The Revolutionary Life of Che Guevara

The Revolutionary Life of Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara is universally renowned for his critical involvement in the success of the Cuban revolution. Venerated for his cause, he is considered by many to be a legendary hero whose name is equivalent to rebellion, revolution, and socialism. Others, however, see him as a ruthless murder. Regardless, his life as a revolutionary leader is an appealing subject that has been portrayed in a variety of books and films. This paper explains the story of Che Guevara, including his early life in Argentina, his motorcycle trips, his joining Fidel Castros army, his commitment to the revolutionary cause and the day he met his end in Bolivia. The paper also synthesizes and analyzes his contributions not only to the Cuban revolution but also to the world as a whole. Additionally, an investigation into his sinister part of life is also explored. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, commonly referred to as El Che, Che Guevara, or just Che, is undoubtedly one of the most well-known and distinguished revolutionaries who ever lived. Famous for his legendary revolutionary life as well as his utter willingness to fight and die for his beliefs, Che Guevara has become the worlds icon of rebellion and struggle against social injustice, slavery, and ethnic discrimination. As a matter of fact, he was selected by Time magazine as among the most influential people of the 20th century, according to the website www.globalresearch.ca (December 19, 2010). Throughout history, few has died yet never ceased to have a profound impact on the living like he did, especially now that his revolutionary ideals, which he once lived by and died fighting for, have made their way to attract the contemporary men and women of the 21st century all over the world with the help of a variety of easily accessible means. It is the aforementioned reasons that formed the basis of numerous studies on Che Guevaras revolutionary legacy. However, rarely has any researcher included in their studies the approach from the opposite point of view. That is, although universally admired, exceptionally by people in Latin America, Che Guevara also receives serious vilification and criticisms from people in high places and in Cuban-exile communities throughout the Americas who still have deep hatred for Cuban socialist government in general and for Guevaras critical part in this system in particular (Harris, 2010, p.xiii). Some do not even hesitate to portray him as a ruthless dictator and opponent of freedom (Vega, 1997). This research paper analyses the legendary revolutionary life of Che Guevara, from the early days when he set out to pursue his adventurous dream on a motorbike till the very end when he was mercilessly yet valorously executed. But more importanly, a quantitative analysis of how his devotion ultimately affects Cuban society and the worlds perpective as a whole is presented. In addition, as aforesaid, a darker and more sinister side of Che Guevaras so-called legacy in which he is hated and reviled will also be discussed. Discussion Biography Ernesto Guevara, or Che Guevara as we all know him, was the Argentinean-born leader of the Cuban revolution. Born on June 14, 1928 in Rosario, Argentina, Che was the eldest of five children of a liberal, middle-class family. However, according to a different source, Julia Constenla, Ches actual date of birth was May 14 which was a month prior to the date stated in his birth certificate (Anderson, 1997, p. 3769). Constenla, who claimed she was told my Ches mother, Celia de la Serna y Llosa, strongly asserted that when Che was conceived, Celia and Ches father, Ernesto Guevara Lynch, were not married; therefore, they had to alter the certificate and kept this a secret in order to avoid criticisms not only for themselves but also for their dear son. As an infant, Che Guevara, or Tete as he was called by his family at the time, had suffered from serious asthmaticcondtionssince 1930, which kept haunting him interminably throughout his revolutionary life. His family was then, at his fathers suggestion,relocated to Alta Garcia, a mountain resort town near Cordoba. Full of hope that the new placesdrier climate would help improve Ches health, his father, thought that it would be best if he stayed and spent his youth there, and so he did. Moreover, it was this severe illness that drove him to be homeschooled, in 1934, by his mother who maintained left-wing political views just like his father (Bethel, 2003). Being closely attached to his mother from day till night, Che was gradually subject to her radical left-wing political perspectives. Deeply influenced by his parents views, alongwith an enormous library containing a plethora of controversial and leftist works available at home, Che soon discovered his political beliefs as a naturally developed interest.Of all the leftist literature, he showed particular interests in the works, especially poetry, of Walt Whitman, Federico Garcia Lorca, Antonio Machado, and especially Pablo Neruda (Hart, 2004, p. 98). It was later confirmed by his father that he began to explore Marxist and other socialist literary works at home (Bethel, 2003), during the presidency of Juan Peron, who ultimately was the greatest inspiration of Che. However, his homeschooling finally came to an end i n 1937, when the 9-year-old Che Guevara was able to enrol in a primary school and continued his education at the third grade. Sick as he was, Che Guevara was described tobear a restless characteristic, which his father referred to as the blood of the Irish rebels (Lavretsky, 1976, p. 5). It was this trait that boosted his will to conquer his ailment by occupying himself with tense physical exercises. As a result, he became a superb athlete, distinguished himself at swimming, football, golfing, and shooting, and was widely recognized for his outstanding rugby performance as well as