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88 pages 2 hours read

Che Guevara

The Motorcycle Diaries

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1992

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After Reading

Discussion/Analysis Prompt

Throughout the text, Guevara references the effect of Spanish colonization on the Latin American region. How does Guevara view colonization? Are his views of colonization as it relates to exploitation the same as yours? If so, how?

Teaching Suggestion: This Discussion/Analysis Prompt invites students to connect their response from the Personal Connection Prompt to Guevara’s account. Guevara’s views of colonization are predominantly negative, particularly as they relate to the establishment of systems that oppress Indigenous peoples in Latin America. These systems of oppression are intrinsically linked to The Exploitation of the Working Classes by dictatorial, and often pro-Western, political regimes. Guevara stresses the importance of Resistance to an Unjust Order and Oppression of Indigenous Peoples, acknowledging that communities should adopt ideologies related to Pan-Americanism and pro-proletarianism in order to create a more just and equitable society.

Activities

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

Debate and Argumentative Essay: “Nationalization versus Privatization of the Chilean Mines”

In this activity, students will formulate and participate in a debate with a partner over the nationalization of Chilean mines.

In Chapters 18-22, Guevara recounts some objective information about the mines in Chile and the upcoming presidential election (in which one of the major issues is whether to nationalize the mines or allow them to remain in foreign hands). He also presents some subjective impressions based on his travels and his interactions with the mine staff and miners. With a partner, imagine that you are debating the issue of nationalizing the mines versus allowing US companies to keep control of them. Each of you should take one of the opposing sides of the debate. After doing some research about the actual historical situation under discussion, write a 2-3-page editorial arguing for your position. Then, switch essays with your partner. Each of you should write a brief (1-2 paragraph) response to the other’s position. Then exchange responses. To complete the assignment, each of you should write a 1-paragraph reflection stating who you think made the stronger case, and why. Consider how the themes of Pan-Americanism, The Exploitation of the Working Classes, and Resistance to an Unjust Order and Oppression of Indigenous Peoples can be incorporated into your and/or your partner’s arguments.

Teaching Suggestion: This Activity invites students to engage in both an oral as well as written form of argumentation regarding the issue of privatization versus nationalization. Students should understand that their positions for the Activity do not necessarily need to match their own personal ideas, as it is often more beneficial to engage in argumentation that is contrary to one’s belief system.

Differentiation Suggestion: For a more creative exercise, the main Activity above may be substituted for the following prompt: Alberto Granado is at once ever-present and silent since the text is Guevara’s diary and not Granado’s. Choose a chapter of The Motorcycle Diaries and rewrite it, recounting events from Granado’s perspective with Guevara in the supporting role. Feel free to add details, change emphases, or omit certain information as you see fit.

Essay Questions

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. At the beginning of The Motorcycle Diaries, Guevara is impressed by the differences between Argentina and Chile, and, by the end of the book, he proclaims the concept of Pan-Americanism.

  • What events and experiences do you think helped Guevara formulate his concept? (topic sentence)
  • Give specific examples, and support each with citations from the text.
  • What similarities do you think he sees among Latin American countries?

2. On a few occasions, Guevara and Granado paint a rosy picture of Argentina as a land where life is good and the gap between rich and poor is not as wide.

  • Why do they choose to use such positive language to speak about their country of origin? (topic sentence)
  • Identify 2-3 examples of the text analyzing Guevara and Granado’s rhetorical aim and whether they are successful.
  • To what extent do you think Guevara and Granado believe their own portrayals, particularly in the countries’ views of The Exploitation of the Working Classes?

3. In The Motorcycle Diaries, Guevara and Granado encounter people belonging to a number of ethnic groups, including people who are Indigenous, Black, and from a diverse racial background, as well as others.

  • Characterize Guevara’s attitudes toward these groups. Does he treat them as equals or does he exhibit favoritism? (topic sentence)
  • Identify 2-3 examples of his attitudes to these groups in the text.
  • How do his observations of the variety of ethnic groups speak to the larger theme of Resistance to an Unjust Order and Oppression of Indigenous Peoples?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. At the beginning of The Motorcycle Diaries, Guevara speaks little about politics or revolution; however, by the end of his account, he declares himself ready to die for the victory of the proletariat. Drawing on his account of his journey, give some examples of experiences and observations that might have contributed to Guevara’s newfound convictions and explain how they might have had such an effect.

2. As a medical student with a background in leprology, Guevara visits several colonies for people with leprosy throughout his journey. He also has asthma and treats at least one patient with the same chronic disease. Analyze the role of disease and illness in The Motorcycle Diaries. What does Guevara learn from observing people in Latin America who are sick? What effects does Guevara’s own health condition have on his experiences and his way of thinking about the world? How do his observations link with his politics and belief system?

3. As two men in mid-20th century Latin America, both Guevara and Granado are able to travel with ease throughout the region. Consider the way in which gender functions within the account. How would this story change if the two travelers were women, cis or trans? Consider how this would change the dynamics, particularly in this place and time in history. In which ways does the characters’ gender inform their decisions as well as observations during their travels?

