The Dominican Republic in the 20th century can be summed up as brutal. The novel In The Time of Butterflies, written by Julia Alvarez, is set in the period from 1938 to 1994. During part of that period the dictator Rafael Trujillo ruled the island. Although this book is considered a historical novel, it tells the story of four Mirabal sisters: Dede, Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa. They called themselves “Las Mariposas”. The four Mirabal sisters exist in real life. In the book as well as in real life, the sisters are seen as a symbol of courage and strength for the people of the Dominican Republic. They were part of an underground movement to overthrow Trujillo. The Mirabal sisters are famous for being political dissidents of the Trujillo dictatorship. Trujillo, known as El Jefe, or the boss, led a terrible regime. although more precisely he had no ideology” (Tunzelmann 5). He embarrassed a lot of people with some of his rules. This is supported by German Ornes and what he wrote in his book Trujillo: Little Caesar of the Caribbean. He states that “Humiliation is practiced so thoroughly that when Trujillo appears in public every citizen must take off his hat, place it over his heart, and bow his head” (Ornes, 4). Trujillo enjoyed humiliating others for his own amusement. Some of his rules were crazy. For example, "Heavy fines imposed on those who smoke while traveling in a car... it is a punishable offense to wear khaki trousers and matching shirts Rivera 2 and it is against the law to wear your coat over... .. middle of paper ......nt.Ornes, German E. Trujillo: Little Caesar of the Caribbean. New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1958. Print."Rafael Trujillo." History.com "Survey Questions." Np, nd Web. 29 December 2013. "Mirabal Sisters of the Dominican Republic." 30 December 2013. McCallum, Shara. “Reclaiming Julia Alvarez: In the Time of Butterflies.” Ebscohost.com, nd Web.Soriano, Lorelie E. “In the Time of Butterflies” Prezi.com. Web. 01 January 2014. Prodduturu, "Images and symbolism in At the time of butterflies." Np, 13 November 2012. Web. 05 January. 2014.