Chenging Opinions: Che Guevara's manipulations in The Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War

An essay considering the ways in which Che Guevara manipulates his readers in his book The Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War. Throughout the book The Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, its author Che Guevara masterfully manipulates the reader by using romantic language, intricate details such as specific dates, locations, names of other revolutionaries, and guns used by Guevara’s group, the very format and date of publication of the book, and even the pictures included in the middle of it. All of the book's elements are skillfully employed to appeal to a wide variety of readers, and to make his goal, the Cuban revolution, seem desirable, and his means of achieving it sympathetic and reasonable. He omits the most brutal of actions, and makes the rest seem necessary and noble, thereby avoiding some criticisms and masquerading the revolution as something incredibly advantageous. Guevara uses very romantic language throughout the book to portray participation in the revolution as romantic and noble, as well as to come off as an intellectual, and portraying himself, the revolution leader, as someone reliable and worth following. Bland language, which is not as appealing as romantic language, would suffice in relating Guevara’s and his companions’ experiences. However, Guevara’s intent in his writing isn't only to describe his experiences during the revolution, but to portray participation in it as noble. Thus, he uses romantic and descriptive language such as “That whole night, the fate of the Cuban Revolution depended, in large measure, on the twists and turns of a man’s mind, on a balance of courage and fear, and, perhaps, on conscience, on a traitor’s lust for power and wealth” (35). By this, Guevara means to say that for an entire night, the revolution could have failed if the traitor among them had decided to kill Fidel Castro. Due to the romantic formulation of this message, the book becomes more interesting, thus showing the revolutionary's actions as noble, as well as appealing to the readers, and, with that, solidifying its message to join in the revolution. Guevara, one of the revolution's leaders, wanting to appear worth following is also evident through his lack of coarse language throughout the book. He censors himself on multiple occasions, leaving out swear words. He recalls being called an “Argentine son of a …! (47)”, a phrase in which the essence of the curse is omitted. He does this to avoid appearing crude, and instead appearing, and constructing the revolutionary leader, as intelligent and well-spoken, and thus, someone worth following and trusting in. The book is written as reminiscences, as opposed to a novel. Guevara’s writing style reads almost like a diary, which serves several purposes in manipulating the reader; it makes everything that Guevara writes verifiable and trustworthy, as well as compelling, thus encouraging the reader to trust him and relate to him. Guevara takes the reader along on his experiences in the revolution, including whenever possible precise dates and locations, much like a diary would. He is purposefully clear, which makes everything he writes verifiable and trustworthy. He often begins sentences with such assuring words as “I remember perfectly (11)”, leaving the reader in no doubt that he is sure about the events that transpired. In some cases he openly states that he doesn't remember certain details, but his openness about this makes the book seem all the more trustworthy. As well, in the book's prologue Guevara writes that this narrative is “based on memories and a few hasty notes (7)”. With this, he points out right from the beginning that the events that happened are true, since they are written down from memory and thus should not be questioned, and that they were written hastily, with little refinement and censorship. This is misleading, since he uses quite intricate language throughout the book, which isn’t indicative of haste. This too he does with the intent of making the events described in the book undoubtable; since it was written hastily, it must be true. He is very clever in presenting these two points right in the beginning, to counter any mistrust a reader might have. As well, Guevara outlines various hardships that him and the rest of his group go through, showing how much he is willing to undergo for the success of the revolution, as well as to provoke sympathy and pity from the reader. Guevara writes about the constant lack of food and water, to survive which the group has to resort to using his “tiny asthma inhalor pump to extract ... water; only a few drops for each” (143), and having to eat sugarcane and “jelly-like” (143) raw crab meat. Specifically regarding himself Guevara outlines his constant asthma attacks, which were so bad in some cases that he “could not move very well“ (46), and was often “without asthma medicine” (45), and thus unable to relieve the attacks, as well as receiving various injuries, such as “a sharp blow to [his] chest and a wound in [his] neck” (11). All this, as well as constant long and demanding journeys (23), horrible living conditions such as “dirt, ... lack of water, food, shelter, and security” (32), and various kinds of exposure (34), Guevara describes in detail to convey to the reader that he is suffering, but is still willing to undergo horrific hardships to ensure the revolution's success. The reader feels sympathy toward him because of his struggles, and inspiration due to his devotion to his goal. This further reinstates in the reader a positive opinion regarding Guevara’s actions and the