Literature Help: In the Time of the Butterflies

By Students' Academy

The main story is about the lives of the Mirabal sister, but along with their stories a fictionalized account of the revolutionary activity is also present in the book. Besides the Mirabal sisters, the story also tells about their families and compatriots in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo regime.

The book has three sections with four chapters in each section. Each part of the novel begins with Dede. Dede’s narration is in the third person whereas the narration by the other sisters is in the first person.

Literature Help: In the Time of the Butterflies
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Epilogue
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: Jul 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311237200

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Literature Help: In the Time of the Butterflies

Students' Academy

Copyright

Literature Help: In the Time of the Butterflies

Students' Academy

Copyright@2014 Students' Academy

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Chapter One: Introduction

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez was first published in 1994. It is a historical novel.

The story revolves around the lives of the Mirabal sisters during the period of the Trujillo Dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.

First and third person narration by and about the Mirabal sisters tell the story. The novel In the Time of the Butterflies was also adapted into a movie in the year 2001.

The main story is about the lives of the Mirabal sister, but along with their stories a fictionalized account of the revolutionary activity is also present in the book. Besides the Mirabal sisters, the story also tells about their families and compatriots in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo regime.

The book has three sections with four chapters in each section. Each part of the novel begins with Dede. Dede’s narration is in the third person whereas the narration by the other sisters is in the first person.

Dede’s chapters are divided into the present and the past. Present is set in 1994 and the past begins in 1943 when Dede’s sisters were alive.

The time in the ‘present’ is brief, just one afternoon. It covers only a few hours during which Dede gives an interview. During the interview, the questions asked keep transporting Dede and the reader back in time and into the consciousness of each sister.

In the 1960s Julia Alvarez was in the Dominican Republic. The idea of writing the novel originated during that time.

The father of Mirabal sisters got involved with the underground against Trujillo. As a result, only after three months, the Mirabal sisters were murdered.

The main motif of In the Time of the Butterflies is the destructive effect of dictatorship on a nation and its people, both physically and emotionally.

During thirty years of reign, Trujillo murdered 50,000 Haitians and Dominicans. The ruler was determined to eliminate the blacks who occupied three-eighths of the Island of Hispanola. The remained fifth-eighth of the area was inhabited by the people of mixed background.

The Real Picture of the murdered Mirabal Sisters: Patria, Minerva, & Maria Teresa Mirabal

The old house of the Mirabal family, where the sisters were brought up, and the residence of Dedé Mirabal until her death on 2014

The house in which the Mirabal sisters spent the last ten months of their lives. It is a museum now. It is situated in Salcedo, Dominican Republic.

Rufino de la Cruz, the loyal driver of the Mirabal sisters, on his wedding day (19 December 1948). He was also killed with the Mirabal sisters.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

Rafael Trujillo happens to be the dictator in the Dominican Republic. The story of the novel revolves around the four Mirabal sisters during his dictatorship.

The sisters take part in the activities which are aimed at overthrowing the Trujillo regime. The sisters have made a political commitment to remove him from the seat of power.

The Mirabal sisters are harassed, persecuted, tortured, and imprisoned. The Military Intelligence Service keeps on giving the family a very difficult time. They make the family duffer both physically and mentally.

Eventually, the dedication of the Mirabal sisters brings positive result and they are awarded for their leadership.

Dede is the only surviving Mirabal sister. The main story is presented from the perspective of