his aggressive style of play for the sports club CUBA, or Club Universitario de Buenos Aires (Cain Growden, 2006, p. 293), in turn giving him the nickname Fuser, which is a contraction for El Fuibundo and de la Serna, which is his mothers first name. After graduating from Colegio Nacional Dean Funes high school in 1946, the Guevara family again relocated to Buenos Aires, where Che Guevara, at the age of 20,got accepted into the University of Buenos Aires a year later.In order to get a better understanding of asthma, the very ailment that plagued him for all his life, as well as cancer, the disease that led his grandmother to death, Che Guevarawas set on studying for a degree in medicine. However, this determination did not last very long. As the study went on, there was an overwhelming desire to take a break and travel the world that eventually caused him to put his education on hold until 1953 when he returned to finished his medical degree. Details of these trips, which play a vital part in forever changing his point of view in the society, along with his revolutionary activities, will be covered later in the following section. Che Guevara had two marriages, the first being with Hilda Gadea Acosta, an exiled Peruvian Marxist. The wedding took place in August 8, 1955, while Hilda was carrying their first and only offspring, Hilda Beatriz. They soon went their seperate ways after 4 years of marriage, which in turn led Che Guevara to have a destined encouter with Aleida March, who later became his second wife onJune 3, 1959. The couple was so in love that they traveled together, fought together, and more importantly, had a close-knit family with four children together. Throughout his revolutionary life from 1955 to 1967, the career of Che Guevara had varied greatly (Bethel, 2003). After joining the Cuban revolutionary army led by Fidel Castro in 1955, Che Guevara quickly got promoted to head of the industrial department of the Instituto Nacional de la Reforma Agraria, or the Cuban National Institute of Agrarian Reform on October 7, 1959, which was not long before he was made president of the Cuban National Bank on November 26. Appointed as head of the Ministry of Industry of Cuba in 1961, Che Guevaras career seemingly advanced non-stop until 1965, when he suddenly forsook all of his duties and decided to stay out of sight. A year later, however, Che continued on his revolutionary quest in Bolivia as a guerilla leader, which was a complete failure leading to his capture and execution on October 8, 1967. Che Guevaras Revolutionary Activities Despite being born and growing up in Argentina, Ernesto Che Guevara associated with Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution in the armed struggle as well as in the construction of Cubas socialism. In 1967, Che Guevara died while leading the guerrilla movement in Bolivia at the age of 39. Then, he has become an immortal legend, a symbol of revolutionary heroism and international spirit, as well as a symbol of national liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples of the world. Thus, there are many legendary stories about his revolutionary activities. On January 1, 1950, Che Guevara began his first journey with a bike mounted motor. The journey, which crossed the Pampas plains in the north, has a length of 4,500 km. In this area, he had lived and assisted those who got infected by leprosy for a period of time, and worked in a group to build national highways in Argentina. According to the Che Mot hanh trinh cuoc doi (2012), in October 1951, Che reunited with a close friend Alberto Granado in Cà ³rdoba, then he suggested they made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹the trip to North America together. Not long after that, on December 29, 1951, they started their journey to other Latin American countries with Albertos motor (Poderosa II 500 cubic centimeters). They went through most of the countries in this region. Two months later, they were in Chile and continued to go through Bolivia and Peru. In Peru, Che Guevara, together with Alberto, visited the people living with leprosy. After that, they went along the Amazon River to go to Colombia and Venezuela on the raft named Mambo Tanga. In Venezuela, they separated. Alberto stayed for caring leprosy patients while Che returned to Argentina to complete his college program. In his travelling diary named Motorcycle Diaries, Che showed his huge changes within himself. The journey formed his compassion for the poor people and the spirit of fierce anti-imperialism. After his college graduation on June 16, 1953, Guevara continued his journey back to Latin America with Carlos Calica Ferre, one of his childhood friends in Cà ³rdoba. The trip started on July 7, 1953. They took the train to go to Bolivia before coming to Lapaz capital on the 24th of the month (Ferrer Smith, 2005). At that moment, the political situation in this country is very tense. A few months later, they traveled around Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and then stayed in Guatemala for about 9 months. There, he met Hilda Gadea, an exiled Peruvian woman, who became his wife later. She introduced Guevara and his friend to a group of Cuban exiles in the revolutionary group M-26-7 (26 of July Movement), in which Nico Lopez was a person who later gave him the nickname Che. After the time working in a hospital, Guevara moved to Mexico. There, in July 1955, he was introduced to Fidel Castro Ruz, and not long after that meeting, he voluntarily participated in the expeditionary group of the C uban. In April 1956, he began the military training along with other Cuban people and was one of the best students. Two months later, on June 24, Che and Fidel and other Cuban exiles were arrested by Mexican authorities and detained in Miguel Schultz. On July 31, they were released from prison and resumed the training. Subsequently, Che, as a member of the guerrillas general staff, together with 82 others, returned