In the Time of the Butterflies suggests that freedom is a natural desire, and freedom in only one sense is not enough. Religion can be a powerful personal or political motivator — Religion is a driving force for character development and involvement in the revolution for multiple characters in In the Time of the Butterflies. Known as the most religious of the sisters, Patria originally devotes herself to becoming a nun, and her faith is what differentiates her from the rest of the sisters.
However, her faith is shaken when her third baby is stillborn. She rediscovers her faith and political motivation simultaneously when she is on a pilgrimage to Higuey and hears the voice of the Virgencita tell her that Virgencita has always been all around her.
In this way, religion is suggested to be a catalyst for political movement through its moral influence. After suffering attacks, the church decides to stand with the people and against their dictator, going so far as to recruit revolutionaries and run guns for the revolution and illustrating that organized religion can be a powerful political adversary and asset. Courage takes a multitude of shapes and sizes — The Mirabal sisters provide readers with a spectrum of examples of courage in the face of adversity.
Minerva serves as the face of the revolution and the most outward and vocal example of courage, whether she is publicly criticizing Trujillo or hitting him in the face. She allows herself tinier victories, like listening to revolutionary radio stations in secret. Each of the sisters struggle with her fears, but they all exemplify the concept that there is not just one way to be brave.
Storytelling is an act of preservation and healing — In the Time of the Butterflies explores the idea that storytelling is an essential tool for remembering and rising from the past. She reflects that their story was necessary to help the people of the Dominican Republic find hope after the aftermath of the revolution and to help make the sacrifices feel worthwhile.
So, in the novel, storytelling allows individuals to close the wounds of trauma and remember history in a constructive and respectful way. One time, I opened a cage to set a half-grown doe free. I even gave her a slap to get her going. She was used to her little pen. I kept slapping her, harder each time, until she started whimpering like a scared child. I was the one hurting her, insisting she be free. Silly bunny, I thought.
No one has to tell me to believe in God or to love everything that lives. The time was now, for the Lord had said, I come with the sword as well as the plow to set at liberty them that are bruised. People would come to tell her of the girls' final moments on the day of their death:. Each visitor would break my heart all over again, but I would sit on this very rocker and listen for as long as they had something to say.
Her role as listener is another duty she assigns herself "the least I could do" , a way that she can contribute and be close to her sisters after she missed her chance to really help them.
Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. By Alvarez, Julia. Previous Next. Let's dig into who she is, why she didn't join her sisters, and what she means to the novel. A Coward? Even after she invites him to play volleyball, she admits that the girls don't play: "I don't play," she says rather more meekly than she intends. When Dede asks the interviewer what she wants to know, the interviewer answers, "Tell me all of it.
Dede explains that she tells herself to focus on the happy years, and she plays over the happy memories in her head, like a movie. Dede's mind "is already racing backwards, year by year, to the moment she has fixed in her memory as zero. Papa, Enrique Mirabal , is drinking rum and getting a bit drunk while the others drink guanabana juice. A campesino comes by, begging for calmante and tobacco; Papa gives them to him, as well as a few mints for his godchildren.
When Dede teasingly scolds him for giving everything away, he predicts that she "is going to be the millionaire in the family. Maria Teresa , age eight, asks about her own fortune, and her father tells her she will make "a lot of men's mouths water. It predicted that she would become a lawyer, which is what Minerva actually wants to be. Mama playfully comments that they don't need "skirts in the law," but Minerva jumps in and says that it's about time women had some say in how the country was run.
Papa says, "You and Trujillo ," and immediately the mood becomes tense as they realize he has mentioned Trujillo's name outdoors in the quiet night. Spies could be lurking anywhere, though there is not yet any suspicion about the Mirabal family. They all hurry inside. Unlike those of her sisters, Dede's chapters are narrated in third person. However, Alvarez uses the technique of rhetorical questions to imply that the reader is, at times, inside Dede's head, with access to what she is thinking or wondering.
The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance. It starts to rain and the family hurries inside. Chapter 2: Minerva, , , He clearly wants Minerva to volunteer, but she stays silent. She snuck into the shed, saw Mario tries to flirt with her, but she rebuffs This is unusual, as She decides to provide Minerva with an alibi She even doubts whether They had all just come from a Just then they Chapter 6: Minerva, It starts raining again as they leave the capital.
Chapter 8: Patria, Her son Minou says that she had gone to see Fela, but Fela said the sisters were He pushed her This seems like a much bigger decision to her She worries Finally she sees Padre When she returns home, Jaimito and the boys are all gone.
They were then arrested. Patria joins her and seems She calls Minerva, and
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