Name: Web view- The theme of any literary work ... The main theme in the play Romeo and Juliet was the ... the word ‘setting’ is used to identify and establish the time,

In t

he T

ime

of

the

Butt

erfli

es

By Ju

lia A

lvar

ez

Name: Period:

Ms. LizardoEnglish 2

Date Assigned Section Due Date

Section 1: Chapters 1-4

Section 2: Chapters 5-8

Section 3: Chapters 9-12

Epilogue

Packet Due Date:

Literary Devices

Theme - The theme of any literary work is the base topic or focus that acts as a foundation for the

entire literary piece. The theme links all aspects of the literary work with one another and is

basically the main subject.

Example - The main theme in the play Romeo and Juliet was the sacrificing of oneself for

love.

Setting - In literature, the word ‘setting’ is used to identify and establish the time, place and mood

of the events of the story

Example – In the Time of the Butterflies is set in the Dominican Republic during the 1930’s -

1960’s.

Tone - Is the perspective or attitude that the author adopts with regards to a specific character,

place or development. Tone can portray a variety of emotions ranging from solemn, grave, and

critical to witty, wry and humorous.

Example - In her Harry Potter series, author J.K. Rowling has taken an extremely positive,

inspiring and uplifting tone towards the idea of love and devotion

Foreshadowing - Refers to the use of indicative words/phrases and hints that set the stage for a

story to unfold and give the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the

story or spoiling the suspense.

Example - He had no idea of the disastrous chain of events to follow

Allusion - figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or

literary work by way of a passing reference

Example - It’s no wonder everyone refers to Mary as another Mother Teresa in the making.

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Symbolism - is a literary device that contains several layers of meaning, often concealed at first

sight, and is representative of several other aspects/ concepts/ traits than those that are visible in

the literal translation alone.

Example - The phrase “a new dawn” does not talk only about the actual beginning of a new

day but also signifies a new start, a fresh chance to begin and the end of a previous tiring

time

Personification - refers to the practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with

inanimate objects, phenomena and animals.

Example - The warm and comforting fire

Simile - referring to the practice of drawing parallels or comparisons between two unrelated and

dissimilar things, people, beings, places and concepts. Similes are marked by the use of the words

‘as’ or ‘such as’ or ‘like’.

Example - He is like a mouse in front of the teacher.

Metaphor - metaphor refers to a meaning or identity ascribed to one subject by way of another. In

a metaphor, one subject is implied to be another so as to draw a comparison between their

similarities and shared traits.

Example - “Henry was a lion on the battlefield”.

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Time Magazine

Monday, Dec. 12, 1960

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Warning beneath the Cliff

Tragic coincidences are not uncommon in Dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo's Dominican Republic. Last

week Trujillo's mouthpiece, El Cáribe, reported another: the curious case of three wellborn sisters noted

for their opposition to the Dictator. They were found dead near the wreckage of a Jeep at the bottom of a

150-ft. cliff on the north coast of the tight little island. Said El Cáribe: "The accident in which Driver

Rufino Cruz and the sisters Patria Mirabal de Gonzáles, Minerva Mirabal de Tavárez and Maria Teresa

Mirabal de Guzman died is presumed to have happened when Cruz lost control of the vehicle."

There was much to the story of the three Mirabal sisters that El Cáribe did not tell. The story began with

Minerva, 32, who reportedly caught the Dictator's eye some years ago when she was a pretty university

student. When Trujillo tried to exercise his Dominican version of droit du seigneur, Minerva's response

was a stinging slap on the face. Shortly thereafter, both Minerva and her middle-aged father were jailed,

Minerva briefly, her father for two years before he was released —to die 15 days later of a combination

of malnutrition, beatings and general misuse. The sisters all married anti-Trujillo husbands—a lawyer,

an engineer, a farmer. In 1957 the three couples began organizing an underground opposition to the

Dictator among the Dominican Republic's middle and professional classes; after the failure of a Cuba-

based airborne invasion in 1959, the underground movement took as its name the date of the failure—

the 14th of June. Last January, as the 14th of June gathered strength to strike at Trujillo, the Dictator got

word of the plot and cracked down.

In the trials that followed, two of the husbands got 20 years, the other 30. To

forestall plotting, the men were sent to widely separated prisons. Two of the sisters themselves were

imprisoned briefly, then allowed to return to their family home near Salcedo, 70 miles northwest of

Ciudad Trujillo. Two months ago, without explanation, all three husbands were moved to a prison near

Salcedo. There, after a tantalizing delay, the wives were granted permission to make a joint visit a

fortnight ago. The sisters' cars had been confiscated; gratefully they accepted a stranger's offer to ride to

the prison in his Jeep. On the way back, for reasons unexplained, the Jeep driver left the main highway for

an unnecessary—and fatal—jounce along a desolate, cliff-edged road.