to Cuba on the ship named Granma on November 25, 1956. After that, on December 2, they had secretly landed on the island of Cuba. After arriving in Cuba, they won many crucial victories. On July 21, 1957, Che was promoted to Major by Fidel Castro, and was assigned to establish one of the Army rebels. Only a month later, on August 30, he led his troops to the victory of the battle of El Hombrito. In the article Che Ernesto Guevara (Nosotro, 2010), it was mentioned that in August 1958, Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuesgos led their troops to launch the invasion from the west of the island. They marched 554 miles in 47 days with the lack of the military. According to an agreement later, to keep the forces, Che had to unify the command of the troops against the Batista regime. They began to attack on Santa Clara, an economic center as well as an important transport hub. On August 31, 1958, the rebels captured Santa Clara. This led Batista regime quickly into doom. Batista had to flee abroad and start an exile life. On January 4, 1959, Che, along with other rebel commanders, entered La Havana as the winners. After his great contributions, Ernesto Che Guevara was awarded the Cuba citizenship. This decision was supported by Cuban people. After the new revolutionary government was established, he was chosen as one of the three leaders (Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Raul Castro) of this country. On October 8th, 1959, he was appointed to the head of the agriculture of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform. In this position, Che decided to confiscate all of the private property land. On November 26, he was selected as a chairman of the National Bank. The first position of Che, before becoming the chairman of the Cuba National Bank, after the national liberation in 1959, was the commander of the Havana Prison. According to the article named Che Guevara: A cold killing machine motivated by hate (Rollings, 2008), during six months, he gave the death penalty for between 180 and thousands of Batista prisoners. In April 1960, he concurrently held the commander of the revolutionary armed forces training. In February 1961, after being the Minister of Industries, Guevara decided to put hundreds of state-owned enterprises under the control of the government. At that time, he also resolved lots of matters affecting Cuba. In March 1963, when serving as a key leader in the Cuba state apparatus, Che decided to resign from all his positions including the Cuban citizenship to continue to devote his life to the fighting for freedom of oppressed people (Guevara, 1965). This decision was given at the right time when his career was at the peak of success, so there was some doubt. There were many ideas that behind Ches leaving was the coercion of Fidel Castro and Raul Castro. However, in the letter sent to President Fidel which was read in the establishment ceremony of Communist Party of Cuba, Che Guevara made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹it clear that his resignation was completely voluntary, following his heart of freedom, peace and dedication for the revolution of human liberation from oppression and injustice. In early April 1963, Che and some others left Cuba and came to Congo. There, they pulled out after their failed plans (November 1965). In March 1966, he went to Prague (Czechoslovakia), and then secretly returned to Cuba (July 1966) to plan the campaign for Bolivia. In November 1967, Che and his comrades used fake passports to go to La Paz (the capital of Bolivia). In La Paz, they secretly formed a guerrilla group, with the aim of creating a pilot nuclear struggle for liberating Latin America. After 11 months of the campaign, whose details were recorded in his diary which was later popularized as The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto Che Guevara, his organization was gradually exposed, which finally led to failure. With the ambush tactics, Ches organization won some small battles. However, the head quarter and activities of the organization were exposed because of the insiders. Thus, to avoid the enemy raid, the organization decided to relocate the base, so his organization was isolated. Due to the disease and lack of food, they had to kill horses and donkeys, which were previously their means of transport, to eat. Ches comrades eventually died while he was living with asthma and was always in danger because of the lack of medicine. Finally, he was captured on October 7, 1967 when trying to find the way out of the forest in the Quebrada del Yuro. On October 9, he was executed by a joint CIA-Bolivian task force. Subsequently, Barrientos government buried his corpse, and thirty years later, on October 17, 1997, his body and six others were found and exhumed in a mass grave. Then, they were brought to Cuba and buried in Santa Clara, where Che had crucial victories that decided the success of the C uban Revolution (Llosa, 2007). The main causes that led to the failure of the Bolivian campaign were probably that Ches organization was not believed and supported by Bolivian people, and did not actually link the struggles. In addition, the forces were weak, the equipment was rudimentary, and the strategies and tactics were not appropriate, while the enemy was powerful. Furthermore, the time was not ripe for a widespread and successful revolution. In spite of this defeat, the reputation of Ernesto Che Guevara and his influence spread throughout not only Latin America but also the world day by day. He has become a symbol of the struggle, of the kindness against poverty and oppression in order to bring justice to other people. Che Guevaras Contribution to the Society For centuries, the hero Che Guevara is considered as a living legend, a symbol of the revolutionary hero of all peoples in the world, not just in Cuba and other Latin American countries. After being executed by the Bolivian army, he was regarded as