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Why and how grandparents affect a childs life
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My initial reading of the story “Butterflies” by Patricia Grace left me felling a little perplexed. I felt almost as though I was reading an excerpt from a book and was awaiting what was going to happen next. After reading it a few times I came to understand that the author was describing a day in the life of this family. I also believe that she touched on the subject about respect, which is probably very important to her. In the beginning of this story, both grandparents seem to be preparing their granddaughter to head off to school and tell her to “Listen to the teacher” and “Do what she say”. The grandfather also seems to be very proud of the young lady and even brags to the neighbor about her. I think the point of the story is more
In the Time of the Butterflies is a historical fiction novel by Julia Alvarez based on events that occurred during the rule of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. This book shows the hardships the Mirabal Sisters had to go through while being part of an underground effort to overthrow the dictatorship of Trujillo. It also shows that ultimately, it was their courage that brought upon their own death. Alvarez wants us to understand anyone and everyone has the potential to be courageous.
In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, takes place in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo’s control of the country. Dedé and Minerva are two extremely different Mirabal sisters, shown by how they respond to Trujillo taking over their country. Dedé and Minerva are only two of the sisters. There are four in total: Minerva, Dedé, Patria and María Teresa. The four sisters take turns throughout In the Time of the Butterflies telling their stories from the 1940s while living in the Dominican Republic. Manipulating her point of view and attitude, Julia Alvarez uses an impassioned style of writing to portray Minerva’s strong leadership and an explicit style of writing to portray Dedé’s willingness to compromise.
ImageText BoxImageOne of the biggest threats to the environment of Ontario is the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar). The species itself is native to Europe and Asia. How this affects us is by weakening trees across Ontario and North America. The first time the gypsy moth was found in Ontario was 1969. The gypsy moth can be found in southern Canada (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is known to weaken trees and the caterpillar form live in trees and during most outbreaks its caterpillar feces would fall from the trees to the ground or even on top of humans. The average Gypsy Caterpillar can grow 5-6 centimeters long. With five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of bright red dots on their back. The female moth are white and can fly on the other hand, the male moth are brown and can also fly. The female have a 5cm wing span but male have a 2.5cm wing span. The gypsy moth usually lives in open forests and other forests and take up at least 20% of the space. The Gypsy moth are about 4cm long, tan coloured and can be located on tree trunks, furniture, and buildings. (OFAH Invading Species Awareness Program, 2012)
Despite the various acclamations In the Time of the Butterflies has received, the novel actually received a bit of criticism in the literary realm due to controversial subject matter. One school in Port Washington even decided to ban Julia Alvarez’s novel. A student from this district commented on the school board’s decision stating “The Port Washington school district has a national reputation for diversity and open-mindedness; we should keep it that way. So we were surprised and distressed when we first heard about the school board 's decision to ban Julia Alvarez 's novel ' 'In the Time of the Butterflies ' ' because it included a
The grandson in this story seems to be very reflective of his parents, who treat the grandfather poorly, hence he is seen making a dish for his parents. The themes of these stories can arguably be considered somewhat similar to the ways they are used; In “Abuelito Who”, the theme is to cherish things while they last because you will never know when they will be gone. This theme shows when it becomes quite clear that something has happened to the speaker’s grandfather and he suddenly “doesn’t live here anymore”. In “The Old Grandfather”, the theme is to respect your elders, which is shown when the grandson is seen making a wooden dish for his parents because of how he witnessed them treating his grandfather. Both themes aren’t exactly the same, but they are both used in the case of grandparents.
In any culture women are often confined by expectations of womanhood. In both stories the female characters challenge those expectations. The main characters of In the Time of the Butterflies are all females who stand up for what they believe in and don’t give up. “’What if I can’t’ Dede’s voice shook. ‘Jaimito thinks
Helena Maria Veramontes writes her short story “The Moths” from the first person point of view, placing her fourteen year old protagonist female character as a guide through the process of spiritual re-birth. The girl begins the story with a description of the debt she owes her Abuelita—the only adult who has treated her with kindness and respect. She describes her Apa (Father) and Ama (Mother), along with two sisters as if they live in the same household, yet are born from two different worlds. Her father is abusive, her mother chooses to stay in the background and her sisters evoke a kind of femininity that she does not possess. The girl is angry at her masculine differences and strikes out at her sisters physically. Apa tries to make his daughter conform to his strict religious beliefs, which she refuses to do and her defiance evokes abuse. The girl’s Abuelita is dying and she immerses herself in caring for her, partly to repay a debt and partly out of the deep love she has for her. As her grandmother lay dying, she begins the process of letting go. The moth helps to portray a sense of spirituality, re-birth and becomes, finally, an incarnation of the grandmother. The theme of the story is spiritual growth is born from human suffering.
Believing that there are things worth risking your life for is a quality that is well respected.
David Henry Hwang's M Butterfly. "I've played out the events of my life night after night, always searching for a new ending to my story, one where I will leave this cell. and return forever to my butterfly's arms." Hwang 3.3.1-4. With these.
Alvarez, Julia. In The Time of the Butterflies. New York, NY: Penguin, 1994. Print Hardback. 31 Oct 2013 - 8 Dec 2013.
The grandmother shows throughout the short story that she is concerned for herself only. From the beginning, when she tries to make the family go up to Tennessee because she wanted to, until the end when she only stands up for herself against The Misfit. The grandmother, because she considered herself to be a lady, and few others to be good, saw herself above those around her. She saw something special in herself, which was why she insisted to The Misfit that, “You wouldn’t shoot a lady” (14). Even as her son is taken back into the woods to be shot, she remains still. This combined with the authority that she feels comes with her age and position in the family vault her importance far above that of her family that she is with. Her self-elevation, in turn, affects her morals, as she sees the flaws in others but not in herself, and views it as selfish when others get what they want. The grandmother’s narrow-minded egocentric behavior that she exhibits, along with he...
life under a lie like that." From this quote we can see that the kids,
Directly at the beginning of the story the grandmother shows her selfish ways. She is trying to convince her son Baily, whom she lives with, to vacation where she wants, Tennessee, instead of Florida. O’Connor stated “The grandmother didn’t want to go to Florida, she wanted to visit some of her connections in east Tennessee and she was seizing every at every chance to change Baily’s mind” (202). The grandmother further shows her selfishness when she tells the family a story about a house she had once visited in the neighborhood. She knew Baily would not want to waste time stopping at an old house so she makes up a story about the house having a secret panel which contains all of the family’s silver, causing the children to begin nagging Baily until he finally gives in and takes them to the house We can also see her being selfish after the family runs into The Misfit. She continuously begs for her life while never mentioning the lives of her children or grandchildren.
Geraldine Brooks the author of People of the Book conveys the story of Sarajevo Haggadah. In the chapter “An Insect’s Wings,” Lola, a young Jewish girl, experiences running away from Nazis and coming back to Sarajevo. In this chapter, it also shares some details of how the famed Sarajevo Haggadah was saved from WWII. This chapter shares the journey of Lola and all the unpleasant events she went through.
Child and Insect is a lovely poem about the disappointment in life, which a little boy is just running into and starting to realize. Robert Druce has portrayed a simple but very appealing image of a very humane situation in a child’s life. The writer has delivered his massage to the readers trough a game of the little boy and the grasshopper. Child and Insect is a poem filled with great a variety of literary terms such as alliteration, symbolism, onomatopoeia, repetition, comparison, contrast, personification and run on lines which work all together in order to reveal three different stages in the poem characterized by a drastic change in the mood and the tone of the writing.