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There was, of course, no hint of foul play in the reports from Trujillo-land. But the terrible deaths of the

three sisters and their driver—who presumably was considered expendable—would be something for

the 14th of June underground to think about.

Non-Fiction Reading (20 points)

1. Annotate this article.

a. Highlight/underline any points of importance

b. Circle any unknown vocabulary and define

c. One question for each paragraph (what’s going on or what don’t you

understand)

d. One sentence summary of what is happening for each paragraph

2. What would you call the writer’s tone or attitude? Explain your answer.

3. The main idea is never stated--only implied (suggested). What would you say it was?

4. Reread the article and pick out five people or groups you think will be important in In the

Time of the Butterflies.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

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CHARACTER LIST

LAS MARIPOSAS (from NEA Big Read)Minerva Mirabal

Independent, outspoken Minerva is determined to get an education but, even after finishing law

school, is prohibited by Trujillo from practicing. She is the first to join the revolution- la primera

mariposa, the first Butterfly. Her husband Manolo is also a leader in the underground.

"They marveled at my self-control-and so did I. But by now in my life I should have known.

Adversity was like a key in the lock for me."

María Teresa (Mate) Mirabal

María Teresa, young and naïve, communicates primarily through journal entries. She becomes

aware of the underground after she questions Minerva about both the strange, coded language she

uses and a crate of guns that is delivered to the house. She marries Leandro and both join the

resistance.

"I've lost all interest in my studies. I just go to classes in order to keep my cover as a second-year

architecture student. My true identity now is Mariposa (#2), waiting daily, hourly, for

communications from up north."

Patria Mirabal

The eldest sister, Patria, toys with the idea of becoming a nun before falling in love at sixteen with

Pedrito González, a handsome young farmer. She becomes involved with the underground after

witnessing a battle in the mountains between government forces and anti-Trujillo rebels on the

fourteenth of June, 1959.

"Coming down that mountain, I was a changed woman. I may have worn the same sweet face,

but now I was carrying not just my child but that dead boy as well."

Dedé Mirabal

In the novel's opening chapter, Dedé's father foretells her future, saying, "She'll bury us all [. . .] in

silk and pearls." Until after her sisters' deaths, Dedé obeys her husband Jaimito's orders not to get

involved in the revolution.

"I see them all there in my memory, as still as statues, Mamá and Papá, and Minerva and Mate

and Patria, and I'm thinking something is missing now. And I count them all twice before I

realize-it's me, Dedé, it's me, the one who survived to tell the story."

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OTHER IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

Add information or new characters as we read.

Mamá: Mother to the Mirabal girls.

Papá: Father to the Mirabal girls.

Fela: A worker for the Mirabal family who claims to be a fortune teller.

Minou: One of Minerva's children

Trujillo: Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, also known as "El Jefe" (the Chief), is the

self-appointed dictator of the Dominican Republic.

Don Manuel: Trujillo's right-hand man..

Virgilio: Virgilio, code name "Lio". He is a revolutionary. He was involved

with one of the sisters.

Jaimito: Jaimito is Dede's husband and cousin.

Leandro--Maria Teresa’s husband, (a.k.a “Leandro”)

Manolo: a revolutionary who is Minerva’s husband.

Sinita: Minerva's good friend, whom she met at Inmaculada Catholic

School for Girls.

Pedrito González: A farmer. He married Patria Mirabal when she was 22,

on February 24, 1947

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Reference SheetSpanish Terms with English translation. The available blank spaces are there for you to write any Spanish terms you don’t know the definition to.

Spanish Term English TranslationGringa dominicana Dominican with light (whiter) complexionMaria santisima Virgin MaryExactamente ExactlyAnacchuita tree Olive treeCampesinos peasantsTan afuera de la cosa Out of touchGringos Foreigners, Usually AmericansGalleria GalleryAy Dios/ Dios mio Oh GodPobrecita Poor little thingMi napita My little extra oneSenorita MissEl cuco The BoogiemanPromesa promiseSarampion An infectionGuardia guardPeseta Type of currency?Brujo witchQuinceanera 15th birthday/ similar to Sweet Sixteennovio boyfriendUn clavo saca otro clavo something or someone else to take away

the pain (it’s an expression)

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Reading Comprehension Questions & Notes

Directions for Comprehension Questions: (10 points per chapter)

For every chapter you read, there are a set of comprehension questions that you will need to answer based on the text. Responses must be written in complete sentences.

For each response you must have one quote to support your response.