a martyr by generations of leftist worldwide, and his image became an icon of leftist radicalism and anti-imperialism. He is always a true revolutionary, a true man of the 20th century and much later, for today and the future generations to follow. Guevaras contribution to the Cuban Revolution. Che Guevara was the leader of the Communist Revolution in Cuba, and also the hero of the most prominent leaders of the country Cuba attached to him. In a review of the book Che Guevara: A revolutionary life (n.d) by Jon Lee Anderson, the author emphasized that Che Guevara played a vital role not only in the seizure of power in 1959 but also in the social revolution which ultimately turned Cuba into a communist nation. It was his tactical mastermind, his experience in guerrilla warfare, his brilliant leadership of the guerrilla force and his socialist ideologies that lead to the success of the Cuban revolution. In 1950, Che Guevara decided to go on his first trip through Latin America to explore different parts of the continent. In this trip, Che witnessed many people who had to live in severe poverty and atrocious medical conditions, without any interference from the government. He also experienced the sight of exploitation, inequality, marginalization and penetration of mainly the United States. From these experiences, Che decided to seek the truth and fight for justice. He believed that the task was to turn these people into people with weapons in their hands to liberate themselves. No weapon cannot do anything This thinking of Che Guevara was confirmed and approved by the Cuban rebel Fidel Castro, a political exile who was preparing a plot to overthrow the Cuba dictatorship of Fulgencio Bastista, in their long-awaited meeting at Mexico city in 1955 (Richards, n.d.). Fidel and Che shared their revolutionary ambitions. They were set against the tide of revolution that swept across the wo rld during the middle of the twentieth century. It was the story of two men who shared a common goal, became brothers in arms, and finally made an epic decision between their friendship and beliefs. After this meeting, Guevara decided to embark upon Fidel Castros quest to overthrow the corrupt dictatorship of Batista in Cuba. Guevara began his career as a revolutionary in earnest when he signed up with Fidel to serve as a physician in the invasion army of 82 men (Richards, n.d.). Of these, Guevara was the only person who was not a Cuban native He assumed a position of influence which, together with his revolutionary goals and tactical brilliance, served to greatly support the revolutions cause. Guevara became Castrols chief lieutenant and distinguished himself as a resourceful and fearless tactician who not only was capable of ordering the execution of traitors and spies but also deeply cared for the welfare of his troops (Guevara, 2008). It was also mentioned in the article that with Castros forces pressing in, Bastista had to flee the country on New Years Day. It was the result of defeating a 30,000 strong and professional army by Castros 3,000 guerrillas. The rebel force gradually gained in strength, took the weapons and ammunition from Batistas troops, won the support of the local and got new recruits . At the time, Guevara became Castros right hand, one of the few who got his complete trust. Che Guevara was one of the first of the rebel forces to arrive gloriously in Havana on January 4, 1959, and claimed the capital for the revolutionary forces (Bethel, 2003). After this, Castros victorious troops entered Havana, and established a Marxist government; Guevara officially became a Cuban citizen. As one of the best lieutenants in the Cuban revolution, Guevaras reputation expanded very fast, not only in Cuba but also all over the world. He became a symbol of struggle for freedom and justice. Stories of his courage and leadership spread so rapidly that he was considered to be one of the most important figures in the revolution itself. In the new government established by Castro, Guevara served in a number of important positions. It was mentioned in a research named Ernesto Che Guevaras contribution to socialist political economy, industrial organization and economic development in Cuba 1959-1965 (n.d.) by Helen Yafe that in this period, Che Guevara was central in driving the structural changes which transformed Cuba from semi-colonial underdevelopment to independence and integration into the socialist bloc. Helen Yafe also listed some important positions and contributions of Che Guevara to the Cuban government system: Purging the old army; Agrarian Reform Law; Forging unity between internal revolutionary forces a process leading to the creation of what is today the CCP and UJC. Additionally, he was the first one to lead an overseas mission to expand trade and relation, according to Helen Che went to Yugoslavia and described it as decision-making imperialism with socialist allocation of the earnings and the rivalr y among companies would alter the socialist fortitude. Che Guevara became Head Department of Industrialization during nationalizations; Head of the National Bank all financial institutions were nationalized. He prepared in secret to change the countrys banknotes to prevent the financing of the counter-revolution and control inflation. In February 1961, he became Cubas first Minister of Industries. The objective of Ernesto Che Guevara in the economic reform of Cuba was obvious: to stir the financial system of Cuba away from its reliance on the trade of sugar with the United States particularly and on the export of sugar, generally (Bethel, 2003). This clear objective itself helped Cuba to be independent and started integration into the socialist bloc. To emphasize this remarkable step, in a speech by him, Guevara eloquently stated that the socialist learned and gained knowledge due to the struggle, and they developed into revolutionaries because of revolution, they became aware of the reality all the way through