In The Time of The Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies
In the Time of the Butterfies is the story of Mirabal sisters during the time of
the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The three revolutionary
Mirabal sisters were killed by Trujillo's National Guard in an alleged car
accident in 1960 because they were fighting against Trujillo's dictatorial
regime. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed El Jefe, ruled as a
dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his murder in 1961. His
formula of power was simple: execute anyone who was against him. He
ordered the execution of more than 50000 people during his rule. He used
the National Guard to force his way into the presidency in 1931. After he
became the president he organized a secret police force to help the National
Guard to watch for any potential threats to his ruling. In order to have both
organizations under control, he had the secret police watched on the Guard
and vice-versa. The Maribal sister's fight for democracy was considered
deviant by the dictator Trujillo and was punished by death because the
sisters at that time became the national symbol- "Mariposa (Butterfly)"- of
the civil resistance.

In the Dominican society ruled by dictator Trujillo, deviant was everything
that was perceived as threatening to Trujillo's political position: printing and
distributing political flyers, meetings of people at somebody's house, even
talking about his politic. Deviance is a "violation of norms rules expectation"
and conformity is obeying those rules, so it is the opposite. From conflict
theory perspective, the group in power defines what is considered deviant.
Law and the criminal justice system (the system of police, courts, and
prisons set up to deal with people accused of deviance) are used by the
leading group, as instruments of oppression in order to maintain its
position of power and privilege. The poor and oppressed pose a threat, they
can rebel as a group, and for that reason Trujillo seldom used the death
penalty as a form of punishment of their deviance. Trujillo considered
deviant any person that refused him, that was not submissive to him. As
example, he punished Maribel's father who was arrested and tortured until
he was gone insane, because Minerva refused Trujillo's indecent proposal.
Her father died in three weeks.
In a totalitarian society, rules are different than in a democratic society. So
what is “normal “ in a democracy: freedom of speech, liberty, is perceived
as deviant in a society ruled by a dictator, who was enforcing his rules in
order to protect himself and his position as a detested president.

So deviance is relative. This is a major point of the symbolic interactionist
perspective. For example, Trujillo wasn’t elected democratic, he fraud
elections, but because he had the power, this fact wasn't considered a
deviance. On the other hand, the ones demonstrating against Trujillo's
crimes were arrested, tortured and killed. Everything that was perceived as
a an attempt to change the dictators rules was considered deviance and it
was forcefully punished, death punishment was considered "normal" and
well-deserved by dictator Trujillo. For example, Virgilio Morales (LIO)was a
Law teacher at University who believed in justice. When University students
led by Lio , were participating to a demonstration against Trujillo, they were
called :"enemies of the state, communists and subversive. Lio had to go in
exile. Later he was assassinated by Trujillo's police. When
Patria and Minerva were boarding students at Inmaculada Concepcion,
Minerva meets Sinita Perozo, who told her how Trujillo destroyed her family
—killing her uncles, her father, and her brother. Sinita who became
Minerva's friend, gave her a butterfly pin as a friendship pin, as a symbol of
friendship. The symbolic interactionist perspective of sociology views society
as a product of everyday social interactions of individuals. Symbolic
interactionists also study how people use symbols to create meaning. In
studying deviance, these theorists look at how people in everyday situations
define deviance. Minerva loved her friend Sinita and this was the reason she
was wearing the butterfly pin all the times. While in school, Minerva and her
friends are chosen to give a recitation performance for Trujillo at the
centennial celebration, but it ends bad when Sinita walks toward Trujillo's
chair, taking aim at him. Sinita disappeared after that incident, nobody
heard about her anymore. Minerva loved her friend Sinita and this was the
reason she was wearing the butterfly pin all the times. Later the Butterfly/
Mariposa became her conspiracy name and a symbol of belonging to the
civil resistance group. When Mirabel was in prison a female guardian gave
her in secret food and a butterfly sign. That simple sign gave Mirabel hopes
because the butterfly sign was a message that she is not alone, and that
the civil resistance is watching over her. Another time when she was in
prison, she saw through the prison tiny window a flag with a butterfly design
flapping in the wind that was giving hope to her and to the other politic
prisoners. The Butterfly also symbolize the metamorphose of the Maribel and
her sisters, from the traditional role of Dominican women to the active
revolutionary role of a militant for democracy and liberty. General Trujillo
thought that killing Mariposa's syster, he will kill the symbol of the resistance
fight. The result was opposite. More and more Dominicans formed rebel
groups or joined existing ones. At the beginning the rebels were poor
peasants but later businessmen, professors, students, and even some
priests joined too. The brutal violence and crushing repression that Trujillo
continued to use against his own people began to backfire, however. He was
assassinated in 1961.
The Maribal sister's fight for democracy was considered deviant by the
dictator Trujillo and was punished by death because the sisters at that time
became the national symbol of the civil resistance and fight for democracy.
In the Dominican society ruled by dictator Trujillo, deviant was everything
that was perceived as threatening to Trujillo's political position the group in
power defines what is considered deviant. Law and the criminal justice were
used by the leading group, as instruments of oppression in order to
maintain its position of power and privilege.

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In the Time of the Butterflies

the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. The three revolutionary

Mirabal sisters were killed by Trujillo's National Guard in an alleged car

accident in 1960 because they were fighting against Trujillo's dictatorial

regime. Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed El Jefe, ruled as a

sisters at that time became the national symbol- "Mariposa (Butterfly)"- of

the civil resistance.

that was perceived as threatening to Trujillo's political position: printing and

distributing political flyers, meetings of people at somebody's house, even

talking about his politic. Deviance is a "violation of norms rules expectation"

and conformity is obeying those rules, so it is the opposite. From conflict

theory perspective, the group in power defines what is considered deviant.

leading group, as instruments of oppression in order to maintain its

penalty as a form of punishment of their deviance. Trujillo considered

he was gone insane, because Minerva refused Trujillo's indecent proposal.

Her father died in three weeks.

In a totalitarian society, rules are different than in a democratic society. So

what is “normal “ in a democracy: freedom of speech, liberty, is perceived

as deviant in a society ruled by a dictator, who was enforcing his rules in

order to protect himself and his position as a detested president.

perspective. For example, Trujillo wasn’t elected democratic, he fraud

deviance. On the other hand, the ones demonstrating against Trujillo's

a an attempt to change the dictators rules was considered deviance and it

was forcefully punished, death punishment was considered "normal" and

well-deserved by dictator Trujillo. For example, Virgilio Morales (LIO)was a

Law teacher at University who believed in justice. When University students

led by Lio , were participating to a demonstration against Trujillo, they were

called :"enemies of the state, communists and subversive. Lio had to go in

exile. Later he was assassinated by Trujillo's police. When

Patria and Minerva were boarding students at Inmaculada Concepcion,

Minerva meets Sinita Perozo, who told her how Trujillo destroyed her family

Minerva's friend, gave her a butterfly pin as a friendship pin, as a symbol of

friendship. The symbolic interactionist perspective of sociology views society

as a product of everyday social interactions of individuals. Symbolic

interactionists also study how people use symbols to create meaning. In

studying deviance, these theorists look at how people in everyday situations

Mariposa became her conspiracy name and a symbol of belonging to the

revolutionary role of a militant for democracy and liberty. General Trujillo

peasants but later businessmen, professors, students, and even some

In the Dominican society ruled by dictator Trujillo, deviant was everything

that was perceived as threatening to Trujillo's political position the group in

used by the leading group, as instruments of oppression in order to

maintain its position of power and privilege.

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