Critical Reviews of In the Time of the Butterflies Fifty-seven years ago on an abandoned road in the Dominican Republic, three venerated sisters and their driver were murdered. Their death actuated the eradication of the vicious dictator, Rafael Trujillo. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez illustrates this compelling story: the story of the Mirabal sisters. The author gives life to these women as a tribute to them and as an attempt to share their heroism and bravery with North American readers who were not familiar with the sisters’ impact. Critical reviews of Alvarez’s novel differ. Many critics praise the novel, some identify weaknesses in the work, and one critic categorizes the work as belonging to a new genre. Numerous …show more content…
Julia Alvarez explains that Dedé’s courage is what mainly inspired In the Time of the Butterflies and that is why the novel is dedicated to Dedé (Michniewicz 3). The tone of Margaret Michniewicz’s article suggests that she enjoyed the novel, and she adds details to her article about how significant the Mirabals’ struggle was. Michniewicz seems to be as dedicated to telling the story as Alvarez is. Another critic, Ruth Behar, concludes her article with, “I am in debt to Julia Alvarez for her creative ambition, which she largely fulfils: for showing that although revolutions turn sour, they matter. And for showing that when they turn sour for women, they must be remembered even more adamantly” (7). Behar sees the pertinence of the issue at hand and applauds Julia Alvarez for her portrayal of the Mirabal sisters. Additionally, Darren Felty says in his …show more content…
Felty brings up a few of the characters being too weak. In his analysis of María Teresa he says, “The reader does not acquire a sense of intimacy with her, perhaps because her narrative is told through diary entries that are most often addressed to the diary book itself, which creates a distancing effect. In addition, the younger Mate lacks the more engrossing conflicts that her sisters possess in their narratives” (par. 12). Felty argues that because of Mate’s age and lack of complexity she is not a very strong character, criticizing the initial representation of her. However, he does go on to say that she grows as a woman and becomes more interesting. Felty’s criticism seems mild compared to a particularly harsh critic, Echevarria, who states, “The actual history in In the Time of the Butterflies is very blurry. I find no connection between the specific dates Ms. Alvarez gives to mark periods in the Mirabals’ lives and either Dominican or Latin American history. Serious historical fiction establishes links between individual destiny and pivotal political events” (par. 12). This would be a valid point in ordinary circumstances; however, Julia Alvarez states in her postscript, “Though I had researched the facts of the regime, and events pertaining to Trujillo’s thirty-one year despotism, I sometimes
Does someone need to die in order to gain and obtain equality amongst the others? In the novel In Time of the Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, the main character and the subordinate character affect the plot of the novel because they develop a strong relationship. Their relationship becomes so strong that they devise a rebellion. Their rebellion had many outcomes whether being possible or negative. They manage to get equality and respect amongst the people of their land, but they sacrifice their lives and others to obtain it.
