Motorcycle Diaries by Qichen Tian https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe en-us 2021-02-08 00:00:42 UTC 2025-04-20 15:43:13 UTC hello@padlet.com 1. COMPARE qtian https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174642657 The Internationale is a very suitable song for Che Guevara's travel diary. When Che Guevara was young, he had a dream of travelling the world, and when he travelled throughout Latin America, he not only became an experienced traveler, but also a determined communist. He is no longer satisfied with using his medical skills to treat patients but hopes to carry the banner of communism and launch a revolution to save the people of the world from the oppression of capitalism and imperialism. The Internationale is a song familiar to all communists. It is created by a group of people who are full of ideas ambitions just like Che Guevara. In the song, they shouted hoarsely, "The State oppresses and the law cheats.
Tax bleeds the unfortunate.
No duty is imposed on the rich;
The rights of the poor is an empty phrase.
Enough languishing in custody!
Equality wants other laws:
No rights without duties, she says,
Equally, no duties without rights." 
These lyrics from decades ago coincides with what Che Guevara saw when he travelled around Latin America. The misfortune suffered by the proletarian people grieves all communists and forces them to seek change. Now the Internationale has been filled with lyrics in many different languages, and it is spread around the world, but no matter what language is used, the thought it expresses it is always the same, that all the proletarian people should unite to defeat oppression and injustice and build a communist world, which very coincides with Che Guevara's goal.
]]> 2021-02-08 00:02:03 UTC https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174642657 2. INVESTIGATE qtian https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174644705 The background of this diary is Latin America in the 1950s. In the book, the journey of Che Guevara and his party is described as difficult. "The bike exhaled with boredom along the long accident-free road and we exhaled with fatigue. Driving on a gravel-covered road had transformed a pleasant jaunt into a heavy job. By nightfall, after an entire day of alternating turns at the controls, we were left with more desire to sleep than to continue with the effort to reach Choele Choel, a largish town where we had a chance at free lodging. So we stopped in Benjamín Zorrilla, settling down comfortably in a room at the railroad station. We slept, dead to the world."( Motorcycle Diaries) From the similar descriptions in the book, it is not difficult to see that the infrastructure in Latin America at this time is very poor, even if they use various means of transportation during the journey, their journey is still very difficult. But more importantly, such a difficult journey still cannot dispel Che Guevara's determination to travel, which also shows his perseverance. The social environment at this time is that Argentina, Cuba, and some Latin American countries are all under the control of evil dictatorship and capital, and the people’s living environment is quite difficult. Although he did not elaborate in the motorcycle diary, in one of his speeches, he recounted the knowledge and thinking brought about by his travels. “But I continued to be, as we all continue to be always, a child of my environment, and I wanted to help those people with my own personal efforts. I had already travelled a great deal - I was in Guatemala at the time, the Guatemala of Arbenz- and I had begun to make some notes to guide the conduct of the revolutionary doctor. I began to investigate what was needed to be a revolutionary doctor.
However, aggression broke out, the aggression unleaded by the United Fruit Company, the Department of State, Foster Dulles- in reality, the same thing- and their puppet, called Castillo Armas. The aggression was successful, since the people had not achieved the level of maturity of the other Cuban people of today. One fine day, a day like any other, I took the road of exile, or at least, I took the road of flight from Guatemala, since that was not my country.
Then I realized a fundamental thing: For one to be a revolutionary doctor or to be a revolutionary at all, there must first be a revolution. Isolated individual endeavour, for all its purity of ideals, is of no use, and the desire to sacrifice an entire lifetime to the noblest of ideals serves no purpose if one works alone, solitarily, in some corner of America, fighting against adverse governments and social conditions which prevent progress. To create a revolution, one must have what there is in Cuba - the mobilization of a whole people, who learn by the use of arms and the exercise of militant unity to understand the value of arms and the value of unity.”(“On Revolutionary Medicine”) Che Guevara, who could have been an excellent doctor, after seeing the suffering of the people of the world at this time, chose to stand up and seek change. Whether it was travelling or after travelling, Che Guevara's persistence and brave personality remained the same.

]]> 2021-02-08 00:04:00 UTC https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174644705 3. REFLECT qtian https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174645701 His diary and his legendary life gave me a lot of inspiration. In order to realize his own dream, Che Guevara is not even afraid to sacrifice his life. "We woke early the next morning, but when I went to collect water for our mate a weird sensation darted through my body, followed by a long shiver. Ten minutes later I was shaking uncontrollably like someone possessed. My quinine tablets made no difference, my head was like a drum hammering out strange rhythms, bizarre colors shifted shapelessly across the walls and some desperate heaving produced a green vomit. I spent the whole day like this, unable to eat, until by the evening I felt well enough to climb on the bike and, sleeping on Alberto’s shoulder, we reached Choele Choel. There we visited Dr. Barrera, director of the little hospital and a member of parliament. He received us amiably, giving us a room to sleep in. He prescribed a course of penicillin and within four hours my temperature had lowered, but whenever we talked about leaving the doctor shook his head and said, “For the flu: bed.” (This was his diagnosis, for want of a better one.) So we spent several days there, being cared for royally." (“Motorcycle Diaries”) During the travel of Che Guevara and his friends, they encountered various setbacks, such as damage to the motorcycle, hunger, cold, and injuries. But nothing can stop them from stopping. With the support of their faith, they overcame all the difficulties and finally covered a distance of more than 4,000 kilometres, which made me admire and start to reflect. There are many opportunities in the world to achieve our goals. Sometimes we complain that we have too few opportunities or bad luck, but if we change our minds, it may be that our efforts are not enough. For example, I have been practicing guitar, but I have not made much progress after practicing for several months. Sometimes, when I see the achievements of others, I wonder if I am not talented, but when I see that others have grown thick calluses on their fingers as a result of practicing guitar, I find that my efforts seem to be insufficient. I need to have a firm determination like Che Guevara to make progress in the things I want to improve.

]]> 2021-02-08 00:04:48 UTC https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174645701 4 CREATE qtian https://padlet.com/qtian/40xd8ogbnluwtjwe/wish/1174646535 This is a photo of the Monument to the People's Heroes in Beijing, China. During my travels, I took this photo with respect and emotion, because the revolutionary martyrs behind it made great contributions to the establishment of New China. China’s modern history is a history of blood and tears. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese people experienced Western aggression, warlords’ melee, Kuomintang’s oppression and the brutal torture of Japanese aggressors, and the tragic sacrifices of countless Chinese people. But the Chinese have not been subdued. Countless heroes have come forward; they include not only men but also women, not only young people but also old people and children. Countless communist revolutionaries fought with the enemies of the Chinese people, expelled the enemies with their own flesh and blood, and saved their compatriots. These Chinese heroes who sacrificed for the people should be remembered forever, and Che Guevara, as a revolutionary on the other side of the earth, also gave his life for his ideals and compatriots. He should be remembered forever like all heroes in the world.

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