In the Time of the Butterflies
Julia Alvarez
Ms. Lonardo
LHS
2013 - 2014
Why do we tell stories?
How do author’s choices create meaning?
Name ______Block______
Table of Contents
Vocabulary Words……………………………………………………………………………………………………..2
PowerPoint Guided Notes…………………………………………………………………………………………..3
Character List…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Spanish/ English Vocabulary Reference Sheet……………………………………………………………..7
Response Papers…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..8
Character Tracking Sheets…………………………………………………………………………………………..9
Chapter 7: Close Reading…...……………………………………………………………………………………….13 Chapter 8: Annotation Passage…………………………………………………………………………………...14
Chapter 8: Imagery Chart……...…………………………………………………………………………….……...16
Reading Comprehension Questions…………………………………………………………………………….17
Vocabulary Words 4.4 – 4.9
4.4
dissenter
deification
despotism
mariposas
4.5
pilgrimage
gaudy
benefactor
crucifix
4.6
agitators
desecrate
mulatto
munitions
4.7
Epiphany
stupor
romanticize
diminutive
4.8
ominous
imminent
succumb
placating
4.9
indignant
confided
admonition
imperious
PowerPoint -- Guided Notes
Directions: As you listen to the PowerPoint Presentation, take notes on the following topics and questions.
Julia Alvarez
o Where was she born?
o How old was she when her family fled from the DR? Why did her family leave?
o In your own words, Why did Alvarez choose to tell the story of the Mirabel sisters?
o What are some differences between the DR and the US? How does this influence Alvarez’s writing?
Historical Fiction
o What is historical fiction?
o What does Alvarez say about her characters?
Dominican Republic
o Where is the Dominican Republic?
Trujillo
o What impact did the US Marines have on Trujillo?
o What type of ruler was Trujillo?
o What was the impact of his reign on the Dominican people?
o How did other countries feel about his rule?
Catholicism in the DR
o Explain the role of Catholicism in the DR and on Trujillo’s reign.
Gender Roles in the DR
o What was typical for women in the DR during the 1950s and 1960s?
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."
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
Reference Sheet
Spanish Terms with English translation
Spanish Term / English TranslationGringa dominicana / Dominican with light (whiter) complexion
Maria santisima / Virgin Mary
Exactamente / Exactly
Anacchuita tree / Olive tree
Campesinos / peasants
Tan afuera de la cosa / Out of touch
Gringos / Foreigners, Usually Americans
Galleria / Gallery
Ay Dios/ Dios mio / Oh God
Pobrecita / Poor little thing
Mi napita / My little extra one
Senorita / Miss
El cuco / The Boogieman
Promesa / promise
Sarampion / An infection
Guardia / guard
Peseta / Type of currency?
Brujo / witch
Quinceanera / 15th birthday/ similar to Sweet Sixteen
Un clavo saca / Under control
Otro clavo / UN CLAVO SACA OTRO CLAVO: something or someone else to take away the pain… it’s an expression
novio / boyfriend
Response Paper Prompts
Submitted to Turnitin.com by 8pm of due date
Throughout the course of reading In the Time of the Butterflies, you will write two response essays. The essays will be designed to focus on various literary elements and to practice developing strong themes. Each essay should be one to two pages in length, however, there are no paragraph restrictions.
Response Paper One:
DUE: May 14 @ 8pm
Choose one:
Symbolism & Metaphor
Identify a theme from the first two chapters of the novel and then explain how Alvarez uses symbolism or metaphor to develop that theme. If you are struggling to find a metaphor/symbol, possible choices include: the tree symbolism in chapter 1, the rabbit metaphor in chapter 2, or the hammer and nail metaphor in chapter 2.
OR
Voice & Perspective Identify a theme from the novel and explain how Alvarez uses unique character voices and perspective to develop that theme. Consider focusing on the voice and perspective of one character or comparing the voices of two characters. Avoid trying to tackle more than two characters in this short of an essay.
Response Paper Two:
DUE: June 4 @ 8pm
Choose one:
Imagery
How does Alvarez use contrasting imagery to develop a theme in the novel?
OR
Archetype
How does Alvarez use archetype to develop a theme in the novel?
