In the Time of the Butterflies (50-100)

Summary: Part II of the story begins, and its back in the present time of 1994. Dede is being interviewed by the lady and is asked to explain when all the problems began to occur. Dede begins to speak of Lio Morales, whom she had met one random day. Dede mentions her commitment with volleyball, which then Minerva invites Lio and their distributor Mario to the game. Weeks later, Lio is still joining the girls for volleyball and while they are assigning positions Lio and Minerva disappear. Dede kicks the ball into the hedges, they get sacred and come out of their hiding place. Lio and Minerva begin to spend more time together, and then her mom finds out that Lio is a communist, and becomes upset. However, Minerva continues to see him on double dates with Dede and Jaimito. Lio begins to appear in the newspaper more often and soon tells Minerva that he will be going in to exile. Few days later, Lio is taken in for questioning and he decided to give them girlie magazines so that they will leave him alone. Lio decides to hide from them, and he hides in the Mirabal papa's car. Jaimito and Dede discovered him there while Jaimito was proposing to Dede, and Lio gives Dede a letter to give to Minerva, but once Dede reads it and it says to join him in exile, Dede burns the letter. She does not want to expose her sister to such danger.
         Ever since Lio has left, Minerva has been staying home, and rumors have begun that she might be a lesbian. One day as she goes through her father armoire she finds letters that Lio had sent her. Minerva did not know anything about those letters, and in them were proposals of her leaving the country with him, and there was also an invitation to one of Trujillo's parties. Minerva confronts her father on the letters and the invitation which explicitly says she should attend. Her father tells her she owes him respect, and as of the party he lets her go but with the company of Jaimito and Dede. They arrive late, but so does Trujillo, and while at the party Minerva is told that she must sit with Trujillo. Trujillo begins to flirt with Minerva and tell her he would like to conquer her, when Minerva says she is not for conquest, and when he begins to get obnoxious Minerva slaps him. Minerva decides to play Trujillo a roll of dice, she tells him if she wins she can go to law school, and if he wins he gets to sleep with her. Of course, Minerva knows how to play with dice and she wins.

Quote: "Trujillo is the law, Papa whispered, as we all did nowadays when we pronounced the dreaded name" (Alvarez 90).

Reaction: From my prior knowledge I had heard of Trujillo and he is known to be one of the worst dictators, anything he wanted he was to have, or anything he said was a must. Therefore, the Mirabal sisters had to have caution when around Trujillo because one he obviously did not like communists like Lio, and Minerva had been messing with Lio. Therefore, by the quote that Trujillo is the law they know anything they do Trujillo will take notice of, and if they do anything he does not abide by they will suffer the consequences.

In the Time of the Butterflies (3-50)

Summary: The novel opens up with Dede one of the four Mirabal sisters who sets up a meeting with a gringa dominicana. In the town that Dede lives there are no street signs or addresses because of the campesinos who are not able to read, therefore it would be pointless to have street names when they cannot make a use of them. When the gringa dominicana asks Dede how to get to her home, Dede gives her details on what should be surrounding her and where she should go. During the interview, Dede gives the woman a tour around her home, and gives and explanation to certain things in the home, like the pictures of all the sister. In which Dede realizes she misses her younger self more than her sisters. Dede tells the woman a brief summary of her life, starting from 1943 when papa her dad predicted she was going to be the millionaire of the family. She also says that she had to ask her parents for permission for everything, even to go away to school. Patria one of the sisters was the most religious she wanted to become a nun, mom approved but papa did not he always said it was a waste of a pretty girl. As Patria got her way to go to a conventional school, things begin to get complicated. Minerva is friends with a girl named Sinita, Sinita explains to Minerva that Trujillo a horrible dictator has killed her family. However, she has fallen in love with him and is expecting a baby from him. Also, she was to live in his house with the rest of Trujillo's girlfriends.
         Maria's part is told through a diary, she reflects upon her school life and how the girls used to take her diary and make fun of her. Minerva also says that she has been hanging around with the revolutionary Hilda, and she must bury anything that involves Hilda because she has been caught hanging in the convent school. Next Patria discusses her struggles with sex temptations. During this time that she is trying to listen for God's call she meets Pedrito and knows she must be with him. She soon moves with Pedrito and they have children.

Quote: "A chill goes through her, for she feels it in her bones, the future is now beginning. By the time it is over, it will be the past, and she doesn't want to be the only one left to tell their story" (Alvarez 10)

Reaction: This quote comes up as Dede finishes telling the gringa dominicana part of her life. At first I did not quite get what she meant, I thought that she was just ending her interview with the woman, but she actually meant more by that. Dede was referring to the comment her father had made one night when the family was under the anacahuita tree, and her father has made a smart comment. They did not realize how much that comment would later mean, once her sisters started dying.