The Motorcycle Diaries
On Thursday in the ENG101 class, we sat in a circle and read the first segment of Che Guevara's The Motorcycle Diaries . The brief prologue of sorts is called "Entendamonos," translated in this edition as "So we understand each other." No one knew much about Che Guevara, or at least they weren't willing to say if they did. Then, one student, R, gave a whole spiel about his having participated in Marxist revolution in Cuba, and gave the backstory of how Marxism came about in the 19th century. It was a surprise! I never know what students will know. She pointed out something interesting about Che - that he was from a middle class background, and had been studying medicine when he took this motorcycle trip. Like Buddha and the Prophet Muhammad, Che was born into a comfortable life and adopted the struggle of the poor and working class. In our discussion of the prologue, students found that Che seemed not to care what we readers make of his tale -- that it wa...