![]() Her work has garnered wide recognition, including a Latina Leader Award in Literature from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, the Woman of the Year by Latina magazine, and inclusion in the New York Public Library’s program “The Hand of the Poet: Original Manuscripts by 100 Masters, from John Donne to Julia Alvarez.” IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES, with over one million copies in print, was selected by the National Endowment for the Arts for its national Big Read program, and in 2013 President Obama awarded Alvarez the National Medal of Arts in recognition of her extraordinary storytelling. She has taught and mentored writers in schools and communities across America and, until her retirement in 2016, was a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College. Julia Alvarez is a writer, whose novels include How The Garca Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies. She is the author of six novels, three books of nonfiction, three collections of poetry, and 11 books for children and young adults. “I really enjoyed reading about the Dominican Republic through this book because it was a fun way to learn about a really dry topic,” said junior Paul Kussner.Julia Alvarez left the Dominican Republic for the United States in 1960 at the age of 10. Though In the Time of the Butterflies is a work of historical fiction, it is a more stimulating, involved way of learning real events, and more interesting than any textbook or slide show. “If they endorse it, then that is enough for me.” “This book is endorsed by the surviving sister, Dedé, and other reliable Dominican figures, so we have to trust their judgment that what we are reading is the truth,” said librarian Robin Stayvas. If these are inaccurate, the whole story is. Their personas-Dedé nervous and cowardly, Patria motherly and caring, Minerva strong and dedicated, and Mate supportive and dependable -are what spark their personal revolutions. Many of the events and situations described in In the Time of the Butterflies are based on the sisters’ reactions and personalities, which makes the accuracy of their characters all the more important. “If you said the wrong thing, the police would be at your door the next morning.” You couldn’t even trust your own family,” said Romero. “If Trujillo wanted information, he got it. She had to learn much and attended an American school. Throughout the book, the characters often whisper and are extremely careful, even in their own homes, for fear that their plans to rebel against the government would be leaked by spies. Julia Alvarez spent her childhood in Dominican Republic, but had to move to Brooklyn, New York due to the political situation when he was ten years old. Her latest volume of poetry, The Woman I Kept to Myself, was published in 2004. “If you didn’t have the picture in your house, and somebody saw, you would be arrested because it would mean that you were not happy with Trujillo, that you were not by his side.” What is Julia Alvarez fun facts A versatile artist, Alvarez has created books for children, including The Secret Footprints (2000) and Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay (2001) and a novel for young adults, Before We Were Free (2002). ![]() “Yes,” said Scotch Plains resident Rafael Romero, 45, who lived in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo’s regime. ![]() Was Trujillo really as vindictive and vicious as he was described in the book? ![]() He implemented ridiculous laws such as requiring citizens to hang his photo in their houses with the caption, “In this house, Trujillo is the boss,” and namedĮvery street in the capital after himself. This book describes what life was like under Trujillo, who was controlling, abusive and corrupt. ![]() However, in her postscript, author Julia Alvarez states, “What you will find here are the Mirabal’s of my creation, made up, but I hope, true to the spirit of the real Mirabal’s.” The book concerns the Mirabal sisters, the revolutionaries who sought to overthrow Trujillo’s regime. In the Time of the Butterflies depicts Rafael Trujillo as a harsh, manipulative man comparable to the World War II dictators studied in U.S. “Learning history from fiction is not beneficial because it could be embellished and not true to the facts,” said junior Caitlin Williams. However, one of the major problems encountered in historical fiction is distinguishing fact from fantasy. Much of what we understand about history today comes from works of literature, movies and television shows. Who would care about the Titanic if it weren’t for the multimillion-dollar movie? Why learn about racial prejudice in the Deep South from a textbook when we can read about it in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird?įew knew about the cruel Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo before studying In the Time of the Butterflies, the subject of the schoolwide “Big Read.”’ ![]()
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