In the Time of the Butterflies Essay #1

                                                 Individual vs. Martyr: Maria Teresa

             In the English Dictionary, a martyr is said to be a person that sacrifices their life for religious or other beliefs. The definition of an ordinary individual would be a person that does not possess any distinctive or special qualities. Can these two qualities be used to define but one human being? In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies author Julia Alvarez speaks of the Mirabal sisters during the revolution against Trujillo. One of the Mirabal sisters that demonstrates such qualities is the youngest Mirabal sister, Maria Teresa. Maria Teresa is an ordinary individual because she is little girl with many child like qualities, but  also has the characteristics of a martyr because she has a firm grasp of the more serious things going on in other aspects of her life growing up.

Maria Teresa is an everyday child growing up in her generation. She has many qualities that would portray a normal little girl, for her generation. Maria Teresa, also called Mate, speaks, and writes in her ‘Little Book’, in rambling sentences. “I long to see my Papa, whom I haven’t seen in three whole months! And my rabbits, Nieve and Coco. I wonder how many new ones I have? And Tono and Fela (they work for us) making a fuss over me” (Alvarez, 32). Maria Teresa goes on from there with more ands. The way the Alvarez cleverly structures her sentences with a lot of run-on sentences and all the ands, makes the character of Maria Teresa seem even more like a child. Mate also has to face everyday childhood troubles like deciding what shoes she wants to wear to church. “I had such a time deciding between the patent leather and the white leather for church today. I finally settled for the white pair” (36). The hardest decision: what to wear. Another child-like characteristic that Maria Teresa possesses is her thought process. She thinks like a young girl. “I have been practicing, walking up and down the Stations of the Cross with a blessed look on my face, not an easy thing when you are trying to keep your balance. I think saints lived before high heels were invented” ( 31). This is one example of Maria Teresa’s thoughts. This quote displays her innocence and youthfulness. Another example that exhibits Maria Teresa’s young thought process is, “Minerva says keeping a diary is also a way to reflect and reflection deepens one’s soul. It sounds so serious. I suppose now that I’ve got one I’m responsible for, I have to expect some changes” ( 30). This demonstrates a child-like thought, because usually when you tell a child something they take it seriously. An additional characteristic that adds to the personality of a young girl which Maria Teresa shows is looking up to her older sister Minerva. She speaks of Minerva repeatedly throughout her ‘Little Book’, whether it be good or bad. “Minerva is so smart” ( 35). When a younger sibling looks up to their older brother or sister, the child typically sides with and praises the sibling that they look up to. In addition to siding with and thinking highly of them, the young child will believe most anything the admired person were to  say.

            Maria Teresa is both an average girl and a martyr in disguise. At quite a young age, Maria Teresa starts to grasp what Minerva is getting into. “It turns out that she and Elsa and Lourdes and Sinita have been going to some secret meetings over at Don Horacio’s house” ( 39). ‘She’ being Minerva in the quote, Maria Teresa finds about her sisters activism against Trujillo when she is young. A further indication that Maria Teresa is starting to acquire the traits of a martyr, is when she is looking at the picture of their president Trujillo and tries to relate some of his attributes to God. “I see the picture of our president with his eyes that follow me around the room, and I am thinking he is trying to catch me doing something wrong. Before, I always thought our president was like God, watching over everything I did. I am not saying I don’t love our president, because I do. It’s like if I were to find out Papa did something wrong. I would still love him, wouldn’t I” ( 40). Maria Teresa’s comparison to God is the beginning of when she starts to question their president. When Maria Teresa began to worry because she knows things that she is not supposed to, “It is so strange now I know something I’m not supposed to know. Everything looks just a little different. I see a guardia, and I think, who have you killed. I hear a police siren, and I think who is going to be killed” ( 39). This describes Maria Teresa’s launch into more serious martyr traits, and how she herself gets intertwined in the revolution against Trujillo. Yet another compiled element that makes Maria Teresa a martyr, and a part of the fight, is when she has to part with her ‘Little Book’ because it contains a great deal of information that could be deemed dangerous, if found. “Minerva is burying all her poems and papers and letters. She says she hadn’t meant to read my diary, but it was lying around, and she noticed Hilda’s name. She says that it was not really right to read it, but sometimes you have to do something wrong for a higher good. (Some more of that lawyer talk she likes so much!) She says we have to bury you, too” ( 43). This is Maria Teresa’s glimpse into how serious things are becoming, and how sensitive the situation is.

            All in all, Maria Teresa is an individual because she posses the many attributes of a young girl, and is a martyr because though she does have the many characteristics of a child, Maria Teresa has a firm grasp of the more serious things going on in the other sides of her life. She can be described as a child by Julia Alvarez’s uses of run-on sentences and her many uses of the word ‘and’ throughout Maria Teresa’s sentences. Maria Teresa also has the personality of a child in a way that she faces the usual childhood difficulties like, choosing what shoes to wear to church that day, or her thoughts and how the maturity varies within them. Maria Teresa also, like many other little siblings, looks up to her older sister Minerva. Maria Teresa depicts the traits of a martyr by her grasp of what her sister, Minerva, is getting into, her comparison of Trujillo and God. Moreover, Maria Teresa starts to worry because she learns things that she is not supposed to know, in as a result of it has to bury her journal because of the danger it presents. Apparently not all superheroes have alter egos. Some people may seem ordinary, but they may turn out, that they are doing extraordinary things.

