Response Journal of "The Butterfly Revolution"
...he reader to imagine and visualize a character, if the character is believable. There are many conflicts throughout the novel. One of the major conflicts is within Winston. In the beginning of the revolution, Win cannot decide whether he wants to participate or not. Eventually, he decides to kill Frank to end the revolution, “It is time we stopped this whole game.” (p. 99). The conflict is resolved by the police, who arrest all the officers. Second, there is a conflict between Frank Reilly, the leader of the revolution, and Don Egriss. Frank wants everyone to be part of the revolution, but Don is the only one who refuses to participate. The conflict is resolved when Don is killed by the girls of Low Pines. Lastly, the main conflict is between the boys and the counsellors. The counsellors treat all the older boys as if they are ten years old, which leads the boys to take action. The boys have a revolution, where they arrest all the officers and the counsellors. Again, this conflict is resolved by the police, after they end the revolution. The conflicts add more suspense to the novel, which keeps the reader’s attention. The Butterfly Revolution has many themes about our society and human nature. One of the themes of the novel is to believe in yourself and believe that you can know everything, “I feel that there is nothing that people cannot know, and therefore there is nothing that I cannot know.” (p. 19). Another theme discussed in the novel is that running away from your problems will no t solve anything. Win realizes that the revolution is not fun and games anymore, “it is time we stopped this whole game.” (p. 99). However, Win keeps getting involved in the activities during the revolution. The main theme of the novel is to stand up for what you believe in. Most of the boys start to realize that the revolution out of control and it must end, but nobody takes action except Don Egriss, “ After some quiet, Don Egriss sort of sighed himself to his feet and said ‘you better count me out.’” (p. 66). The themes about life are important for the intended audience. William Butler has a very unique and an effective writing style. He uses many literary devices to enhance his writing. For instance, he uses imagery to describe a situation, “It was a gloomy day.” (p. 101). By using visual imagery, the author describes the day and indirectly compares it to the situation at the camp, which makes it very effective. He also uses simile to describe something by comparing it to something else, such as “I had to back out of river as carefully as I could and straight back to Ms. Newman, like she was a garage and I was a car.” (p.39). Secondly, William Butler uses foreshadowing to give the reader a hint of the upcoming events, for example, “I know the revolution is bad…and I know I am a little scared about everything. But maybe because I am a lieutenant…or maybe it’s...