Analysis Of Ernesto Che Guevara's 'The Motorcycle Diaries'

The nature of discovery is highly impactful when one is confronted with multiple worlds; enabling a physical and spiritual connection to places, ideals and society, transforming one’s perception over-time. Australian poet Robert Gray‘s ‘The Meatworks’, confronts an individual’s beliefs to influence their standpoint on a desensitized society. ‘Journey, North Coast’ introduces the idea that re-awakened realities emancipate one’s connection of the natural world. and Director Daniel Sousa’s ‘Feral’ explores into how being taken into an unfamiliar reality leads to discovering one’s natural world. It is within these poems that uncover the highly impactful nature of discovery.

Can Discovery truly allows us to view life in a new and fresh way? Due to the complex and abstract nature of the concept of discovery, a true sense of discovery harbour's the ability to incite individuals in many differentiating ways as it can be provoked through their different past experiences. The concept of discovery has evidently evoked curiosity and inquisitiveness through the protagonists of both the indigenous play “Rainbows end” composed by Jane Harrison, and also through the novel “The fault in our stars” authored by John Green.

The process of discovery refers to the perception created upon experiencing the unfamiliar and redefining what is familiar. Discovery can be achieved through unexpected means or deliberate expeditionary, whether it be tangible or a fragment of our thoughts/imagination/emotions. Poems ‘The Tiger’ and ‘Young Girl At A Window’ by Rosemary Dobson and poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley thoroughly explore this concept via their ideology of human nature and its effect on discovery.

The term ‘discovery’ can be explored and interpreted in many different ways, the meaning is created by an individual’s perception, opinion and experiences of discovery. In the book Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch and the film, Titanic by James Cameron explores the concept of discovery as an idea that discoveries can be challenging as they allow for the transformation of an individual’s perspective, and they allow for an individual to discover their true identity and the identity of others around them.

Discoveries are everywhere in everyday life and they can impact the way we see the world, either positively or negatively. Because of this, it can be noted that “Not all discoveries are welcomed”. We can explore this philosophy through the examination of various techniques found within both Robert Gray’s ‘Journey, North Coast’ and ‘The Meatworks’, as well Leo Matsuda’s animated short film, ‘Inner workings’. These three texts, although all having visual processes of discovery, offer juxtaposing perspectives on the acceptance (or lack of) towards discoveries.

The process of self-discovery results in a greater change for individuals, which allows for them to realise that materialistic fulfilment is irrelevant in discovering true enlightenment. Both of the texts Away by Michael Gow and Into the Wild by Sean Penn investigate the ideas of self-discovery and materialism, the play ‘Away’ conveys how physical disconnections can lead to retrospective revelations, which offer individuals, the chance to change before it’s too late. Sean Penn’s film “Into the Wild” correspondingly explores the outcomes of escaping from reality. Through these texts we recognize that while experiencing new perspectives and reconsidering what was previously known, growth and change can be triggered within individuals and their surroundings.

Self-discoveries can affirm or challenge an individual’s previously held attitude through acceptance contributing to a change in perception of self and the world. This notion is explored in Michael Gow’s play “Away” where three fractured families go on transformative holiday as they experience discoveries about themselves and others. Self-discovery of a certain individual can stimulate modification for others’ perception and lead them to a more prominent discovery. Similarly, the poem: “the core” by Steve Taylor illustrates the perfect journey of self-discovery and its impact on individual’s perspective on self. These texts illustrate how discoveries challenge an individual’s previously held sense of self.

Discovery inhibits the ability to embrace new beginnings and accept a sense of change whether it is found or forced upon an individual. The places you travel and the people you meet can emotionally revolutionize a self-discovery through unexpected but anticipated terms evoked from curiosity. ‘Swallow The Air’ written by Tara June Winch and ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’ written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie break the inhibitions of vulnerability, as their ideas represented through cultural contexts and values, lead to an overall self-discovery.