Rather, it criticizes this culture through its portrayal of women. The narrative is focused on a male and is told by a male, which reflects the male-centered society it is set in. However, when we compare how the narrator views these women to who they really are, the discrepancies act as a critique on the Dominican culture. Yunior, who represents the typical Dominican male, sees women as objects, conquests, when in fact their actions show their resistance to be categorized as such. Beli, whose childhood was filled with male domination by Trujillo and the family she worked for, attempts to gain power through sexuality, the avenue the culture pushes women toward. This backfires, creating a critique of the limited opportunities available for women. La Inca portrays a different side to this, working quietly but in ways that are not socially acceptable through self-employment. Society attempts to cage these women, but they continue to fight against it. Diaz, in an interview, quoted James Baldwin, stating, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced" (Fassler). He exhibits the misogyny in the system but does not support it, rather critiques it through strong female characters. By drawing attention to the problem, the novel advocates for change. Diaz writes, at the end of part 1, “Nothing more exhilarating… than saving yourself by the simple act of waking”
This book is a story about 4 sisters who tell their stories about living on an island in the Dominican Republic , and then moving to New York . What is different about this book is the fact that you have different narrators telling you the story , jumping back and forth from past to present . This is effective because it gives you different view point’s from each of the sisters . It may also detract from the narrative because of the fact that it’s confusing to the reader . This is a style of writing that has been recognized and analyzed by critics . Julia Alvarez is a well- known writer and in a way , mirrors events that happened in her own life , in her book . Looking into her life , it show’s that she went through an experience somewhat like the sisters . I interviewed an immigrant , not from the same ethnic back ground as the sisters , but a Japanese immigrant . This was a very
Every nation has its cultures, and every culture has its people. Like a clay figure, the people of a culture are inevitably shaped by what makes that culture unique and where it will lead them in a world composed of many different ones. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and In The Time Of The Butterflies by Julia Alvarez present two contrasting cultures, one that is depicted through a poor Latino neighborhood in Chicago, and the other on a viciously dictated Spanish island. The roles of men and women along with the importance of an organized church bring with it the image of the residing living condition of the culture, and whether its for the better or worse, the people existing in that culture are a mirror reflection of what that culture is. The vivid expressions of gender roles and the influences of religion in the two extravagantly differing cultural societies in The House on Mango and In The Time Of The Butterflies precisely shaped what became of the characters’ personality and characteristics in their struggling efforts to work their way toward goals and dreams.
Dede not only has she done tons of interviews but there is a museum where she works that is full of detail event from the Mirabal sisters’ tragedy. She gives tours shares pictures and tell stories in memories of her sisters. Dede took the choice of reliving memories from the past. “In The Time of the Butterflies” when the reporter asked Dede “how does she do it? “how do you keep such tragedy from taking you under?” Dede was so optimistic with her answer stating “I start over, playing the happy moments in my head”. Although many may look at Dede with pity, in her eyes she knows she was gifted. To have shared memories with these brave women, not only was she gifted for being their friend but to know that she is a part of
The historical fiction novel In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, has an interesting story about four sisters who rebel against Trujillo, their cruel dictator. The book starts years after the event, focusing on the surviving sister, Dedé, as she recounts the time when her father predicts what he thinks will become of his girls in the future. In the next chapter, narrated by Minerva, the three girls, excluding Dedé, go to religious school. There, Minerva learns the cruelty of Trujillo towards Sinita’s family. Soon after, Trujillo visits the school interested in Lina. But one day, Lina never returns; she has become pregnant and is sent to Miami for safety. In a new wing of the school, a recitation contest is being hosted, and Minerva and her three friends decide to enter together.
The Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic, known as the butterflies, fought against the regime of the cruel dictator Rafael Trujillo. They were murdered on November 25, 1960, for their activism and work in the anti-Trujillo movement known as the Fourteenth of June. Their sacrifice is still recognized today, 57 years later, and has had a lasting impact on human rights activism throughout the world. Their brutal assassination led to a regime change and eventual assassination of President Trujillo, recognition of the power resistant movements hold and world-wide awareness of violence against women.
Gallimard’s supposed ignorance of Song’s sex in M. Butterfly illustrates how an individual’s desire for something or someone can create a fantasy that masks the truth. Ignorance is bliss. Desire allows an individual to create their own truth which can, in turn, be damaging. The theme of desire in the play is seen through Song and Gallimard’s relationship. Gallimard longs to be desired. He associates being desired with power and masculinity, and this desire to be desired makes him ignorant of Song’s true identity. He experiments in testing Song’s desire for him throughout the play. Because Gallimard associated women desiring him as “power”, he did not see through Song’s feminine mask, or perhaps he did not want to. Desire allows Gallimard to believe he is the masculine form dominating a relationship when, in fact, he is being dominated by his own desire which Song is using against him. Gallimard is unaware, or chooses to remain unaware of Song’s masculinity, looking at the world through rose colored glasses of desire. In the final scene of M. Butterfly, we see Gallimard succumb to his own desire. He realizes what he desired was a lie and refuses to accept the truth.
