In Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies, the author's exceptional stylistic strategies and structural techniques help deliver the thematic purpose. Throughout the entirety of the novel, each individual chapter embeds itself with literary devices to help readers connect with the Mirabel sisters. Alvarez's stylistic devices intertwine with one another to create a stronger connection to the novel's themes. Although the events in the novel chronologically progresses, the novel itself is actually a story of flashbacks. Parallelism between Alvarez's family backgrounds and the fictional Mirabel sisters with the underground movement heightens the novel's central plot.
             In the midst of chapter eight, the author implies several themes. As Alvarez indicates in her title, In the Time of the Butterflies, she is not just concerned with the Mirabel sisters but also with the era and their way of life. With several literary devices, Alvarez is able to reveal the culture, language, and traditions of the Dominican Republicans. Alvarez also focuses on the gender roles. Although men usually have the authority, the Mirabel sisters were different. Even Patria, who enjoys the more traditional occupations of wife and mother, becomes involved in politics by offering her farm as the retreat. In this chapter, Alvarez also implies Trujillo's ruthless regime domination during this time. Alvarez uses Trujillo's regime to depict his violent methods on citizens and reveal the impact of authoritarian governments. Change and transformation is also a theme in this section. After the bombing of the retreat, Patria's views have changed. "Coming down that mountain, I was a changed woman. I may have worn the same sweet face, but now I was carrying not just a child but the dead boy as well." (Alvarez, 162)
             To achieve Alvarez's purpose in chapter eight, she correlates several literary devices to express cert...