In the Time of the Butterflies
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The story told in the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez is a true one, based on the Mirabal sisters, well-known in the Dominican republic for their heroic stand against the Trujillo regime and for what happened to them. Alvarez was born in the Dominican Republic, but she never knew the Mirabal sisters, as she explains in the postcript to her book where she notes that she and her family arrived in New York City in 1960 as exiles from their native land because of the Trujillo regime--her father had participated in an underground plot that was discovered by the country's secret police. Three of the four Mirabal sisters had been murdered some four months before that in what was deemed an "accident," though clearly it was not. Alvarez was a young girl at the time but could not get this story out of her mind, and she sought out more information on the subject whenever she was in the Dominican Republic. She notes,During the terrifying thirty-one-year regime, any hint of disagreement ultimately resulted in death for the dissenter and often for members of his or her family. Yet the Mirabals had risked their lives (Alvarez 323). In seeking the answer to this question, Alvarez finally wrote this novel. The story is not told in strict chronological order and instead begins with the reminiscences of Ded?, the fourth and surviving sister, looking back from 1994 to the events of her and her sisters' life. She is often asked to recall those years and to tell abou
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sister, keeps their memory alive by telling their story over and over to journalists and researchers--this becomes her destiny.
The story told in this book touches on a number of issues of importance. The society of the Dominican Republic was not that different from others in the region until Trujillo took over as strongman. The Dominican Republic announced its independence from Haiti in 1844, though the new republic occupied a precarious position which would lead to the reestablishment of Spanish rule in 1861. The Dominican Republic was annexed by Spain in 1861, and independence would be regained in 1865 after a War of Restoration. The next 50 years would be a time of political and economic instability, with rapid changes in government and the inability of the republic to pay its foreign debts. In 1904 a customs' receivership was established with the United States, and from 1916 to 1924 the country was subject to U.S. occupation. This led to the creation of the Dominican Army, and the commanding general, Trujillo, was elected President in 1930. He established a dictatorship which lasted until his assassination in 1961 (Prince 270). After that event, the country experienced instability for some time until the civil war an
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1710
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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