“No flies fly into a closed mouth” pertains to this situation because it reveals how Alvarez’s family did not want to speak out about what they endured due to the consequences they would face. Alvarez states, “But if I shut up, wouldn’t I still be fanning the embers of the dictatorship with its continuing power of censorship … of many Dominicans?” This elucidates how Julia believes if she did not publish her novel she would continue living out the quote “No flies fly into a closed mouth” For this reason Julia decided to go against her mother’s wishes and publish her book anyway to show that she and her family were not victims of Trujillo, but
Out from the kitchen and into the world, women are making a better name for themselves. Although humankind tends to be male dominated, men are not the only species that inhabit the world that they live on. In Julia Alvarez's novel In the Time of the Butterflies, the women of the Dominican Republic are expected to grow up to be housewives and lacking a formal education. Women may be cherished like national treasures, but they are not expected to fulfill their truest potentials as human beings.
Ultimately, even Renee played a valuable role in driving a message Mr. Hwang hypothesized about when producing M. Butterfly. Subtly through an appearance of only five pages, less than a full act, she was able to capture many of the ideas of Hwang hypothesized about Boursicot and during Hwang’s production of the play. Although this is a broader idea in literature, that the words, characters, and even scenery all play a vital role in driving the theme of the story. That a good story which in many ways is an extension of a good author does not squander words. Moreover, Renee she was able to capture the ideas of gender—roles including their reversals, racial stereotyping, and some socio-political ideas that not only Gallimard in this story dealt with, but in a realistic and global way during the Indochinese wars, in the late forties.
The Mirabel sisters were 3 beautiful sisters, whom rebelled against the word of the president of the Dominican Republic at the time, Trujillo. The Sisters started a rebel called the 14th of June and protested against Trujillo and made It through his punishments surviving prison, the murder of their father, and torture. Unfortunately, one day they were lured into a sugar cane farm and beaten to death. But before they were the strong, courageous, and fearless women they were when they died, they weren't always like that. It took a few changes in the sisters to become they Mirabel sisters we know and love today. The purpose of this essay is to summarize the changes in the Mirabel sister's throughout the story "In the time of the butterflies.
The author, Sandra Cisneros, structures her text into a collection of interconnected vignettes. She used poetry and short story to create vignettes to make it easy to read and show Cisneros unique style and structure. The structure is indeed effective because Cisnero explained herself, “I wrote these things and thought of them as “little stories” .” “ I still don’t think of it as a novel.” This shows Sandra Cisneros didn’t want readers to think of this book as a narrative or long, boring novel but instead almost a diary fulled of entries from a girl named Esperanza showing her maturing process and her experiences while doing it.
The moth has a dignity because he was trying his best to fight, but he didn't end up living which is terrible. I think this the cause people notice her reason to freely give up her own life to be vague. Then the tone of this essay is when she starts with a full of life at the beginning and end with the death of the insect which it's saddening. After that, the tone changes in every paragraph which I can imagine the pictures, and she did a fantastic job by drawing a picture to help us to understand. She has a lot of sensory details which it's wonderful because I can imagine that what she's trying to say. She didn't send this information with reasoning, but instead with sensations and passions. I think her style of writing changes to dark to peaceful because she didn't help the moth at first then she realizes that the moth needs help to fly around. I wonder how much time she spent observing the moth and how many days she spent observing
In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies Dede’s three best friends are dead. She has to figure out a way to carry on without them no matter how much she misses them. These three best friends of course are her sisters who fall victim to the regime of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. Before their deaths, Dede cannot imagine a life apart from her sisters, but Dede realizes that she can keep her sisters alive by becoming a living martyr for them by keeping their memory going and carrying on their legacies. This unusual suffering is one where Dede gives up her whole personal life so much that it is now less about her and more about her deceased sisters. Dede is a martyr for her sisters who sacrifices her own life through taking