LESSON 6: SYMBOLS• Symbols are persons, places or things in a

narrative that have significance beyond a literal understanding.

• The craft of storytelling depends on symbols to present ideas and point toward new meanings.

• Most frequently, a specific object will be used to refer to—or symbolize—a more abstract concept.

• The repeated appearance of an object suggest a non-literal, or figurative, meaning attached to the object.

SYMBOLS (CON’T)• Symbols are often found in the book’s title,

at the beginning and end of the story, within a profound action, or in the name or personality of a character.

• The life of a novel is perpetuated by generations of readers interpreting and re-interpreting the main symbols.

By identifying and understanding symbols, readers can reveal new interpretations of the novel.

SYMBOLS IN BUTTERFLIES Many of the novel’s symbols become richer as the

story progresses. Minerva herself is a symbol. By coincidence, her name alludes to the goddess of

wisdom and she pursues her studies with vehemence uncommon among Dominican women of the 1950s.

When Minerva asks Trujillo if she can study law at the university, he replies, “I could see our national treasure then on a regular basis. Perhaps, I could conquer this jewel as El Conquistador conquered our island” (p. 99).

The irony in the dictator’s comment is that Minerva does become a national treasure and, in effect, her steadfast commitment to democracy overcomes his government’s corruption and abuse.

After their deaths, Minerva and her sisters became international symbols of freedom and women’s rights and are regarded as martyrs in the Dominican Republic.

DISCUSSION:

How does Minerva function as a symbol both as a character in this novel and in real life.

What are some other symbolic objects, characters, or events?

How is symbolic meaning different from literal value? How does the symbol inform our understanding of the

story or character?

ACTIVITY:

Write a three-paragraph essay discussing why butterflies are a fitting symbol for the Mirabal sisters.