All quotes must be cited properly: (Authors last name, page #)

Example: “I don’t know who talked Papa into sending us away…” (Alvarez, 11)

CHAPTER ONE: DEDÉ, 1994 AND CIRCA 1943

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1. Who is coming to visit? What does Dedé think of her?

2. What happens every November 25th?

3. How does Dedé describe each of the sisters? Minerva

Maria Teresa

Patria

4. At night, Dede thinks about Trujillo and the police state. Describe the images in her mind.

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CHAPTER TWO, MINERVA, 1938, 1941, 1944

1. Why does Papá allow the girls to go away to school?

2. What is Sinita’a secret? Describe the secret in your own words.

3. What happened to Lina? Describe the courtship with Trujillo.

4. Describe Trujillo’s visit to the school and the girls’ performance.

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CHAPTER THREE: MARIA TERESA, 1945 TO 1946

1. How does the epistolary format (diary style) affect your view of María Teresa?

2. Why does Minerva say diaries are important? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

3. Who is Hilda, and how is she connected to Minerva? Why is the connection between these two girls important?

4. Why does Mate have to hand over her diary? What could this demise of the little book symbolize to the reader?

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CHAPTER FOUR: PATRIA, 1946

1. What did Patria and her family assume she would become? Why?

2. What causes Patria to abandon her aspirations of becoming a nun?

3. Why was Patria worried about Minerva?

4. On page 53 Patria says she understands Minerva's hatred for Trujillo. Explain.

5. What religious imagery do you notice in the chapter? How does it add to your understanding of Patria’s character?

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CHAPTER FIVE: DEDE, 1994 and 1948

1. Fela is one of the family servants. What is her role in preserving the memory of the sisters?

2. Who is Minou? Explain her relationship with Fela.

3. Who is Jaimito? What is planned for him?

4. Explain what happened on the night Lio went into hiding. What does this indicate about the political climate in the Dominican Republic?

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CHAPTER SIX: MINERVA, 19491. What does Minerva learn about her father?

2. What does she find in Papa’s room and how does she react?

3. Why does the family go to the Discovery Day Dance? What happens while they are there?

4. When Papá goes to jail, what does he ask Minerva to do?

5. How did Papa change in jail? What causes this change?

6. How could the loaded dice a symbol for the regime?

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CHAPTER SEVEN: MARIA TERESA 1953-1958

1. Describe Mate’s dream after Papá dies.

2. What does Mate spend most of her time writing about?

3. Minerva gets her law degree on July 27th. Why is she disappointed?

4. Why does Mate to join the National Underground?

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CHAPTER 8, PATRIA, 1959

1. What happens in Cuba? What does this have to do with the Dominican Republic?

2. What happens on Patria’s retreat?

3. Why is it important that Patria names her son Raul Ernesto?

4. What is the SIM?

5. Why does Minerva ask Patria to keep Manolito?

6. What does Patria and Pedrito’s house eventually become?

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CHAPTER 9: DEDE, 1994 AND 1960

1. How do the differences in their marriages effect the sisters’ involvement in the revolution?

2. Why is Fidel’s speech played endlessly on the radio?

3. What does Dedé mean when she thinks “The problem is when I open my eyes and see for myself”?

4. Explain how the SIM arrested the following people

o Leandro

o Pedrito and Nelson

o Manolo

o Mate

o Minerva

5. Does Dede really have a choice in joining the underground?

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CHAPTER 10, PATRIA, JANUARY TO MARCH 1960

1. Who is Peña?

2. How does the Church respond to national events?

3. Patria says, “Once the goat was a bad memory in our past, that would be the real revolution we would have to fight: forgiving each other for what we had all let come to pass.” What does she mean?

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CHAPTER 11, MARIA TERESA MARCH TO AUGUST 1960

1. From where is Maria Teresa writing?

2. Why do Maria Teresa and Minerva not accept a pardon?

3. Why is it important to tell the OAS (The Organization of American States) what really happens?

4. What happens when they take Mate to “La 40”?

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CHAPTER 12: MINERVA AUGUST TO NOVEMBER 1960

1. How did Minerva change after she gets out of jail?

2. Explain how Minerva feels when Elsa says “Viva la Mariposa.”

3. What is the significance of moving the men to a new location?

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EPILOGUE, DEDE 1994

1. What happens on the mountain pass?

2. What tone does Dedé use when recalling the trial and its aftermath?

3. What title does Dedé give herself about the retelling of her sisters’ story? Why?

4. Describe what happens to the following people after the sisters’ death:

a. Jaimito

b. Manolo

c. Pedrito

d. Leandro

e. Mamá.

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