develops their own identity. The sisters each become a symbol of national hope for taking part in an underground revolutionary movement, being called “Las Mariposas”, or The Butterflies, by radicals across the country. Minerva, in particular, is a huge symbol for the nation even while she battles her own identity problems with her father and her own self. In In the Time of Butterflies Minerva’s identity changes dramatically as she becomes a public figure of resistance, moving away from the innocence of childhood to change into a strong woman. Minerva Mirabal is best known as a leader and this begins in her teenage years. During her childhood, she gets a reputation for being feisty, not going with the crowd. This becomes prominent when she and a group of...

Words: 989 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

In The Time Of The Butterflies Character Analysis

...The Sister Who Survived In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies, Dedé was greatly impacted by her sisters’ involvement in the revolution. Dedé's life has been full of worry due to the revolution. After her father tells the fortunes, Dedé realizes that her’s is the only fortune he really told. “A chill goes through her, for she feels it in her bones, the future is now beginning. By the time it is over, she doesn't want to be the only one left to tell their story.”(17). This quote describes the moment she began to worry about the effects of Trujillo. Dedé is only a child when she already starts to worry about the affects the revolution will have in her life even though it hasn't even started. Later in her life, Dedé and her sister, Minerva, start to hang around with Lío Morales. Lío was already involved with the revolution, which caused the girls to start getting involved as well. “But without a plan Dedé's courage unraveled like a row of stitches not finished with a good, sturdy knot.”(95) Dedé is going through so much she can't deal with it anymore. She can't even read the newspaper because it worries her to much. The stress and worry of the revolution is causing...

Words: 525 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Time Of The Butterflies Character Analysis

...History has not always been ideal or pretty. In fact, there are many things in history that should never be repeated or experienced by any human being. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is used to give the reader a taste of what the people of the Dominican Republic went through under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. She gives the reader this experience by looking at the world through the eyes of the four Mirabel sisters: Dedé, Minerva, Patria, and María Teresa. The wrath of Trujillo was shown through the use of friends and family of these sisters and what that endured during these years. Rafael Trujillo came to power in 1930 after the United States occupied the island. In 1924, the United States left Trujillo in charge...

Words: 705 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Use Of Imagery In Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita

...Whether it is poems, novels, or magazine articles, imagery helps readers visualize what they are reading. It brings the text to life, giving it meaning and serving a greater purpose. Through imagery, secrets within the text can be revealed, furthering the analysis of the text itself. In Vladimir Nabokov's book Lolita, the use of imagery helps readers understand the disturbing views of the main character, and why in his perspective his illegal actions are justifiable. Throughout the novel, the main character Humbert Humbert expresses the love and affection he has for young girls, or “nymphets” as he often addresses them. The very word nymphet is defined as an attractive and sexually mature young girl. His use of the word is indicative of his disturbed mental state, and magnifies his struggle between lust and what society deems as acceptable. As the book goes on, it is evident that there is no stopping Humbert. He is already infected with an incurable desire, overtaken by the nymphet’s beauty, innocence and fragility. While all of these aspects are applied to the girls he is infatuated with, they can also be used to describe graceful and dazzling butterflies. Butterflies are known for their hypnotic colors, fluttering wings, and incredible beauty, all...

Words: 581 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Who Is Peter Hovenden's Skepticism?

...Peter Hovenden represents materialist skepticism, the first force working against Owen, Peter’s former apprentice. The father of Annie, he once owned the watch shop Owen now holds and now has intense disdain for him because of his eccentric art project he works on instead of watches. He first shows this disdain in the opening scene of the story, where while passing by Owen’s shop he tells Annie "He has not the sort of ingenuity to invent anything better than a Dutch toy… A plague on such ingenuity… He would turn the sun out of its orbit and derange the whole course of time, if, as I said before, his ingenuity could grasp anything bigger than a child's toy!” (Hawthorne 1). From here Peter’s skepticism discredits Owen’s work by saying his ingenuity...

Words: 1295 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The River

...wife describes marrying her husband at age fourteen. After that, she was continuously shy, either out of respect, sub-ordinance, or just because of her introverted personality. According to the next stanza, she became more comfortable with the marriage by age fifteen and "stopped scowling." A year later, her husband (a merchant) departed for another village, which is where he has been for the past five months. The monkeys' sorrowful noise mirrors her loneliness. She writes that her husband "dragged [his] feet" when he left - indicating that he did not want to leave her. She ends her letter by writing that if he comes back along the river, he should send word ahead, and she will come out to meet him. The poem is signed "by Rihaku." Analysis: Pound was not the creator of this poem; he translated it from the original Chinese version by Li Po. The Chinese original likely had a specific form and identifiable meter, but Pound did not know enough about Chinese poetry to preserve it in his translation. Pound wrote his translation in free verse, structured around the chronological life events of the river-merchant and his wife. This form, though perhaps not Li Po's intent, does actually align with the content of this poem. The free verse makes the letter feel more authentic, as if it is a real letter from a wife to...

