Should The Motorcycle Diaries: An Individual's Journey?

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

Human beings are one of the most sentient and intelligent beings of the known universe. Each person is known to present a zeal of individuality, each specialising in a unique set of traits while learning from them creating new ideas. Moreover, Veronica Roth written a novel called Divergent. The novel takes place in a world composed of a literal definition of identity where each person is divided into “factions”, defining how they think and behave. All things considered, the story identifies many components of self-identity and symbolises it into a new take to how the human perceives individuality. The story is followed by many characters, Four, a young man empowered by an ugly past, and Tris, a teen with a gift she is forced to partake. In

Che Guevara is one of the most well-known Latin American revolutionaries in history. Che helped Fidel Castro overthrow the government in Cuba because he believed if he were in power he could build a successful Marxist society . However before joining Castro Che was a physician. During Che’s journey across South America he came across the indigenous population of the countries he went through. Through his encounters with them Che got the idea that they were an unsophisticated, population. An example of Che experiencing this is when he is making water by melting ice and he noticed that during the “spectacle” of drinking his “strange brew…not a

When he first greeted the people of the remote village in Honduras the villagers did not know how to respond to the young pale man from the United States. Life was not easy here, but it was all that the villagers knew. What they didn’t know was why this man was here. The village’s economy relied on the production of crops. Some seasons treated the villagers well but in few recent years they had been struggling to produce enough crops to support their people. This is where this 25 year old stocky man was supposed to help. The villagers did not want him here and they did not trust a lot of Americans, but he was their only hope.

Guevara’s long history of research, sources and varying experiences from which he established his very complex and intelligent views was an important asset to the movement. Che’s motorcycle trips were the experiences which shaped his worldview for the better. Passing through places like Chile, where “at Che’s ‘Notas de viaje show was what first really opened Ernesto’s eyes to the depth of the social problems afflicting America” [3]. One of Guevara’s most notable trips was the giant Chuquicamata copper mine in the north of Chile. This visit where they experienced drastic poverty and inhumanly conditions was when Che first became questioning whether or not he agreed with communism. The trips on motorcycles helped Guevara develop a strong understanding of the social issues apparent at the time and helped fuel his passion for justice. “Because of the circumstances in which I travelled, I came into close contact with poverty, hunger, and disease; with the inability to treat a child because of a lack of money; with the stupefaction provoked by continual hunger and punishment” [4]. Guevara’s extensive research into Marxism, humanism and communism and also the welfare of people, all helped mould his belief system. “Che emphasized the interest of these writing, which deal with the problems of the liberation of man as a social being, with communism as the solution to

In Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara realises that the living conditions for most of the South American continent are unsatisfactory and appall him at sight, as he recognises the repression and persecution

As a child the young Guevara “developed a persistent cough and later serious allergic asthma” (“CUBA: Castro’s Brain”) prompting his family of seven to “move to the hill town of Alta Gracia” (“CUBA: Castro’s Brain”) a city 250 miles northwest of Rosario. During these youthful years, “his father … started [Ernesto] rambling through some of the 3,000 books, mostly leftist sociology and history, that crammed the family bookshelves” (“CUBA: Castro’s Brain”) among which were “the works of Chile’s Communist Poet Pablo Neruda” (“CUBA: Castro’s Brain”) which compelled the young boy greatly to further explore leftist ideologies. Neruda’s poetry, which had a great influence on the young boy by presenting the great struggles of the Latin American peoples, was characterized by its stark depiction of human suffering as seen in his poem “United Fruit Co.:” “… in the seaports’ / sugary abysses, / Indians collapsed, buried / in the morning mist: / a body rolls down, a nameless / thing, a fallen number, / a bunch of lifeless fruit / dumped in the rubbish heap” (Neruda 45). Along with the political writings of Karl Marx, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vladimir Lenin – all socialist thinkers and leaders in their own like – the young Guevara entered politics at the age of 14 “as a member of a nationalistic youth group specializing in

As a young man Ernesto also developed a thirst for adventure, which increasingly fuelled by a desire to understand the social conditions of the poor of Latin America. In 1950 he had his first real encounter with poor social conditions was in Peru—Chile, during his second trip through Latin America when he was studying to become a doctor, he found peasants and mine workers to be extremely poor and deprived. Also, it was during this trip where formed his stance in which he believed that the destiny of Latin America was unified and that the national borders served to divide people in their struggles for a more justified social order.

