Context
- The author of In the Time of the Butterflies is Julia Alvarez. She was born in New York City, but moved back to the Dominican Republic when she was three months old. Her parents preferred the dictator Trujillo over the United States. Her father was involved in the underground movement but her family got in trouble and left for the United States again. Four months later the Mirabal sisters were murdered. In school some of Julia's classmates were not very welcoming because she could not speak English very well. She completed a graduate program in creative writing. Since Latino writers were uncommon, Julia Alvarez made a living by traveled across the country teaching writing and later became a high school and college teacher. She is the author of many other books. One of her successful books was How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.
- There were four Mirabal sisters. They were Patria, Dede, Minerva, and Maria Teresa. They were all educated women at a time when it was uncommon for women to go to school. Their family owned a farm, shop, coffee mill, and a meat and rice factory. Patria Mercedes Mirabal was the oldest sister. Adela Dede Mirabal was born after Patria and was the least active member out of her sisters for going against Trujillo. Next came Minerva Argentina Mirabal who was a leader in the underground movement. Maria Teresa Mirabal was the youngest sister and admired her sister Minerva. They all opposed the dictator Trujillo. Minerva, Patria, and Maria Teresa were brutally murdered because they were a threat to Trujillo. Dede was the only sister who survived to tell the truth about their story.
- Rafael Trujillo was the harsh dictator in the Dominican Republic from 1938 to 1960. He climbed to power by starting as national guard and then being promoted to commander-in-chief of the army. Later, he was also called El Jefe. His thirty years in power is known as the Trujillo era. The Trujillo era is one of the most bloodiest time periods where 50,000 people were killed.
- The book takes place in the Dominican Republic from 1938 to 1960. It was colonized is 1493 by the Spaniards. It is located in the Caribbean next to Haiti. It is right of the coast of the United States. Today the population of the Domincan Republic is 8,862,000 people. The capital is Santo Domingo. The main religion is Roman Catholic.
- The fourteenth of June Movement was where members of the Dominican Liberation Movement attempted to invade and overthrow their dictator Trujillo.
- Military Intelligence Service (SIM): http://www.therealdr.com/dominican-republic-history/dominican-republic-dictators.html _
- Organization of American States: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States _