Analyzing the motorcycle diaries by Ernesto Guevara
Analyzing the motorcycle diaries by Ernesto Guevara
Be sure to cite each source appropriately both in your Works Cited page as well as with In-Text Citations. Format your paper according to MLA-Style guidelines and use
correct grammar and punctuation.
1. Throughout The Motocycle Diaries, we see Ernesto and Alberto encounter poverty, harsh
working conditions, harsher living conditions, and all manner of obstacles they
themselves do not face at home in Argentina. How does our narrator’s (Ernesto) character
change as a result of his travels? What encounters, passages, and experiences can you
point to that demonstrate how/why Ernesto’s character changes?
2. The Motorcycle Diaries, while autobiographical, is structured as a travel narrative.
Throughout the book, we follow as Ernesto and Alberto move from Argentina through
Chile, Peru, and the rest of South America. Discuss how travel works in the book. You
might consider how it influences the character of Guavera and Alberto; or, you could
discuss a particular theme that develops around travel. Whatever angle you take, be sure
to address at least two of the literary elements at play (character, setting, plot, tone,
figurative language, etc.)
3. Similar to the previous topic, after looking at various ideas/disussions of travel in The
Motorcycle Diaries, “The City,” and “Questions of Travel,” develop and present your
own theory on travel and how it works in these texts. For this topic, you must incorporate
The Motorcycle Diaries and at least one other text.