Analysis to Alvarez's "In the Time of the Butterflies"

     I believe Alvarez takes us beyond to the legend of these girls to teach us a lesson.  She wants us to get the insight that these females were normal woman of their time.  They got married and they had families, but they also had this connection for freedom and doing what was right.  I think what was great about this book is that she took us into each of the lives of each sister and then helped us place them together to see how their lives initially led to the revolution and their deaths.  She gets personal and mixes it in with the historical, more knowledge based parts of their time lines.
      Each sister has a personality and role in their story.  Patria the religious, nurturing, and motherly figure. Dede the more cautious, caring, and thinks things through character.  Minerva who is the strong willed, stubborn, and rebellious one.  Finally Mate who is the more romantic, girly, but sacrificing one.  I think Alvarez takes us deep into their lives as she can go to show us that they were human and to show that when their is a cause to stand up for woman can do it.  It is a sacrifice but you have to do what you want and what you believe in because no one else will.
     Besides sending the message to the readers about these four sisters and about being strong and standing for what you believe in I also think this book was written for Dede.  The book is dedicated to her and she is the only surviving sister.  Maybe Alvarez thought that Dede needed this story written down.  She felt that this story should be shared with more people because they were all amazing people, but to introduce another character into their story, Dede.  It seems that before this book was written it was all about the other three sisters but now Dede seems to have a role in there fate.  She was the one that was left behind to share the story and take care of their children they left behind.
    To be honest before reading this book I knew nothing about the Mirabal sisters.  I just find it fascinating how they risked family and their lives for this revolution.  It must have been a tough sacrifice for them.   I also think about Alvarez did she accomplish her goal of making this story to spread this story more?  I think she did.  I definantly wouldn't have known about them without being assigned to read the book.
     I also find that while most people when telling the story they focus a lot of Minerva.  I think it might be because she was the face she was the most involved physically, mentally, and spiritually.  She devoted her life to this revolution.  I find it interesting how Alvarez made her focus on the surviving sister.  I think by making the focus Dede it made more of an impact for her and for the people reading it. Its the perspective of the closest person to these three sisters their fourth sister Dede.   It is also showing that somebody had to take care of everyone that the sister's left behind.  They sacrificed everything for the revolution even Dede.  She lost three sisters and had to raise all their kids.  She was even left to deal with the press and ceremonies the rest of her life.  I think this is what Alvarez was trying to get across.  Dede was important even if she wasn't on the front lines with the sisters.