In the Time of the Butterflies Questions on Mirabal Sisters
In the Time of the Butterflies
What is the birth order of the four sisters in In the Time of the Butterflies?
The birth order of the four sisters in In the Time of the Butterflies is Patria, born in 1924; Dede, born in 1925; Minerva, born in 1926; and Maria Teresa, born in 1935. Patria, Minerva, and Maria...
In the Time of the Butterflies
How do the sisters lose their innocence in the early chapters of In the Time of the Butterflies?
The sisters in In the Time of the Butterflies lose their innocence through personal and political revelations. Minerva learns about Trujillo's brutality from Sinita and Lina. Maria Teresa discovers...
In the Time of the Butterflies
Why are the Mirabal sisters referred to as butterflies?
The Mirabal sisters are called butterflies because they are part of an underground movement in which everything must have a code name to avoid being detected by the Trujillo dictatorship. The word...
In the Time of the Butterflies
When did the Mirabel sisters get the nickname "The Butterflies" in "In the Time of the Butterflies"?
The Mirabal sisters get the name "The Butterflies" in Chapter Seven. In this chapter, Maria Teresa (Mate) is the narrator, and her story is told in a series of diary entries from 1953 to 1958. Many...
In the Time of the Butterflies
What is the impact of tone, particularly through diction and imagery, in In the Time of the Butterflies?
The tone of In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez is one of determination, persistence and resiliency. The novel is about four Dominican sisters who resist the dictatorship of Rafael...
In the Time of the Butterflies
What is the meaning of the title "In the Time of the Butterflies?"
In the Time of the Butterflies is intended to reveal the conditions of tyranny and the need to resist it even to death. In the book, Julia Alvarez dramatizes the story of the Mirabal sisters, who...
In the Time of the Butterflies
What internal and external conflicts did the Mirabel sisters face?
The Mirabel sisters are faced with several conflicts throughout the novel. Internally each young woman struggles with becoming who she desires to be while remaining loyal to her family wanted her...
In the Time of the Butterflies
What elements in In the Time of the Butterflies are fictional?
It is important to remember that whilst this novel is based on historical events and real people who actually lived, breathed and died, this text is still a work of fiction. Alvarez herself...
In the Time of the Butterflies
How and why did the Mirabal sisters meet their demise?
In her work, The Time of the Butterflies, Alvarez tells of the Mirabal sisters' death as narrated by Dede and told to her by various people. There existed different accounts of their death even by...
In the Time of the Butterflies
What quotes characterize Trujillo and the Mirabal sisters in "In the Time of the Butterflies"?
Perhaps the best quotes which characterize the differences between the brutal dictator and the freedom-loving Mirabal sisters are found in Chapter Six. Here, we witness the callousness of "El...
In the Time of the Butterflies
How was the underground resistance movement named in The Time of the Butterflies? What roles did each Mirabel sister...
As you state in your question, you can find the answer to this towards the end of Part II of the novel. It is Minerva who gives this movement its name, suggesting the movement "name ourselves after...
In the Time of the Butterflies
How do the Mirabal sisters' commitments to anti-Trujillo activity and their families compare?
Dede is the oldest and only surviving Mirabal sister. For much of the time, it seems of the four daughters, Dede is the least committed to the revolution. Dede "had always been the docile middle...
In the Time of the Butterflies
Which groups, within and beyond the Dominican Republic, support or resist Trujillo in "In the Time of the Butterflies"?
The book's primary focus is on the resistance movement, the Fourteenth of June Movement. The group was founded by Minerva, Patria and Maria Teresa Mirabal who, along with Felipe Alou were all...
In the Time of the Butterflies
Can you provide quotes about how the sisters stood up for their country and the sacrifices they made?
In the Time of the Butterflies discusses not only the fact that the sisters stood up for what they thought was right, but also the various processes they each went through to get to that place....
In the Time of the Butterflies
Mirabal Sisters' Impact and Evolution in "In the Time of the Butterflies"
In In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the Mirabal sisters—Minerva, Maria Teresa, Patria, and Dedé—are portrayed as key figures in the resistance against Trujillo's dictatorship in the...