In the Time of the Butterflies- Chapters 6&7

Chapters 6 and 7 gives the reader more of an impression of Trujillo, and and an introduction to what the "Butterflies" are, and what they will do. In Chapter 6, Minerva and her family attend the Discovery Day dance. At the dance, Minerva begins to see how terrible Trujillo is. When she is invited to dance with him, Trujillo pushes her to the point that she feels the need to slap him. This was not a good move on Minerva's part, in the sense that this is the first time we see Minerva as an "enemy" of Trujillo. After Minerva slaps Trujillo her family quickly leaves-- a mistake on their part. " Our absense was noted, and of course, leaving any gathering before Trujillo is against the law"(pg. 102). To make matters worse, Minerva leaves behind her purse containing letters from Virgilio Morales, after she had just told Trujillo she did not know him. Following the Dance, Minerva's Papa is taken to the capital. When he is taken to the capital, it marks the first time the government is acting against Minerva and her family. One thing I found interesting was that at the capital when Minerva and her family were renting a hotel room the clerk suggested they get the "Weekly rate," suggesting they will stay longer than expected. Minerva writes, " The young man must know these cases are never quickly resolved"(pg. 106). Eventually, Minerva's father is released, although he is now a very ill man. A significant quote I found from this chapter would be, "We sit silently, listening to the rain on the thatched roof, a numb, damp, fatalistic feeling among us. Something has started none of us can stop." I think this quote signifies a shift in the book, to how unstoppable Trujillo can be, and how what he is doing really needs to be stopped, and that Minerva is going to do something about it.

Chapter 7:
Chapter 7, told in the perspective of Mate's Diary, displays how Mate has matured from the little girl she once was. At the beggining the entries are very similar to what we saw before-- Mate is concerned about boys and clothes, very juvenile things. At this point it may seem surprising that she will become one of the butterflies. At the begining of the chapter, Papa dies. In my opinion this isn't a huge shock to me.. after he was questioned by the government, he seemed so ill and that it was simply a matter of time to his death. After his death, Minerva's mother writes to El Jefe informing him of Papa's death. Because of this, essentially the Mirebal name is "cleared," Minerva is even given the chance to go to law school. As the chapter continues, Mate begins to write less and less in her diary, afterall she is 18 and has other things to worry about. Towards the middle of this chapter, Manolo and Minerva get married-- this is a big step for Minerva. A step which will in end bring her closer to fighting Trujillos regime. When Mate finds out about the "Secret Society" Minerva and Manolo are involved in- immeditatley she decides she must be a part of it. To be honest this really surprises me! She always seemed like the sweet and innocent little sister, but obviously this has changed. The chapter finishes with more talk of the society, and the extremes they are going to fight Trujillo. This would be a very hard lifestyle to live, but everyone involved is very passionate about what they are doing. To predict what is going to happen, well right now I think it is a bit up in the air. For example, I could see them getting caught by Trujillo and then obviously killed or tortured, or I could see them helping a lot of people and winning their fight against Trujillo( eventually not in the near future).