There were few things that I noticed while reading the first four chapters of In the Time of the Butterflies. The first was the imagery. Alvarez has a clear picture of what she wants the reader to envision as the read the book. At first, I was a little bit confused about what there was so much imagery and why she was providing such a concise picture. After discussing the first few chapters in class, I feel more comfortable making the connection between the imagery and the symbolic meaning they have within the book, as well as how it represents the contradictions throughout the book. For example, the novel opens with the line “She is plucking her bird of paradise of its dead branches, leaning around the plant every time she hears a car.” Birds of paradise are beautiful plants, but she is removing something dead and ugly from it. This relates to what she is trying to do in life. Her sisters died many years ago, and she is trying to move on and lead a beautiful life, but is dragged back to this ugly aspect of her life on a regular basis. I feel like this opening can relate to all of the sisters on some level. Minerva feels like she is a trapped animal and likes to go against the norm. She feels as if the law is keeping her from having a beautiful life, and that the government needs to be removed for her and her sisters to do so. Maria Teresa believes she is living a beautiful life and has a superficial aspect on life because she is young and the baby of the family. She only wants to see the beauty in life. Patria believes she is leading the beautiful life, because of the connection she feels with God and religion. She feels like the ugly things can be plucked out of life with religion and the proper guidance and support.
This quote also shows the reader that there are going to be many contradictions in the book, which there are, especially among the sisters. It amazes me that all of the sisters have such a different opinion on things. They all seem to have a common characteristic though: they are all strong, opinionated, and independent. For example, Minerva and Patria seem to be opposites on almost everything. Minerva is a religious skeptical, rebel. Patria is very religious and faith based. Patria is the caregiver where as Maria Teresa needs to be cared for.
I can tell this book is going to be challenging to read, because there is so much to focus as you read. I do not think that I ever realized how much could be contained in a few words on a piece of paper. I surprised myself with how much I picked up on after rereading and discussing the opening line of the book. This novel seems intense and packed with symbolism and meaning.
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