Through an individual’s life experience and challenges , a process of discovery can be undertaken serving as a catalyst for renewed perceptions of themselves and others. Robert Grey explores this concept in “The Meatworks” where the persona is forced to confront uncomfortable truths about the materialistic nature of society. This notion is furthered in “Flames and Dangling Wire” in which Grey depicts the negative consequences of change and development, portraying a grim image of the self-destruction of humanity. Similarly “Big World”, a short story by Tim Winton portrays how the introduction of a new environment can catalyse significant change within an individual, inducing new understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

An individual’s discovery is transformative on their perceptions of the world. This is the case for the book ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ by Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara and Keats’s sonnet “On first looking into Chapman’s Homer”. In this book, we are taken on Che’s journey as he travels Latin America as a young man, before the fame. His diary entries lead the reader into his own eyes, as a typical young man on an adventure, not the revolutionary figure we all associate him with. Through his descriptive entries of the landscape he journeys across, we discover his deeper connection to the land of South America and the love he has for its people. As well as the beautiful things that South America has to

What he seems to be saying in this extraordinary novel is not only that the 1911 revolution has come to a dead end, but also (and more important) that, given man’s nature, Marxist solutions are facing the same blank wall. He proposes an existentialist way out, but his sense of courage is greater than his suggested submission to man’s apparent destiny. (Adams)

Historically, humanity has been obsessed with discovering the nature of reality. Every person eventually develops their own worldview based on their beliefs, morals, and experiences. At one point in their lives, many people undergo a radical change in perception that forces them to change this view, eventually adopting a new perception of reality. Such a transformation occurs once one starts to question the fundamental nature of one’s own existence and that of the world around them. This realization begins with the disillusionment with one’s environment, continues with the questioning of one’s life’s worth, and concludes with the acceptance of a new worldview.

Words without deeds are worthless! When asked about Che Guevara the first thing that is mentioned is the famous image of his face on t-shirts worn by left-leaning young adults, but did you know he was a prominent figure in the Cuban Revolution? Guevara was both a visionary and ethical leader because of his ability to lead the Cuban Revolution and because he cared about suffering. In this paper we will review how Guevara was a visionary leader through his communication, continuous engagement and willingness to put everything on the line. Second, we will examine how Guevara applied ethical principles though reflective thinking and intellectual empathy in helping him make the ethical decision to be a Revolutionary. Finally, I will reflect on how Guevara’s visionary and ethical leadership has influenced me to make changes to my leadership style. Guevara used his visionary and ethical leadership traits to start a revolution across Latin America.

Discoveries that are confronting can provoke us to change, due to the realisations and findings we may encounter. These mind-altering discoveries can transform our values, actions and future pathways. Both William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy ‘tempest’ exploring the connotations of, hierarchy, power, love and reconciliation, coinciding with Lenny Abrahamson’s’ adaptation of the true story ‘Room’ whereby an exploited teen and her son jack, plot the escape from their captor’s imprisonment, while learning there is a lot more to life then “room” and “old nick”, both texts discuss these themes. Central to each text is the dogma of Discoveries, encompassing their ability to cause the uncovering of new realisations about ourselves and the world around us, underlined by Discoveries that can emphasis our desire to rebel against our dictators. Both text analyse the confronting ways discovers can encourage self-transformation.

A confronting discovery can have the potential to change an individual's perspective of the world, themselves and others. William Shakespeare’s comedic play, The Tempest, published in 1611, explores a man who utilises his magic to conjure a storm and bring his enemies, including his brother, to his island in order to reconcile past differences. Additionally, The Catcher in the Rye (TCITR), a 1951 retrospective bildungsroman by J.D. Salinger, concerns a seventeen-year-old boy suffering the grief and hardship of his brother’s death. As demonstrated in these texts, the nature of rediscovering can be challenging for an individual, however, can lead to new understandings of themselves and others. Furthermore, both positive and negative outcomes are a product of a transformation. Confronting and transformative discoveries emerge from past experiences, in turn, creating a transformation of an individual.