Haile Selassie, a late Ethiopian regent, once said: “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who might have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; who allowed evil to triumph." Selassie stated this in a speech in Addis Ababa in 1963 to point to the “inaction” of the people when the Organization of African Unity was replaced by the more corrupt African Union. This is the paradox of In In The Time of The Butterflies, where Dede meets a revolutionary named Lio. Wanting to show off his knowledge, Dedé decides to start reading newspapers. “Began reading the newspaper with keen interest….key names….evaluated and reflected…” (75,Alvarez) Dede now has a goal and a reason to become more informed. Dede slowly matures from a shy girl to a woman who is now shy