"Every decision you make shapes your own destiny." In the time of the butterflies, Julia Alvarez has two characters by the name of Minerva and Patria Mirabal. This book is a great book to read.The Mirabals were farmers in the Dominican Republic . The sisters grew up in a middle class, cultured environment raised by Enrique Mirabal Fernandez and Mercedes Reyes Camilo. The four sisters married and raised families. Unlike her sisters, Dede never attended college, and instead worked as a homemaker and helped out run the family business in agriculture and Cattle.

"Family is all you have sometimes." The Mirabal sisters are a very interesting group of people. I will be comparing Patria and and Minerva. Minerva and Patria are both pretty girls. They were both married, and we're both very sensitive and nice. Now in the book the sisters go through a lot of hard times. They almost get killed and some do get killed. It was almost as if they were slaves being held captive by a white man yet it was them being held captive by Trujillo. Back then the girls weren't treated as girls they were basically treated like a man if you would say so. But it seems as if as long as they have each other they'd be fine. Even though their dad died and all that other bad stuff they still had each other and they still survived until basically the end of the book.

"When love is unconditional, life is good." There is so much love in this book. That's why people get married, that's why people join together through every harsh and loving death. Harsh words and all. Patria got hurt the worst, but Minerva got hurt as well. Minerva learned of a dictator’s brutality from her schoolmate Sinita, whose family lost all of its men to Trujillo. Minerva educates young Patria. They both go to prison, Minerva’s stay in prison has left her ill and concerned for the husbands still in prison.

So in