the experience. The socialist also read the situation in Cuba where must be having a popular armed force to stand up fighting against the armed puppets of the imperialist and called people upon to join the force and crush the oppressors. His spirit of fighting encouraged not only Cuba but also all the peoples in the world. Besides, it is clear that Guevaras contributions to the Cuban revolution were very considerable. With just a limited number of guerrilla soldiers, Che Guevara helped Fidel Castro to take over an entire country. After the old government was overthrown, Che continued to help Castro make his mind that communism was the right path for Cuba. He assisted Castro in quickly industrializing the country, setting up social reforms to try, and essentially making Cuba a better place to live for its citizens. He became the icon of the Cuban revolution; the architect of the Cuban Stalinist counter-revolution; the ruthless anti-imperialist fighter who was willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of another country. The name Che Guevara will always be the pride of Cuba. Guevaras contribution to Latin American and the world. Before Che Guevara joined the Cuban revolution with Fidel Castro in Mexico, he gained a great amount of experience during his trips through Latin America and associated with many leftist movements. Observing the poverty, exploitation, inequality, marginalization here, Che Guevara was urged to find the truth and fight for justice. His disgust at the inequality and strong desire to fight for its eradication was indisputably an honorable and admirable cause. The duty of a revolutionary was to make revolution (Che Guevara about Cuban Revolution, 2003), Che liked to say. Indeed, his passion for balancing inequalities throughout Latin America is honorable and worthy of praise. After glorious victories in Cuban Revolution, Che Guevara still attempted to spread revolution. As the new Cuba is isolated on the world stage, and increasingly comes to rely on Soviet aid, Che looks to spread the Latin American revolution. In 1966, Guevara traveled on to Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, where he joined and became a leader of a communist guerrilla movement attempting to overthrow the countrys military government (Bethel, Kari, 2003). Sadly, his strategy that was so fortunate in Cuba, failed in both Congo and Bolivia. In 1967, Che Guevara was murdered by state forces as US representatives look on. His last words are reported ro be, I know you have come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man (Bethel Kari, 2003). Although the two rebellions which he tried to make in Congo and Bolivia was failures, Ernesto Che Guevara has become the great representation of a enthusiastic revolutionary, willing to give his life to find success for the rebellion. Moreover, Che Guevaras contributions played an essential parts to the socialism and imperialism, as well as his enduring political legacy and his involvement to the speculation and strategy of guerrilla warfare. Che Guevaras ideas is said to be having the crucial relation on the Cuban rebellion and all the revolutionary events following in Latin America and some parts of the word (Saunois, 1997). Ches protection of these ideas as a means of struggle to be taken up all over Latin America placed them right at the centre of a discussion in the revolutionary socialist movement throughout that continent and beyond. The Cuban rebellion, particularly the parts of it contributed by Ernesto Che Guevara, has numerous lessons for the insurrection in opposition to the over utilization, or exploitation in other words, which is happening commonly today, in almost every part of the world. In addition, Che Guevara also happened to be renowned in the West for his disagreement to every type of neocolonialism, and the attacks on United States foreign strategy (Saunois, 1997). Che Guevara created an international proletarian spirit that had motivated the desire for freedom of Latin America and all countries over the world. Until now, more than forty years after Che Guevaras death, his name and image remain popular. To some Che Guevara is idolized as a man of the people, a freedom fighter for the downtrodden, who gave his life in the struggle to free peoples of the world to live in a better civilization. In 1997, Che Guevaras T-shirts which demonstrated his portraits had been worn widely by lots of people in Europe and South America, especially the Latin America, and it turned out to be very well-liked these days all over the world. He is an icon for millions people who want a world free of poverty and oppression, the symbol of struggle and justice, and some even considered him as a modern day Robin Hood. Che Guevara is, as confirmed in the Time magazine, included in the list of the most 100 powerful persons in the world. His legend has continuously rising since his passing away in 1967, and the revolutionary ideals he spent most of his life on at the present appeal to a young generation of the twenty-f irst century. When speaking about that revolutionary legend, Nelson Mandela expressed his admiration and respect to Che, as his life inspired every human being that has the love for freedom. Che Guevaras Negative Sides Che Guevara is widely known as a generous, romantic and compassionate hero and he is also idolized by many people all over the world. According to Jean-Paul Sartre, Che was the most comple and perfect man of this era (Rawalpindi, 2006). However, there are arguments whether he only had the positive effects on humans lives or Che Guevara had his negative side. Although he was widely known to be a doctor from his mother country Argentina the author of several books and articles, Justin Stamm (2009) has given his ideas that Ernesto Che Guevara never actually did graduate from any medical school or university. In reality, he quitted school to take part in the fomenting Marxist rebellion in Cuba funded by Soviet communist Russia. The complex character of Che Guevara has been shaped by the contradictions of his philosophy at different points in his life. So, what do we really know and understand about Ernesto Che Guevara? Is he really that complete and perfect hero of humanity? The answer i s definitely no to the persons who regard him as a brutal killer and a racist. Ernesto Che Guevara a brutal murderer? Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood. With the deaths of my enemies I prepare my being for the sacred fight and join the triumphant proletariat with a bestial howl! (Guevara, 2004) Ernesto Che Guevara wrote the above statements in his famous The Motorcycle Diaries, and their effects are not quite similar with the former statements. There are many opinions which criticize Che Guevara to be a coldblooded killer. In 2005, Alvaro Vargas Llosa stated in his article that Che Guevara was not ever afraid of his death, and he took other peoples deaths as lightly as his (Llosa, 2005). According to the article Che Shows Only Glorifies Portrait of a Ruthless Killer (Vega, 1997), Ernesto Che Guevara cannot be considered as a hero, because he ordered the death sentence of incalculable human beings while he is in control of the prison in Havana, and moreover, Ernesto Che Guevara denied the freedom to thousands of citizens, whom are considered by Che to be deviants or anti-revolutionaries. Those acts of Che Guevara cannot be accepted under any circumstances, as said by the author of this article. Che always believed that rebellion cannot happen without violence. When Granado, Ches young friend, told Che about his idea to create a pro-Indian political party by fairly winning election, in order to develop the Latin American politics, he responded to his young fellow that to have revolution, it is impossible if there are no gun shots (C. Guevara, 2004). This answer can be regarded as the signal of the upcoming things in the future. Ches belief had been reinforced by his sincerity that because Arbenz had unsuccessful in killing and eliminate his potential enemies, he had lost all his power. When he arrived in Cuba, the president of Cuba was Fulgencio Batista. Fidel Castro was the leader of the rebellious left; he and his comrades were ready to overthrow the Batistas corrupt regime. Followin

A death in the family Essay -- essays research papers

James Agee's A Death in the Family is a posthumous novel based on the largely complete manuscript that the author left upon his death in 1955. Agee had been working on the novel for many years, and portions of the work had already appeared in The Partisan Review, The Cambridge Review, The New Yorker, and Harper's Bazaar. Published in 1957, the novel was edited by David McDowell. Several lengthy passages, part of Agee's manuscript whose position in the chronology was not identified by the author, were placed in italics by the editor, whose decision it was to place them at the conclusion of Parts I and II. These dream-like sequences suggest the influence of James Joyce, especially of Ulysses, on Agee's writing. It was also McDowell's decision to add the brief prefatory section, â€Å"Knoxville: Summer, 1915,† Agee's poetic meditation on his southern childhood. As an overture to the novel, this evocative section, although not part of Agee's original manuscript, is extremely effective, for it introduces the theme of lost childhood happiness that is central in the novel as a whole. The novel will treat the same milieu of middle-class domestic life-a social milieu whose calm surface of â€Å"normality† is shattered by the tragic and possibly suicidal death of Jay Follet, the child protagonist's father. In Part I of the novel, Agee quickly establishes the importance of the father-son relationship. Rufus Follet, Jay's six-year-old son, accompanies his father to the silent film theatre against the objection of Rufus's mother, who finds Charlie Chaplin (one of James Agee's heroes) â€Å"nasty† and â€Å"vulgar.† This disagreement underscores the marital conflict that underlies Rufus's ambivalent feelings toward both his parents. When Jay takes Rufus to a neighborhood tavern after the picture show, despite the father's warmth and love for his son, it is clear that the father's pride is constrained by the fact that the son's proclivities, even at this early age, follow the mother's interests in â€Å"culture† rather than the father's more democratic tastes for athletic ability and social pursuits. Tensions between Rufus's parents are apparent as Jay's drinking and â€Å"vulgar† habits become a point of contention in the household, with the child Rufus caught b etween his sometimes bickering parents. For her part, Mary Follet is a character whose extreme subjection to moralistic attitudes suggests... ... a prayer for the dead. Meanwhile Uncle Andrew takes Rufus for a walk and tells him about the â€Å"magnificent butterfly† that settled on Jay's coffin just as it was lowered into the grave before flying off high into the sky – an episode that Andrew believes â€Å"miraculous.† Andrews then reviles Father Jackson, who has refused to read the full burial service, since Jay has never been baptized. Rufus struggles to understand the hostility that Andrew feels toward the church even as he loves Christians such as Mary and Hannah. Rufus wants to ask for some clarification, but instead he and Andrew walk silently home. Thus Agee ends the novel on a note of unresolved conflict. As he grows up, it is suggested, Rufus will continue to suffer from the same divisions of faith and social milieu that are involved in his parents' relationship, and he will develop into the contemplative artist who already, at the age of six, has shown such sensitivity to human motives and the language in which they are conveyed. Written toward the end of his life, A Death in the Family may be considered Agee's attempt to understand the origins of, and to come to terms with, the self-division that plagued his existence.

