Although this is an era in which violence is frowned upon and war deplored, the soldier still remains an esteemed figure. Even more appealing to the imagination are the stories of tyrants and the courage of the clandestine guerrillas who oppose them. This almost mythical status was given to three sisters, nicknamed the Butterflies, who participated in the fight against the thirty-year dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. While heroic deeds take center stage, one can forget that freedom fighters also start out as children. The fact that they learn as children and grow as human beings, in a fallible and inconsistent way, is a fact remembered by the Dominican writer Julia Alvarez. In the novel The Time of Butterflies, Alvarez uses several turning points in Minerva Mirabal's life to define that character's growth as a human being rather than a hero. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Alvarez uses two turning points in Minerva's childhood to show her potential for the life that awaits her, while also highlighting her childhood innocence. At the beginning of the novel, Alvarez introduces Minerva to the reader with Minerva's excitement that her father plans to send her to school. The school becomes Minerva's first victory and the step towards her life as a revolutionary fighter. This, Minerva says, "[is] how I freed myself" (13). Alvarez uses Minerva's departure for school and her excitement about it to signify Minerva's early emotional divorce from her parents' need for approval and dependence on their value system, demonstrating with this scene how independent and strong Minerva is , especially compared to his sisters. At school, Minerva experiences the prelude to what could be the greatest turning point in her life. For all his independence, he still believes in the propaganda spread by Trujillo and his administration. Her good friend Sinita tells Minerva a story about Trujillo's wickedness as they whisper under the covers late at night like the schoolgirls they are. Minerva says to Sinita, "'Bad things?...Was Trujillo doing bad things?' It was as if I had just heard that Jesus had slapped a child” (17). Although Minerva does not fully accept the image of Trujillo as a tyrant, when she wakes up the next morning she discovers that she has had her first period; woman. When Trujillo seduces a classmate named Lina, she realizes his corruption, if not with the maturity of an adult, saying, "I felt sorry for him. Pobrecito! At night, he probably had nightmare after nightmare like I did, just thinking about what he had done (24). Alvarez illustrates Minerva's childlike faith in a world where guilt accompanies sin, and to an extent that would inspire pity in a rebel, while also demonstrating that she is currently too young for such responsibility. As Minerva grows, Alvarez uses Minerva's impulsiveness to allow her to realize her own strength. Minerva confronts Pap after discovering that he fathered illegitimate children, and "saw his shoulders sag... at that moment, he hit me harder than his slap: I was much stronger than Pap... He was the weakest of everyone" (89). Alvarez led Minerva to discover her power through her own actions to justify her portrayal of the character as drawing strength from herself and also giving it to those around her. Minerva's energy and belief in herself and her cause lead her to play a role in the underground and then in and through La.