Words: 3595 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Orientalism Film Essay

...cultural and social concept of orientalism. This paper discusses how orientalism relates to the three films namely M. Butterfly, Madame Butterfly, and Lost in Translation. Like the title, "M. Butterfly" basically was playing about transformation. This is the first of the Giacomo Puccini opera metamorphosis that was famous, in which "Madame Butterfly" became the modern geopolitical argument to understand the culture. In this film, through love relations that really did not make sense between a French diplomat and the Chinese opera singer he believed the man became the woman, how could the failure for the wish to be separated from reality result in the deception and the tragedy. Gallimard changed Sole from "only humankind" in the "Perfect Woman". Due to his insecurity about his own masculinity, Gallimard needs to create Song in the image of the perfect Asian woman, which is exotic, sensual, and acquiescent, in order to feel wholly male. Although he seeks to confine Sole within the context of his fantasy, Gallimard poster vulnerability and need actually free Sole by providing her with an outlet to flee the Orientalist representation of Asian people. Gallimard transforms Sole into a butterfly, boots instead of transforming him into one of the butterfly. Whereas Gallimard, is actually the one who eventually ends up trapped by his own fantasy. Through an analysis of Gallimard practice cultural, sexual, and personal relationship with Sole Liling, this person is a reflection of the...

Words: 2090 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Improting Butterflies from Costa Rica

...Butterfly Beauties, Inc. Group 5 Karey Brown Jeff Fortenberry Suzie Hall Samantha Vazquez International Issues Business BUSI 4703 Dr. Juan Castro December 17, 2002 Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 2 Why Butterfly Farming? 2 The History of Butterflies and Butterfly Farming 4 The Business of Butterfly Farming Butterflies 5 A Day in the Life of a Butterfly Farmer 6 Country Analysis: Costa Rica 8 The Land 9 Plant and Animal Life 10 The People 11 Greetings and Courtesies 13 Business Culture 14 The Economy 16 Table 1 17 Graphs 1, 2 18 Finance 18 Table 2 19 Government 19 Education 20 Health and Welfare 20 Resources 21 Agriculture 21 Table of Contents (cont.) Industry 22 Trade 22 Transportation 23 Butterfly Beauties, Inc. Operations Equipment and Supplies 25 Employees 27 Marketing Butterflies 28 Exportation/Shipping 31 Conclusion 32 Works Cited 33 Butterfly Beauties brochure Appendix Butterfly Beauties, Inc. Butterfly Farming in Costa Rica Executive Summary While the name may seem somewhat "flighty," butterfly farming is a serious business opportunity. The...

Words: 8667 - Pages: 35

Premium Essay

Lodging

...state the objective of the report. Second, we will focus on South Korea IT Professionals and analysis their demographic and socioeconomic profile by relevant articles and literatures. Also, the purchasing power and arrival number of South Korean business traveler will be forecasted. Third, we will conduct a service analysis of South Korea IT professionals by Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension. Fourth, Hotel ICON and Butterfly on Prat are selected as our major competitor; therefore we will conduct a competitor analysis to find out their strengths and weaknesses by various kinds of methods. Based on these findings, we will then design the features and services of a new hotel’s club floor in order to compete with our competitors, also we will clarify how these features and service can satisfy our target market, South Korea. Lastly, End with making a short conclusion to see if our works can meet this report’s objectives. Introduction Retain competitiveness is one of the biggest challenge for the hotel. We, consultants of lodging and accommodation management, is always helping hotel to retain its competiveness. Recently, I-Hotel hire us to design the feature and service for their club floor in order to compete with their competitors. The objective of this report is to make a deep analysis for the planning in different aspect which includes market analysis, service analysis, and competitor analysis. Details of the design will also be discussed. The rest of our report is organized as...