Accuracy of Historical Films

How accurate a portrayal of Roman gladiatorial games and culture is the movie â€Å"Gladiator'? In society today historical films are merely valuable to society as a form of entertainment. Historical events have become another form of stimulus for directors when creating an engaging film for audience's . Len the creation of a film many historical Inaccuracies occur as seen In the film Gladiator.This film Instead of being a historical recreation of the Roman culture and gladiatorial games tends to embody the idea of certain characters and events. They reflect 21st century ideals onto these historical events to create a film that will appeal to the masses. Ultimately these inaccuracies are in insignificant in detracting from the purpose of these films which is to entertain. Historical films are merely a form of entertainment that is used to engage the masses but this is the extent of its value to society.Unlike a documentary, films are supposed to be â€Å"aesthetic Journeys† a nd historical events are merely another form of stimulus for a director trying to create an Individual storyline. On the release of the â€Å"historical film† 300, Warner Pros issued a statement Insisting that it â€Å"developed this film purely as a fictional work with the sole purpose of entertaining audiences' ‘ . In order to entertain audiences film makers must use these historical events , edit where necessary ,to create an film for a 21st century audience.Gladiator Is a key example of where an aspect of a culture has been reworked into a blockbuster film. The writer for Gladiator started to develop the story after reading â€Å"those who are about to die† by Daniel P Manic . The sinking f the titanic is an important historical event but in order to pitch this event to a current audience it was mixed with â€Å"a Romeo and Juliet love story† . David Benison summed up precisely the method in which accuracy in a historical film is undertaken â€Å"as for being absolutely faithful to the source material, I'm always going to pick the project† .The accuracy of these film's depictions are compromised so that it can be â€Å"guided by the Inner logic of capitalism†. Gladiator through this guidance made $457, 640,427 at the box office a very tricky task If you do not appeal to the audience. As seen In the film Gladiator, historical films tend to embody the Idea of a culture In order to appeal to the wider audience. While the film makers attempt to portray the emperor as the antagonist of the story, they however remove or add material where they see necessary.In the film Gladiator Marcus Aurelia's describes his son Commodes as an â€Å"immoral man† and thus is unable to present him with emperors but this is contradictory as Commodes was a joint ruler with his father Marcus Aurelia . While ancient historian Did Cassias refers to Commodes as a greater curse to the Romans† the production team have excluded facts such as his self-portrayal as Hercules , his left handedness and the â€Å"conspicuous growth on his groin † as these weren't necessary to the plot line and catered to the needs of the actors.This sense of recognition is further seen In how the film Gladiator portrays ancient Rome to be a grand city full of white buildings. The Coliseum was recreated as Riddle Scott felt that the real Coliseum was â€Å"too small† so Instead the CGI team created a grand â€Å"Rome of the Imagination† with a much larger coliseum ND fully white buildings as such to relate with the modern perception of this many colored building but today modern society can only view these structure without the color and in less grandeur.Gladiator's historical inaccuracies are further seen in its depiction of gladiatorial games as they aim to heighten the action within the film. The central character of Maximum is not a historical figure but is merely a personification of the traits that create a g ladiator. Russet's Crow's depiction off brave, fearless, skilled gladiator mirror many historical sources such s Valerian Maximum' who references the bravery skill and passion that are common among the great gladiators. These characteristics are cited by Cicero who describes the gladiators to be incredible well disciplined.Although they have avoided they have used historical figures as stimulus for the central character and as part of the story line. There was indeed a General Maximum who was an advisor to Marcus Aurelia's , and Commodes was killed by a gladiator named Narcissus . These however are two different people but their storyline have been merged to increase the excitement of he games which is further seen where Maximum a Protractor gladiator fights multiple different gladiators and animals.This contrasts to ancient gladiatorial games where he would have only been able to fight another Protractor rather than the Retailers (gladiators fighting with nets), Estuaries (gladiato rs on chariots) and Tigris . The warping of facts can further been seen in the death of Commodes in the arena. Although Commodes did fight in the arena , he always fought as a Sector and therefore Maximum should have faced him as a Retailers but instead