In the Time of the Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies is a novel by Julia Alvarez, fictionalizing the lives of the Mirabal sisters from their personal accounts of what happened during the time. It recounts the rebellion against Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic. The main characters are the Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva, Dedé, and María Teresa. Minerva which is the most independent sister begans to realized the horrible actions of Trujillo through her school friend Sinita who is a victim of this dictator. Through out the novel the Mirabal sisters began to realize the injustice of Trujillo's dictatorship on the Dominican people. The butterfly becomes their symbol, which represents independence, which is their main goal against Trujillo's dictatorship. The US after leaving the Dominican in 1920, gave Trujillo the right to rule despite knowing the fact that he was a repeated rapist. Another theme is the ruinous effect that dictatorship can have between a nation and its citizens... full article at wikipedia