Character Tracking: Dedé
Part I Description: / Part I Quotation:
Part II Description: / Part II Quotation:
Part III Description: / Part III Quotation:
Character Tracking: Minerva
Directions: For each section of the novel, describe the character in detail and transcribe one quotation that gives you insight into her motivations and/or values.Part I Description: / Part I Quotation:
Part II Description: / Part II Quotation:
Part III Description: / Part III Quotation:
Character Tracking: María Teresa
Directions: For each section of the novel, describe the character in detail and transcribe one quotation that gives you insight into her motivations and/or values.Part I Description: / Part I Quotation:
Part II Description: / Part II Quotation:
Part III Description: / Part III Quotation:
Character Tracking: Patria
Part I Description: / Part I Quotation:
Part II Description: / Part II Quotation:
Part III Description: / Part III Quotation:
Chapter 7: Close Reading
Directions: Carefully read the passage below and use it to answer the following questions. You should annotate the text as you read and feel free to take notes all over this page.
Sunday night, October 3
We marched today before the start of classes. Our cédulas are stamped when we come back through the gates. Without those stamped cédulas, we can’t enroll. We also have to sign a pledge of loyalty.
There were hundereds of us, the women all together, in white dresses like we were his brides, with white gloves and any kind of hat we wanted. We had to raise our right arms in a salute as we passed by the review stand.
It looked like the newsreels of Hitler and the Italian one with the name that sounds like fettuccine.
(Alvarez, 131)
1) Identify one instance figurative language:
Type: ______
Rewritten Line: ______
______
2) Craft a concise claim and then support it with strong evidence and analysis to explain how the author uses figurative language to create meaning in the passage:
______
______
______
______
Chapter 8: Imagery
Directions: Read and annotate the passage below. Look carefully for imagery throughout the excerpt. When you are finished, work with your group to complete the t-chart on the following page.
Patria
Build your house upon a rock. He said, do my will. And though the rain fall and floods come and the winds blow, the good wife’s house will stand.
I did as He said. At sixteen I married Pedrito Gonzalez and we settled down for the rest of our lives. Or so it seemed for eighteen years.
My boy grew into a man, my girl long and slender like the blossoming mimosa at the end of the drive. Pedrito took on a certain gravity, became an important man around here. And I, Patria Mercedes? Like every woman of her house, I disappeared into what I loved, coming up now and then for air. I mean, an overnight trip by myself for a girlfrend’s, a special set to my hair, and maybe a yellow dress.
I had built my house on solid rock, all right.
Or should I say, Pedrito’s great-grandfather had built it over a hundred years back, and then each first son had lived in it and passed it on. But you have to understand, Patria Mercedes was in those timbers, in the nimble workings of the transoms, she was in the wide boards on the floor and in that creaky door opening on its old hinges.
……….
My sisters were so different! They built their homes on sand and called the slip and slide adventure.
Minerva had lived in a little nothing house –or so Mate described it to me –in that godforsaken town of Monte Cristi. It’s a wonder her babies didn’t both die of infections.
Mate and Leandro already had two different addresses in a year of marriage. Renters they called themselves, the city word for squatters we pity hear in the country.
Dede and Jaimito had lost everything so many times, it was hard to keep up with their frequent moves. Now they were in our old house in Ojo de Agua, and Mama had built her up-to-date cottage on the main road from Santiago, complete with aluminum jalousies and an indoor toilet she called “the sanitary.”
And me, Patria Mercedes, like I said, I had settled down for life in my rocksure house. And eighteen years passed by.
(Alvarez, 148-149)
Chapter 8: Imagery T-Chart
Claim: Write one sentence in which you make a claim about Patria’s character. Whatever claim you make should be supported by evidence on your t-chart.
______
Reading Comprehension Questions
Directions: As you read, use these questions as a guide. You will not receive credit for answering these questions, but you will be quizzed on your reading. Having these questions in front of you while you read will help you focus on important aspects of the story.
CHAPTER ONE: DEDÉ , 1994 and circa 1943
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.
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.
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?
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?
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. How does Pedrito describe himself? Look at page 50.
4. Why was Patria worried about Minerva?
5. On page 53 Patria says she understands Minerva's hatred for Trujillo. Explain.
6. What religious imagery do you notice in the chapter? How does it add to your understanding of Patria’s character?
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?
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?
CHAPTER SIX: Minerva, 1949
1. What does Minerva learn about her father?
2. What does she find in Papa’s room and how does she react?