In the Time of the Butterflies has a lot of complex characters who have negatives and positives

two examples of those are Jaimito and Papa. During Jaimito's younger years, he was interrogated
about Leo and he didn't give out any information "...Jaimito had stuck his neck out for a man
whose politics he considered foolhardy" (80). This is a clear showing of him doing something
brave and good but the overall characterization of him is negative. Later on in the story, he does
things to hurt Dedé, saying she can't do anything with the revolution or he will leave her. He also
almost takes the children away from her, these are all clear negatives but there are things to his
character that show the other side of him. Also, the fact that he is living under this dictatorship
must spark a lot of fear and he doesn't get involved but many people don't get involved even if
bad things are being done out of fear. He is a clear complex character that can't be painted in
black and white. Another character that has clear signs of being good and bad is Papa. When
Papa is struggling and very sick we see the sister's mother's love of him "She smiles at him, her
eyes glistening with tears.... as if she were pulling him from an edge she lost him years
back"(113). All of the showing of other characters' love of him helps the reader feel some
kindness toward him and paints him in a more positive light. Additionally, the readers see him
struggle and show his unjust death, this helps create more sympathy towards the character. On
the other hand, he does many negative things, engaging in machismo culture, cheating on his
wife, and not treating his second family well. All of this shows the true complexities of life, there
is no completely 100% bad person just like there is no completely 100% good person and it is
important to look at things from new perspectives. The lesson is that life is full of grey areas, this
also helps create better characters and story.