revolution itself. Guevara goes into more detail still when it comes to two specific parts of the book, which are the names of the other revolutionaries, and the guns that they use, both of which further serve his manipulation of the reader. He lists many names of other participants in the revolution throughout the book, to encourage them “to fill out the story by contributing what they remember” (7). This is a call to others to continue his story, and has the effects of other participants feeling the obligation to support his message, and of his readers believing the validity of the story, since there are so many people that took part in it, and who may now continue it. As well, Guevara asks those potential narrators to “be strictly truthful” (7), to “not pretend” (8), to “be wary of inaccuracies” (8), and to “seriously criticize” (8) everything they write. This address reinstates that he himself is telling the truth, since he is asking others to do the same as he is, and also further obliges other revolutionaries to continue his story. As well, the book goes into great detail in describing the weapons the revolutionaries use throughout the revolution. Whenever the group gains or loses guns, Guevara finds it necessary to clearly state their kinds and quantities. He recalls at one point gathering “eight Springfields, one Thompson machine gun, and about 1,000 rounds“ (19). He does this on multiple occasions, with the intent to highlight that the guns they use are produced by the United States, so as to further ground this revolution in a world that relates to a wide range of readers, hitting them close to home. He shows that this revolution isn't far away from, but is, on the contrary, closely linked to a superpower, and that many people should be aware of it. Like this, he further uses the language of the book to resonate with the reader, manipulating their reaction to it. Halfway through the book Guevara includes thirty-one pictures, which serve two purposes. They make the events that Guevara outlines in the book verifiable, and show Guevara, Castro, and their purpose as compelling and widely supported due to the choice of pictures. In several of them, Guevara and Castro are surrounded by many civilians, which shows that they have a big following. In one of them, Castro is shown greeting the Cuban people immediately after the revolution’s success. The civilians that greet him appear ecstatic, and are reaching out to touch him, and he, in turn, is reaching out to them. This shows that their goal is widely supported and achievable, as well as that they are working for and with the Cuban people. Cleverly, this picture is placed last of all thirty-one, showing that their labour ended successfully. In many of the pictures, Castro and Guevara are talking openly to peasants, such as with a peasant family in the Sierra Maestra. These pictures are included to reinstate their big following, as well as to show that since they are interacting with many peasants, they are working in their interests. They are shown in other pictures in the midst of manual labour, as well as working for revolutionary purposes, which shows that they are hard-working individuals, ready to do what it takes for the revolution to succeed, and the manual labour portrays them as relevant to the civilians. Other pictures still show them being interviewed by well-known journalists, such as Robert Taber, showing that there is great interest in their actions, and that information regarding their actions is spreading. Finally, all of the pictures show Castro and Guevara in very empowered positions, such as on top of a horse in the Escambray mountains, or towering over locals in Fomento. None of the pictures depict them as straining or weak, indicating that they are strong and capable of undergoing great struggles to make the revolution succeed, which makes the reader trust in them. All of the pictures verify the events outlined in the book and empower the revolutionary subject. Although The Reminiscences was written during the Cuban revolution, it was published four years after it ended. This was a strategic decision, since publishing it years after the revolution's success showed that all of the hard work that is outlined in such precise detail throughout the book was worth doing. With this, Guevara further manipulates the reader, since if it was published prior to the revolution's success, the reader could be left doubting whether the actions outlined in the book would be worthwhile. By publishing it years after their actions succeeded, Guevara allowed enough time to pass during which many potential readers would have become well-informed about the revolution and then, detailing his actions during it, he appears as the hero that brought about a better life for them. The timing of the book’s publication manipulates the reader into having a positive and empowering perception of him and his cause. Che Guevara uses various deceiving writing techniques to manipulate the reader into forming a positive opinion on his actions and the aims of the Cuban revolution. Every aspect of The Reminiscences, such as its details, specifically those of dates and locations, names of other revolutionaries, and guns used by the group, the romantic language of the narrative, its publication date, pictures, and the almost diary-like format, is masterfully constructed to deceive the reader into following along on Guevara’s journey with no doubts as to the ethics of his intentions. As a result, the reader forms a very positive perception of Guevara, and becomes supportive of his revolutionary ideas. Works cited: Guevara, C. (1968). Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War. New York: Merit Publishers.