both men ought as no particular gladiator type. This battle did not result in his death but rather Commodes was strangled in his home .While the death rate in the film is over 50% Professor David Potter believes the death rate to be 5-10% as too much time and money had been invested into them. Therefore gladiatorial games were to first blood . All of these inaccuracies are created to increase the entertainment value and appeal to a 21st century audience. In the film industry and especially to a 21st century audience the inaccuracies of these films become irrelevant because they increase the entertainment value of the film. The problem however is when these films are described as being historically accurate.Historical films are unreli able for a historian studying the time period but are still useful for discerning the 21st century western perception of Roman society. Gladiator is guilty of false advertising as Peter Russell, art director, states that the film is â€Å"based factually on the events of the time† . Though we can assume this is merely a marketing ploy as the majority of society is uneducated . As one review of the film dutifully states â€Å"there was no alternative odder audiences would have accepted or recognized† and this is true for many of the inaccuracies within the film.Oliver Reed Justifies these inaccuracies when he states â€Å"we are not making a documentary' and anyway if they were to make a historically accurate film it would be too long. Jean Shaw further states that films â€Å"need to appeal to their audience by having an exciting plot, a lot of drama † in order to become successful. As George Lucas was quoted â€Å"the secret to film is that it's an illusionâ €  and this illusion allows millions all over the world to and gain an insight into past civilization.In our modern 21st century society today, historical films are merely an individual's recreation of a culture. The have incredible value to the entertainment industry in providing stimulus for films, however the creation of these the goal off film. The film Gladiator clearly shows how the reliability of a film's portrayal of culture and in these particular case gladiatorial games is warped based on the decisions of the production team. Historical information is better suited to historians and lets leave film makers to cater for the rest of society.

Essay on Enron Questionable Accounting Leads to Collapse

ENRON: QUESTIONABLE ACCOUNTING LEADS TO COLLAPSE CRYSTAL RUFF GLOBE UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT This paper summarizes the article listed in reference that reported on the demise of Enron and the contributing factors that led to the financial downfall of a great company. The roles of the corporate culture, Enron’s financial staff, and even the chief financial officer are all to blame for the events that lead to the finality of the company that resulted in bankruptcy. While Enron boasted about being â€Å"The World’s Leading Company†, it was anything but that. The corporate culture of a company is supposed to describe how the stakeholders and employees, think, feel, and act. If Enron’s financial record is example of that, then the†¦show more content†¦. (L. Ferrell, O.C. Ferrell, amp; Fraedrich, 2011). Enron’s lawyers, Vinson amp; Elkin, were well aware of the scandal that was about to rock the company. In fact, claims allege that Vinson amp; Elkin helped to create the special purpose partnerships that Enron so needed to cover up losses. . (L. Ferrell, O.C. Ferrell, amp; Fraedrich, 2011). Even though fault was not admitted, the law firm paid out millions to settle claims of any wrongdoing. Merrill Lynch went under scrutiny when it allegedly made a deal with Enron on the procurement of barges, which were falsely reported in earnings. Merrill Lynch was also involved in a situation where a research analyst had fi ndings that Enron was not happy with, and with a push from Merrill Lynch, the analyst rewrote his findings so they were advantageous to Enron. . (L. Ferrell, O.C. Ferrell, amp; Fraedrich, 2011). As Enron’s auditor, Arthur Anderson was responsible for the financial statements and bookkeeping for the company. However, he was found guilty of obstructing justice for destroying auditing documents. . (L. Ferrell, O.C. Ferrell, amp; Fraedrich, 2011). As the CFO of Enron, Andrew Fastow defrauded the company out of $30 million by using partnerships created to show Enron as being debt free, when in fact it owed approximately $1 billion. Fastow took money that should have gone to other entities and when he was found guilty, he surrendered almost $30 million in cash and property. . (L.Show MoreRelatedEnron: Questionable Accounting Leads to Collapse2056 Words   |  9 PagesEnron: Questionable Accounting Leads to Collapse The Enron Corporation was established by integrating two major gas pipelines in 1985. The Company provided products and services related to natural gas, electricity, and communications and it was one of the world’s leading organizations at these sectors with claimed revenues of nearly $101 billion in 2000. 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