"Its the things you fight for and struggle with before earning that have the greatest worth” (Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride, 302). Sometimes the journey of life will get hard and goals that have been set with seem to move further and further away, but in the end everything will work out for the better and the very journey that once was rough and bumpy is the very journey that will make everything worth it. Auden an 18 year old girl living through her last summer before going off to college is now learning of all the things she has missed out on throughout her childhood and life and now, with the help of others, she is learning that its not to late to change and it never is. Auden's journey relates to the journey of famous author J.K

With the assassination of the Liberal Party presidential candidate Gaitan, who wanted to make Colombia not only safe but to help the poor as well, it started a chain of events. Creating 10 years of war and violence ‘La Violencia’ but forced the government to take action against the protests and the guerilla (Rinehart, 78). Many of the country’s poor turned to violence to make their voices heard to the government that was only thinking of themselves and

Once the inward desire of individuality and self-discovery and the outward actions take place, the need for individuality has taken hold of the individual. The universality of these situations is very apparent,because “even the narrator encourages us to believe [the situations

My life is like a massive tangle of webs all leading to the bug caught in the middle, me! I have believed for quite some time that my identity was a part of who I was, an unchangeable, connected, jumbled mass of my ideals and preferences. However, after speculation on this topic, and a deep and intimate search within my mind and soul, I have realized it is much, much more. I have searched through my community, my personal life, and the world around me to find answers to this deep and burning question. Furthermore, I have consulted the knowledge of books like The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian to continue my search. Through this process, I have begun to see that maybe I am quite a lot like this character Junior, who found what life meant for him in terms of his identity. For I have begun to understand the full complexities of my actions and my world that have shaped the woman I am today.

It’s not always that drastic events in life that define who you are it’s the everyday interaction with the world that creates personality. Everyday interaction Can be Just as meaningful to your outlook as important events. It was the partially cloudy morning of Sunday the 21’st, I was just waking up to the sound of my brother Jason getting excited over a game from the room next to mine on his computer, The sight of my small plain room with a few game related posters tacked to the wall and the smell of toasted bagels. Which made me think to myself “Well that's interesting”. As I raised my head off of my pillow the thought of my homework due in the next few days crossed my mind, At the time I was still half asleep and I thought it was wise to

Discoveries can be confronting and provocative, leading an individual to question and challenge societies beliefs about human nature and the world. William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, provocatively explores the notion that human nature is flawed and that humanity is not dependent on social class or structure. Furthermore, the importance of loving relationships in redefining of one’s place in the world, regardless of social expectations is highlighted. Similarly, Michael Please’s short film The Eagleman Stag, conveys how self-acceptance and self-discovery is vital as time is fleeting. Please further highlights that the failure to commit to positive relationships can result in regret or remorse. Thus, self-discovery in all its challenge and difficulty

Consider the character of Carl in the film “Yes Man”. Carl joins a unique group who are committed in saying the word ‘yes’ to every situation. This, in essence, forms his new personality and by this he forms a greater sense of exploration. “The world's a playground. You know that when you are a kid, but somewhere along the way everyone forgets it”. In addition to this, by gaining a sense of individuality we venture away from the notions of normality and apprehend a further extravagant social experience. This is manifested in the novel ‘Bombshells’, as Zoe indicates a greater sense of individuality then most characters in the novel, and by her own venturing of various experiences, she has developed a greater exploration of life. “I’m really très chère; I’m a dame with charisma to spare”. So, in conclusion, we define who we are by our own sense of individuality and exploration.