Che: The Diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara ; The Final Post!

Summary: At this point in the novel, Che’s life is coming to an end. It’s sad to read how his life was taken away from him, and must have been a struggle for his children’s and family. Not did his death affect those who knew him well, but it affected the nation of the Cuban citizens. Many Cuban’s were supporters of the Cuban revolution, and were strong believers of the work that Fidel and Che did for the country. In the final section of the novel which I read, the setting took place in Bolivia. He was trying to start a revolution against the Bolivian government, very similar to what Fidel and the guerilleros did in Cuba. Che struggled with the revolution as many of the guerilla groups were captured by the Bolivian army. As I read I found this very frustrating. Che, as a great man that he was and the many things he did for many people, I hoped that he would be as successful as he was in Cuba. The diaries in this portion of the book were far more apart from each other. In earlier events in the novel, Che wrote more frequently, but in these last few pages, it seemed that he wrote monthly at times. The final passage that Che would come to write was on October 7, 1967, two days before he was captured by the Bolivian government and murdered.

Quotation: "The current was so strong he [Benjamin] was deagged away as he tried to gain his footing; we ran to sae him, but as we were taking off our clothes, he disappeared under the water... After five minutes we gave up home" (Guevara 127-28).

Reaction: One of the guerilla men had fallen in a river, at it made it hard for the crew to save him. As described in the quote, the current was too powerful to try to strife. At a point the crew just gave up home, because it became nearly impossible to save their fellow men’s life. This quote showed the danger that the guerilla army faced, especially when traveling near the Río Grande, which was indeed the river that Benjamin fell into though it was not mentioned in the quote. The narration that Che gave in the last few pages on the novel was different from the previous pages. In the section that I read recently he sometimes referred to himself in third person. For example when Che was referring to a medic he said, “El Médico [Ernesto] arrived with news that Monje was there” (Guevara 124). In translation, médico means medic in English. This change in narration took me nearly reading the page over nearly 3 times to pick up on the fact that he had switched his narration momentarily. The denouement of the novel occurs with some of the farewells that Che wrote to the individuals that had a great impact on his life nearly2 years before his death. These farewells consisted of writings to Fidel Castro, to his parents, and his children: Hildita, Aleidita, Camilo, and Ernesto.

Che: The Diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara ; Pages: 95- 118

Summary: What a thrill! Che mentions when he went to the United Nations (UN) to speak on behalf of the new revolutionized Cuba. He was in attendance at the UN on December 11, 1964. The passage that he wrote that December was directed to the president of the US at the time, Lyndon B. Johnson. In the passage Che mentioned many things about Cuba, and the relations that it had with other countries. Che expressed the views that Cuba had on many situations in regard to other countries, and the plans that Fidel and the government wanted to put-in-play. He mentioned the struggles that Cuba had with other countries, and the threats that were opposed to Cuba. Though, many dark-sided things were mentioned in this passage, there was also life. In the passage it mentioned the positive things that Cuba has done to keep from causing dilemmas with other nations. For example, Che would travel on behalf of Cuba to visit other countries and hopefully gain alliances in doing so.

Quotation: "Patria o muerte!" (Guevara 117).

Reaction: The quote means: Homeland or death! These are very powerful words, coming from a very well known individual. De facto, Che said this in his speech at the UN right before he stepped off the stage. When it was said, the representatives of other nations applauded for the great words of wisdom spoken by Mr. Guevara. By the reaction of the crowed (this could be seen in the video below) it was evident that they agreed with him. I also myself am in favor of this. I believe that one should dedicate to one’s homeland unless a dictator is forcing your family members out the country. The protagonist, Che, is going through the rising action thus far in the novel. He is experiencing many things that could eventually lead up to a major problem in Cuba (the climax). Cuba is like Che’s homeland, after all, he is going to be a citizen of Cuba in the near future as it is displayed in the prologue.

*** CHE AT THE UNITED NATION'S **
(Not viewable if on the school based internet network!)

Che: The Diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara ; Pages: 63- 94

Summary: Che Guevara brings up many battles that happened as a result to the guerilla going to Cuba. He brought to the attention of the reader that the guerilla did not win all the battles, in fact, his description of what went on seemed for realistic than what historic articles make it seem like. In many cases I found to be true that an article picks a side, usually it’s the affirmative side or the side that wins the challenge, and the author decides to mention many of the pro’s that the side had experienced. In the novel, Che did not do as I anticipated; he mentioned the losses that his men suffered, and vex they went through when losing a battle. In this section of his diary, Che mentioned in detail the plans of the guerilla. For example, in the novel he mentions what neighboring towns the guerilla needed to attack, and the reasons for their attacks.

**The man with the rifle that's sitting down near the center of the photograph is Ernesto Che Guevara.

Quotation: "Help came not only from people in neighboring villages; even the urban bourgeoisie contributed equipment to the guerilla struggle" (Guevara 74).

