Important Quotes
o “ I’d just left a small cage to go into a bigger one, the size of our whole country.” (13)
-This quote is important because it shows how sheltered the sisters were in the beginning and how ignorant they were in loving Trujillo. Now, Minerva sees Trujillo’s true colors and this is the turning point for her. She now feels trapped under his dictatorship. She now realizes how little control she has over her own life and how much control Trujillo has. The quote also shows that although Minerva has left the isolation of her home, she is still not free. As long as Trujillo is in power, Minerva and the rest of the people of the Dominican Republic cannot be truly free because they are trapped under his reign.
o “Then one day you are out of here, free, only to discover you’ve locked yourself up and thrown away the key somewhere too deep inside your heart to fish it out” (231)
-This quote is important because it expresses what the emotional result of the sisters’ time in prison would be; it also parallels to how people were feeling under the rule of Trujillo. While Minerva and Maria Teresa were in jail, breakdowns occurred and people lost control over their emotions. The only other option over breaking down was to hold all their feelings in and never showing how they felt or thought. However, this quote is saying that by doing so, people would never be able to return to their original selves, having suffered so much and held in their emotions for so long. So even when people were finally free from the confines of prison, they still paid the price of losing their sense of self.
o “Everything is for sale here, everything but your freedom” (231)
- This quote is important because while they are in jail they are able to buy little items like bananas, ice, and cigarettes. In the jail they are able to buy what they want but they will still be trapped under the dictator Trujillo. They do not have any freedoms sitting there in the jail and it is not an option for them to buy their freedom. They have to fight for their freedom but they can not do anything sitting in jail. .
o “Sometimes I really feel it here, especially late at night, a current among us, like an invisible needle stitching us together into the glorious, free nation we are becoming” (239)
-This quote is important in the book because it expresses how the women in the jail are putting aside their differences and coming together to make their country a better place. This is said by Maria Theresa after her and the other women inmates have a meeting where they contribute their ideas. In this scene all of the girls including the ones who usually don't talk are participating in the discussion about love and friendship between the women. This is a key scene in the book because it shows that the Mirabal sisters do not care about what the other women have done to get into jail, or how poor or rich they are, they just care about who they have become. Lastly, this quote shows that they have also realized that no matter how bad they think their lives are, someone in the jail may have it worse. This epiphany that they are all one is due to the idea of freedom and the revolution.
o “The nightmare is over; we are free at last. But the thing that is making me tremble, that I do not want to say out loud – and I’ll say it only once and it’s done. Was it for this, the sacrifice of the butterflies?” (318)
-This quotes is important because it shows that although the main goal of changing the government was achieved, there were still many losses. The quote shows that freedom comes at a price and sacrifices have to be made in order to be free. In this case, the three Mirabal sisters sacrificed their lives to change their country. During this quote, Dede, the one surviving sister, is wondering if this is what her three sisters sacrificed their lives for. The answer is yes; the sisters sacrificed their lives for freedom and change. Lastly, the quote shows that the sacrifice of the butterflies was actually for something and that because of their sacrifice, a difference was made in the country and their goal of freedom and equality was achieved.
-This quote is important because it shows how sheltered the sisters were in the beginning and how ignorant they were in loving Trujillo. Now, Minerva sees Trujillo’s true colors and this is the turning point for her. She now feels trapped under his dictatorship. She now realizes how little control she has over her own life and how much control Trujillo has. The quote also shows that although Minerva has left the isolation of her home, she is still not free. As long as Trujillo is in power, Minerva and the rest of the people of the Dominican Republic cannot be truly free because they are trapped under his reign.
o “Then one day you are out of here, free, only to discover you’ve locked yourself up and thrown away the key somewhere too deep inside your heart to fish it out” (231)
-This quote is important because it expresses what the emotional result of the sisters’ time in prison would be; it also parallels to how people were feeling under the rule of Trujillo. While Minerva and Maria Teresa were in jail, breakdowns occurred and people lost control over their emotions. The only other option over breaking down was to hold all their feelings in and never showing how they felt or thought. However, this quote is saying that by doing so, people would never be able to return to their original selves, having suffered so much and held in their emotions for so long. So even when people were finally free from the confines of prison, they still paid the price of losing their sense of self.
o “Everything is for sale here, everything but your freedom” (231)
- This quote is important because while they are in jail they are able to buy little items like bananas, ice, and cigarettes. In the jail they are able to buy what they want but they will still be trapped under the dictator Trujillo. They do not have any freedoms sitting there in the jail and it is not an option for them to buy their freedom. They have to fight for their freedom but they can not do anything sitting in jail. .
o “Sometimes I really feel it here, especially late at night, a current among us, like an invisible needle stitching us together into the glorious, free nation we are becoming” (239)
-This quote is important in the book because it expresses how the women in the jail are putting aside their differences and coming together to make their country a better place. This is said by Maria Theresa after her and the other women inmates have a meeting where they contribute their ideas. In this scene all of the girls including the ones who usually don't talk are participating in the discussion about love and friendship between the women. This is a key scene in the book because it shows that the Mirabal sisters do not care about what the other women have done to get into jail, or how poor or rich they are, they just care about who they have become. Lastly, this quote shows that they have also realized that no matter how bad they think their lives are, someone in the jail may have it worse. This epiphany that they are all one is due to the idea of freedom and the revolution.
o “The nightmare is over; we are free at last. But the thing that is making me tremble, that I do not want to say out loud – and I’ll say it only once and it’s done. Was it for this, the sacrifice of the butterflies?” (318)
-This quotes is important because it shows that although the main goal of changing the government was achieved, there were still many losses. The quote shows that freedom comes at a price and sacrifices have to be made in order to be free. In this case, the three Mirabal sisters sacrificed their lives to change their country. During this quote, Dede, the one surviving sister, is wondering if this is what her three sisters sacrificed their lives for. The answer is yes; the sisters sacrificed their lives for freedom and change. Lastly, the quote shows that the sacrifice of the butterflies was actually for something and that because of their sacrifice, a difference was made in the country and their goal of freedom and equality was achieved.