Words: 4387 - Pages: 18

Free Essay

Kjkh

...Part C Section Two: Structure and Written Expression 1. The role of the ear is acoustic disturbances into neural signals suitable for transmission to the brain. A) to code B) so that coded (C) coded (D) it coding 2. The imagist movement in poetry arose during the second decade of the twentieth century against romanticism, A) when a revolt B) as a revolt C) a revolt was D) that a revolt 3. Virtually species have biological clocks that regulate their metabolism over a 24-hour period. A) all there are B) all C) all are D) they all 4. According to United States criminal law, insanity may relieve a person from the usual legal consequences A) what his or her acts have B) of his or her acts are C) of his or her acts D) what of his or her acts 5. In addition to a place where business deals are made, a stock exchange collects statistics, publishes price quotations, and sets rules and standards for trading. A) being B) it is C) that which D) where is 6. The first inhabitants of the territories Canada came across the Bering Strait and along the edge of the Arctic ice. A) make up that now B) make up now that (C) that make up now (D) that now make up 7. need for new schools following the Second World War that provided the sustained thrust for the architectural program in Columbus, Indiana. A) Since the B) To be the C) The D) It was the 8. The soybean contains vitamins, essential minerals...

Words: 4916 - Pages: 20

Premium Essay

Three Kingdoms: The Han Dynasty

...banished from heaven,” and his mother’s tale may have partially constituted this. When Li Bai was around the age of 5, his family moved to Jiangyou, a city located in northern China. As it happens, a memorial built in the style of the classic garden of the Tang Dynasty stands today in the Zhongba Town of Jiangyou, commemorating Li Bai and the town in which he was raised. As a young boy, Li Bai enjoyed reading an extensive amount, rummaging through Confucian classics such as the Classic of Poetry and the Classic of History (Li Bai). He also enjoyed reading metaphysical and astrological texts. Before the age of ten, he was composing his own poetry. When he was not reading or writing, he took pleasure in fencing, taming wild birds, and spending time outdoors. He was also very interested in travel, and he loved to hunt and practice martial arts. Li Bai said himself: “When I was fifteen, I was fond of sword play, and with that art I challenged quite a few great men.” He spent most of his life traveling, eventually marrying a woman and having children with her. A lot of his poetry is reflective of the love that he bore for his family. Li Bai died in 762 A.D., most likely from cirrhosis of the liver,...

Words: 1860 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Lying in a Hammock Analysis

...Jason Arnold English 2070 Mr. Farrell 11/06/2013 “Lying in a Hammock…” Analysis This poem is really cool. I like it a lot. From the title all the way until the second to last line of the poem, one may think that this piece is a simplistically vivid description of a man and his farm. With such beautiful imagery, the reader anticipates an enjoyable conclusion; however, they are treated to a harsh wake-up call in the last line. I needed to read this poem multiple times before I could fully interpret it. Although they just seem like just beautiful descriptions, every line in this poem contains hidden negative symbolism about the speaker’s life. The first line contains an image of a “bronze butterfly” sleeping on a trunk. This stagnant description of such a beautiful creature demonstrates a slowly moving life, one of which hasn’t achieved much. The trunk that the butterfly is sleeping on is colored black, representing the man’s missed opportunities to leave the farm. The next line portrays a leaf blowing down a ravine found behind an empty house. Obviously the empty house and the later heard cowbells in the distance (implying that the cows are leaving the farm) are clear images of the man’s loneliness. The speaker moves on to spot some horse manure. This dung, after being left for over a year, has dried and is turning into stones. The changing of this manure symbolizes the man’s changing into an old, lifeless man. Just as the manure does, the longer the man sits there and waits...

Words: 387 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Chariya

...mathematics, with applications in several disciplines including, and philosophy. Chaos theory studies the behavior of dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions—a response popularly referred to as the butterfly effect. Chaotic behavior can be observed in many natural systems, such as weather and climate. This behavior can be studied through analysis of a chaotic mathematical model, or through analytical techniques such as recurrence plots and Poincare maps. This latter idea is known as sensitive dependence on initial conditions , a circumstance discovered by Edward Lorenz (who is generally credited as the first experimenter in the area of chaos) in the early 1960s. DEFINITION: It is the study of non linear dynamics, in which seemingly random events are actually predictable from simple deterministic equation. Chaos theory concerns deterministic systems whose behavior can in principle be predicted. Chaotic systems are predictable for a while and then appear to become random. The amount of time for which the behavior of a chaotic system can be effectively predicted depends on three things: * How much uncertainty we are willing to tolerate in the forecast? * How accurately we are able to measure its current state? * Which time scale is depending on the dynamics of the system? The two main components of chaos theory are the ideas that systems - no matter how complex they may be - rely upon an underlying order, and that very simple or small systems...

Words: 4143 - Pages: 17