Motercycle Diaries Character Growth
Drew Riverman
Period 4/5
Character Growth
“The enormity of our endeavor escaped us in those moments; all we could see was the dust on the road ahead and ourselves on the bike, devouring kilometers in our flight northward.”-pg.33 “The Motorcycle Diaries” is a story of a motorcycle trip made by 23-year-old medical student Che Guevera and 29-year-old biochemist Alberto Granado across the South American continent. Along the way, Che is exposed to extreme events of poverty, vulnerability, and overall suffering. Originally, Che’s only goal in life was to become a famous doctor who would help fight off the leper disease invading South America. During the course of the journey, however, Che transforms from an innocent, simple-minded young man to a knowledgeable traveler, and finally to a powerful revolutionary that has his sights set much, much higher. Here are the events that helped to trigger this transformation in Ernesto Che Guevera.
At the beginning of the journey, the only thing Che can focus on is the thought of becoming a doctor. “In the shade of the immense trees, we made plans to build a laboratory in this place, when we finished with our trip.” Keep in mind, that at this point in the journey, he wasn’t even close to crossing the border of Argentina, let alone his final destination. This is the simple-mindedness of young Che Guevera coming out. He is constantly thinking about the final result, and by doing so, he isn’t able to fully appreciate what is going on around him. At this time, Che is only thinking of himself. But as he continues on his way, a few distinct events help begin to transform Che into the revolutionary that he is today.
As Che progresses further to his destination, he begins to title himself as a leprosy doctor. As he stop sin towns along the way, he begins to provide medical assistance to those in need. At this time, it was mostly to practice for when he was to become famous later in life. But one town he stopped in began to change his
Period 4/5
Character Growth
“The enormity of our endeavor escaped us in those moments; all we could see was the dust on the road ahead and ourselves on the bike, devouring kilometers in our flight northward.”-pg.33 “The Motorcycle Diaries” is a story of a motorcycle trip made by 23-year-old medical student Che Guevera and 29-year-old biochemist Alberto Granado across the South American continent. Along the way, Che is exposed to extreme events of poverty, vulnerability, and overall suffering. Originally, Che’s only goal in life was to become a famous doctor who would help fight off the leper disease invading South America. During the course of the journey, however, Che transforms from an innocent, simple-minded young man to a knowledgeable traveler, and finally to a powerful revolutionary that has his sights set much, much higher. Here are the events that helped to trigger this transformation in Ernesto Che Guevera.
At the beginning of the journey, the only thing Che can focus on is the thought of becoming a doctor. “In the shade of the immense trees, we made plans to build a laboratory in this place, when we finished with our trip.” Keep in mind, that at this point in the journey, he wasn’t even close to crossing the border of Argentina, let alone his final destination. This is the simple-mindedness of young Che Guevera coming out. He is constantly thinking about the final result, and by doing so, he isn’t able to fully appreciate what is going on around him. At this time, Che is only thinking of himself. But as he continues on his way, a few distinct events help begin to transform Che into the revolutionary that he is today.
As Che progresses further to his destination, he begins to title himself as a leprosy doctor. As he stop sin towns along the way, he begins to provide medical assistance to those in need. At this time, it was mostly to practice for when he was to become famous later in life. But one town he stopped in began to change his