In the Time of the Butterflies Essay #2

                                         Las Mariposas: Transformation and Freedom

            There are many definitions and symbols regarding the butterfly. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, is a novel in which the Mirabal sisters a part of the revolution against Trujillo. The sisters are represented as butterflies, because in this case, they are all symbols of transformation and freedom. The Mirabal sisters all embody free and transforming butterflies, but for different reasons.

            Patria, mariposa number three, is a symbol of freedom and transformation. Patria throughout the novel transforms and changes. When Patria decides to be a part of the revolution against Trujillo that is her major transformation, “I knew then I had brought it up as a way of letting her know I was with her if only in spirit” (Alvarez 155). Patria is speaking of the revolution. The ‘it’ that the quote refers to his the name of her unborn child, Ernesto, a revolutionary’s name. Patria is letting her sister know that even though she is not yet fully involved, she always will be in spirit. “I got braver like a crab going sideways. I inched towards courage the best way I could, helping out with the little things” (154). In this quote, Patria describes her fight towards freedom. She started to become braver, and began to gain more courage. It took Patria a while to gain enough courage and bravery to help, even in the smallest ways. The crab described is personified as Patria, because she too, is inching toward her freedom. Patria, mariposa number three, symbolizes both freedom and transformation, which in turn constitutes her as a butterfly.

            Despite the fact that Dede is not one of the three mariposas, she still represents freedom and transformation. Dede is the second of the Mirabal sisters. When Dede starts to develop a strong political view, it is at that point she is transforming. “Lio was right, this was an absurd and crazy regime. It had to be brought down” (78). As Dede’s political view changes, she starts to agree more and more with the rebellious Lio, and her sister Minerva. While her hate for Trujillo grows, she herself changes too. In a way, Dede finds freedom in discovering her hate for the regime. She is able to look beyond the good things they are told about El Jefe, and realize the truth.

            Mariposa number one, Minerva, also portrays freedom and transformation. Minerva is the sister that has always been somehow involved in the revolution against Trujillo. Minerva’s transformation is one through sacrifice, when she has to give her only child, Manolito, to Patria. “‘But Minerva, your own child-’ I began and then I saw it did hurt her to make this sacrifice she was convinced she needed to make” (155). Minerva in this quote is giving her child to Patria because she is so heavily involved in the revolution. When she makes this sacrifice as a mother, it’s to be a part of something that will create a better future for her child. As for her freedom, Minerva has always been an independent, free, rebellious person. She was always the sister in some way fighting against Trujillo in the revolution. “I can see my hand in an endless slow motion rise- a mind all its own- and come down on the astonished, made-up face” (100). Minerva is dancing with Trujillo, and Trujillo gets a little too close for comfort. Minerva then slaps Trujillo. When Minerva slaps Trujillo, it shows how she does not let anyone, even an evil dictator, mess with her. Minerva, Mariposa number one, is a free and transforming butterfly, and she embodies those characteristics.

            The youngest Mirabal sister, mariposa number two, Maria Teresa also symbolizes freedom and transformation. Mate may be the youngest, but she is still a transforming and free butterfly. Maria Teresa’s transformations are throughout the novel because along the way she matures. But, when she joins the revolution everything changes. “I told Minerva and Manolo right out, I wanted to join” (142). This quote is referring to Mate’s joining of the revolution. Another quote that shows Maria Teresa’s transformation into a revolutionary is, “It was the shock of my life to see Maria Teresa, so handy with her needle point, using tweezers and little scissors to twist the fine wires together” (167). In this quote, Mate is creating a bomb. After joining the revolution Maria Teresa becomes very much invested into doing her part. Maria Teresa, who used to be so young and child-like, is using her needle point skills to create a bomb in Patria’s kitchen. Maria Teresa’s freedom comes along when she goes off to the university. “Tomorrow we’ll head back to San Francisco. It’s all settled. I’m going to be a day student and live with Dede and Jaimito during the week, then come home weekend to keep Mama Company” (124). Mate’s freedom is being allowed to go to college, and live with her sister and Jaimito. Though her freedom comes with the price of having to go home and stay with her mother on the weekends, she is still free is some aspects of her life. Maria Teresa is a representation of freedom and transformation, and in that way she truly is mariposa number two.

            In conclusion, all four Mirabal sisters are butterflies, and signify freedom and transformation in different ways. Patria’s freedom is gaining enough courage and bravery to join the revolution, yet that is also her transformation. Dede’s transformation and freedom both come when her political views strengthen and expand. Minerva being an independent person is her freedom, but she transforms when she has to give her child to Patria. Maria Teresa’s transformation was also due to the revolution, but also because she matures a lot. Mate’s freedom is in being allowed to attend the university. The Mirabal sisters are all powerful examples of freedom and transformation, which signifies them all as butterflies. The Mirabal sisters all, at some point, transform into becoming seriously involved with the revolution, in that way, they all want freedom and are risking their lives fighting for it: which for them, is the bigger picture.