Cumulative Exam Questions

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Where do Guevara and Granado find lodging in the first few destinations after departing their home?

A) In inexpensive but clean motels

B) At roadside camps in their individual tents

C) With friends and well-wishers

D) In government-established hostels

2. On their journey, Guevara notes that “The bike exhaled with boredom along the long accident-free road and we exhaled with fatigue” (Chapter 5). Which of the following literary terms does Guevara use in this quote?

A) Palindrome

B) Parable

C) Paradox

D) Personification

3. What does Guevara’s letter to his mother reveal about him?

A) He does not plan to return home at the end of his journey.

B) He thinks fondly of his home and his parents.

C) His recent political awakenings inspired him to leave his village.

D) He has fled home due to domestic conflicts.

4. Which of the following identifies the correct chronology of Guevara and Granado’s travels, from first to last?

A) Argentina, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela

B) Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia

C) Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia

D) Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia

5. Which of the following obstacles happen repeatedly throughout the journey?

A) The temptation of married women

B) The desire to stop drinking alcohol

C) The breakdown of the motorcycle

D) The lack of hospitality from foreigners

6. While traveling through Chile, Guevara notes that “[t]here was a pause of one day while we waited for permission from the mine’s authorities to visit and meanwhile, we received an appropriate send-off from the enthusiastic Bacchanalian sailors” (Chapter 18). Which of the following literary terms does Guevara use in this description?

A) Allegory

B) Alliteration

C) Allusion

D) Anaphora

7. Which of the following statements is true about Guevara and Granado’s journey?

A) The cost of items, such as food, gradually increased as they traveled north.

B) The visas were more difficult to obtain as they traveled west.

C) The pair became known as a “wandering aristocracy” the further they traveled.

D) The food became more delicious as they traveled south.

8. In describing Easter Island, Guevara writes, “This marvelous place where the weather is perfect, the women are perfect, the food perfect, the work perfect (in its beatific nonexistence)” (Chapter 16). Which of the following literary terms does Guevara use in this quote?

A) Epigraph

B) Exposition

C) Elegy

D) Epistrophe

9. Based on the text, which of the following hypothetical actions would Guevara most likely support?

A) A new law reducing the minimum wage of workers

B) A strike by workers regarding unfair labor conditions

C) A creation of a committee to deregulate companies

D) A referendum on the limiting of communist party political representation

10. Which of the following phrases best describe how the native Peruvians perceive Guevara and Granado’s stories of Argentina?

A) With pity

B) With confusion

C) With awe

D) With disgust

11. How do Chapters 28-30, which documents Guevara’s time spent in the Peruvian mountain city of Cuzco, contribute to the meaning of The Motorcycle Diaries?

A) They sketch out a fledgling manifesto of Guevara’s communist ideals.

B) They provide a thorough overview of the Incan empire’s history in South America.

C) They investigate the linguistical variants among the Quechan.

D) They explain the historical development of a South American empire.

12. Which event in Peru horrifies Guevara and opens his eyes to human suffering?

A) His visit to the torture chambers at the Temple of the Sun

B) His tour of the Huambo colony for people with leprosy

C) The playing of the Spanish Republican anthem during a Catholic ceremony

D) Learning about Indigenous history from the curator of the archaeological museum

13. Which activities do Guevara and Granado continually participate in throughout the narrative?

A) Sports

B) Art

C) Photography

D) Fishing

14. Which of the following statements would Guevara most likely agree with?

A) Privatization is an important process for developing countries to undergo.

B) Nationalization is essential to ensuring proper labor conditions.

C) The USSR is an evil power that must be resisted in the world.

D) The free market is crucial to the development of an egalitarian future.

15. Which of the following phrases best describes the tone of the end of Guevara’s account?

A) Politically charged

B) Apathetically indecisive

C) Unabashedly racist

D) Uncharacteristically capitalist

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. In which style is the text written? How does the author’s experience affect the content of the work?

2. What is the setting of the account? How does the setting contrast with the date of publication?

Exam Answer Key

Multiple Choice

1. C (Chapters 1-4)

2. D (Chapter 5)

3. B (Various chapters)

4. A (Various chapters)

5. C (Various chapters)

6. C (Chapter 18)

7. A (Chapter 16)

8. D (Chapter 16)

9. B (Various chapters)

10. C (Chapter 24)

11. D (Chapters 28-30)

12. B (Various chapters)

13. A (Various chapters)

14. B (Various chapters)

15. A (Chapter 45)

Long Answer

1. This narrative is a memoir, written in the first-person point of view. It relates the account of Guevara’s journeys throughout South America chronologically, with several textual detours in which he reflects on his writing or documents a letter written home to his mother. The work is a frank account of his coming-of-age and political awakening, and was collected and published decades after his death. (All chapters)

2. Guevara’s account was compiled over the nine-month journey around Latin America in 1952; however, the account was published posthumously in 1993. This gives the audience a new perspective about Guevara’s life as they are able to apply the knowledge of his revolutionary undertakings to the records of his manuscript. (All chapters)

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By Che Guevara