Reaction: The quote shows how people began to abet the guerilla. The people of Cuba that helped the guerilla began to assist them on their own, it’s not like they were coerced to provide help. Though it’s not mentioned in the quote, Che also mentioned that peasants began to join the guerilla, and as a result they were trained for future battles. It’s as if the people began to see that the present dictator at the time was not moving the country any further along, and they began to think that it was time for change. Now, the guerilla could have made that change for them, and that’s why many peasants began to help the guerilla with equipment like things. As long as the peasant did not go bacchanalian in their effort to overthrow the government, and kept their motives in a furtive matter, they wouldn’t have been attacked by Batista’s forces (Batista was the dictator of Cuba at the time). In the novel, especially in the pages I read in regard to this post, the type of narration was different. In previous pages, the novel consisted of diary passages. In the pages I’ve read for this post, the diary passages came to a close. Though, it was still told in first person, and the narrator did not change, I believe the tone did change. With the diary passages, the novel felt more like it was omniscient, as I was able to get into Che’s mind, as for the pages which did not consist of diaries, the narration was more of just first person without the omniscient.

Che: The Diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara ; Pages: 33- 62

Summary: In these following pages, the narrator explains in detail how it was like beginning a revolution in Cuba. Che explains how he met Fidel Castro in this portion of the book in more detail. Che also mentioned how great of a person Fidel was, and how well of an honest man he came to be. He also explained the difficulties that he went through while in Mexico, such as going to prison, though his time was very short. After his time in prison, he and a group of revolutionaries fled to Cuba to begin their quest in defeating the dictator already in power: General Fulgencio Batista. Che mentioned the trip that he took to Cuba with the Cuban revolutionaries, on the ship named the Granma. The trip was long and hard to read. The fact that Che would narrate the scene of men covered in vomit and having their heads in buckets was disgusting. The men that were sea-sick did not make it any cozy for the crew. Also, with a result of his arrival in Cuba, sense he was a medical personal for the revolutionaries, he treated those who had blisters on their feet. Che mentioned in his passages the guilt he felt after he spent time working with a patient, and having seen that patient die moments later after being treated for his blisters. The tragedies mentioned by Che were truly heavyhearted, and even I, the reader, felt Che’s pain.

Quotation: “I will not abandon you” (Guevara 36).

Reaction: The quote was said by Fidel Castro to Che Guevara. This quote showed Che Fidel’s personal commitment to him, while they were still in Mexico. This is important to their relationship, as explained in the chronology: both Che and Fidel became important figures in the Cuban revolutionary government. In the novel, one of the characters that could be considered an antagonist because he impedes Che from reaching a goal is General Fulgencio Batista. At the time he was the Cuban dictator, and Che wanted to defeat him along with the Cuban revolutionaries, and take over the dictatorship which he controlled.

Che: The Diaries of Ernesto Che Guevara ; Pages: vii-32

Summary: The exposition of the novel begins with a biographical note of Che and a chronology. In the chronology is gives the reader a visual image of how Ernesto Guevara de la Serna because known as Che, one of the great revolutionary leaders of his time. In the chronology it states many important dates of Che's life, and important dates that help better the reader's understanding of the complicated dilemmas that existed around the 1950's and the '60's. In the exposition, Che's close relationship is palpable from his entries. The first couple of passages are dedicated to his mother, though in those passage's Che does not speak of his mother. In these passages Che explains the tussles which Guatemala had to bear. In the period of time which Guatemala was experiencing the pressure from the attacks of Honduras and Nicaragua, Árbenz, the president of Guatemala has fled and left Colonel Carlos Enrique Díaz in charge of the country. Che described in the passages in great detail the hardships which the country in which he was living in was experiencing. In the passage’s that he had written to his mother, he also explained how he had to flee from Guatemala to Mexico and began to work at a hospital. While in Mexico, Che met Fidel Castro and quickly enrolled in the guerilla expedition to Cuba.


*Basic biographical facts of Che: Ernesto Guevara de la Serna was born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 14, 1928. Ernesto is the first production of Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna, he had 4 other brothers and sisters. Che was a well educated man, who graduated from college as a doctor. Dr. Che worked in hospitals in most cities in which he resided in, before he enrolled in the guerilla expedition to Cuba. As a result to enrolling to the guerilla he was the doctor who assisted to rebels with many of their support when dealing with injuries.


Quotation: "A political event was that I met Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary. He is a young, intelligent guy, very sure of himself and extraordinarily audacious. I think we hit of well" (Guevara 28).


Reaction: I believe that Che views Fidel Castro as a good friend that he ‘clicked’ with right-of-the-bat. Che believes he hit off well with Castro, and I seem to think so too because he quickly enrolled in Fidel’s plan to begin a revolutionary government in Cuba.
The style in which the author wrote this novel attracted me to it in a flash. I seem to like diaries quite a bit, even though I’ve only read one novel which was a diary of a character. As I mentioned before, the story is told in first person. In relation to the setting, the entries that Che wrote in his diary were around the 1950’s and ‘60’s. There was no permanent location in which the protagonist, Che, is staying. As explained in the chronology Che travels the world quite often, and even more frequently when he begins to represent the new revolutionary government in Cuba. For example, on behalf of Cuba, Che would speak at the United Nation’s gathering.
The novel is told in first person, which most diaries of people are normally written in. The exposition reveals much information of who is Ernesto Che Guevara, and how many people viewed him in an international scale. Because it’s a diary, the narrator is telling the story as a reflection, which I find quite interesting. The setting of the novel is quite broad, because in Che’s life, he traveled through Latin America constantly. And as described in the chronology, he also traveled to many parts of the world on behalf of the revolutionary government in Cuba.