Ciara Ronquillo
Question: Discoveries regardless of their type (personal, historical, social, intellectual or cultural) have the capacity to be transformative for the individual and/or broader society. Explore how this idea is represented in your prescribed text and ONE other related texts of your own choosing.
Discovery has a unique quality to transform an individual's ideals, attitudes and beliefs towards self and others. These ideas can stimulate an individual to develop new ideas and speculate about future possibilities, exemplified in Ernesto Guevara's novel , The Motorcycle Diaries, and John Keats poem, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer. It is evident within these texts that discovery can stimulate new ideas, being transformative for the individuals and for a broader society.
The experience of discovery may transform personal values because of the heightened emotional responses they evoke. In turn, this forces individuals to reconsider their understanding of values and norms. In Ernesto Guevara’s novel, The Motorcycle Diaries, his pursuit through Latin America confronts him with the true plight of the poverty stricken classes and the injustices which exist. The tactile and olfactory imagery presented in the quote, “The poor thing was in a pitiful state, breathing the acrid smell of concentrated sweat and dirty feet that filled the room”, highlights the empathy Guevara holds for the woman prompted by this confrontational experience as he witnesses the injustices that exist within the social system. Consequently, Guevara’s encounters with the indigenous people of Latin America catalyse his political awakening, sparking his revolutionary outlook and need for change. Guevara’s exaggeration of emotions is highlighted in the hyperbolic language and superlatives, “It is at times like this, when a doctor is conscious of his complete powerlessness, that he longs for a change”. Such experiences with the injustices that face the Indigenous people of Latin America places an emphasis on the emotional nature of these encounters, revealing that these discoveries provoked Guevara to establish change. The emotive encounter with the woman triggered his consciousness as he was confronted by his own helplessness in the face of social inequity. The social injustices that Guevara internalised provoked a formation of his changed values and attitudes leading to his political and social awakening.
Similarly, John Keats’s poem, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer displays the provocative nature of reading Homer’s work. This experience results in an epiphany for Keats, who after being confronted with the amazement of his discovery is provoked by passion and zeal to write this poem. “Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold, and many goodly states and kingdoms seen”. The metaphor in ‘travell’d in the realms of gold’ implies Keats is well travelled in the literary world, using visual imagery of ‘gold and ‘kingdoms’ to suggest he has been exposed to the many treasures of literary culture and the importance that it has on his life. Keats experience of reading the work of ancient Greek author, Homer, transformed his outlook on the world of literature. This established his desire to devote his life to poetry, as he considers it the artist’s job to recreate moments of wonderment for all of wider society to enjoy. Filtered through his perspective, Keats believes the power of literature is immense and can have a far-reaching and transformative effect on society.
Discoveries can be fresh and intensely meaningful, triggering actions that are transformative for the individual and broader society. “Their stone block stand enigmatically, impervious to the ravages of time/ The gray stones grow tired of pleading...now they simply show an inanimate exhaustion”. The personification of the stone block applying emotive diction highlights Guevara’s awe for the cultural objects of the Inca race, serving as a metaphor for his admiration of the resilience of the Indigenous people in the face of exploitation and oppression conducted by the Spaniards. Such an emotive discovery facilitated by this cultural exposure results in an epiphany for Guevara as he considers new ideas and future possibilities. His discovery of their resilience and the courage exemplified by the Spanish conquistador’s guides him to the new idea of unifying the natives. Consequently, he believes a new Latin America can be established. Comparatively “Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes/ He star’d at the Pacific…” The use of simile likens Keats discovery to that of Hernan Cortes, the famed Spanish conquistador, who Keats believed discovered the Pacific for the Spanish. In turn, Keats proposes that his discovery of Chapman's’ Homer is comparable to discovering a new world, one of literature. ‘He star’d at the Pacific’, alludes to the potential discovery of a new trade route in the West Indies as discovered by Cortes, and is reflective of Keats’ vision of future possibilities after being exposed to this new world of literature. Keats accentuates the limitless worlds, ideas and future possibilities presented by literature. This discovery poses to him great potential not only in poetry but within himself to produce better works of literature. Hence, the ramification of particular discoveries can stimulate far-reaching ideas allowing individuals to speculate about future possibilities within themselves and the societies they inhabit.
Discoveries can facilitate a renewed understanding of people’s perception and the world around them. Consequently, the process of discovery has a significant influence on an individual’s sense of self. “The person who wrote these notes passed away the moment his feet touched Argentine soil”. The third person narrative distances Guevara’s previous, naive self, foreshadowing that discoveries he made led him to form a renewed perception of himself leading to his political and social transformation. Moreover the idiom presented in, “He grew increasingly aware of the pain of many others and allowed it to become a part of himself” foreshadows how Guevara’s understandings of the world acquired through associated social discovery of Latin America resulted in a renewed perception of himself. Through Guevara’s journey in Latin America, his encounters with the native people led him to reevaluate his understanding that the Indigenous people endure. These experiences acted as a catalyst for self-discovery, allowing Guevara to transform into the revolutionary the public remembers him by. Like Guevera, Keats feels reborn in the moment of his encounter with Chapman’s Homer. “Deep brow’d Homer...bards in fealty to Apollo hold”. Keats employs allusions to Greek literature, reflective of his renewed desire to become a great poet, after having been offered this new understanding of the power of poetry. Consequently, discovery can encompass an individual reevaluating their perception of themselves and others, ultimately leading to acts of change within themselves and a broader society.
Despite discoveries being intensely noteworthy in ways that are emotional, intellectual, cultural or spiritual, such experiences have a profound impact on an individual and a broader society. These encounters trigger a significant change on an individual's actions and perception of themselves, leading to a renewal of life and catalyse actions to establish change within the societies they inhabit. Indeed, it is evident through both texts that discovery has a unique nature to transform an individual’s pre-existing values and beliefs, in turn allowing individuals to establish change within themselves and a broader society.
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Topic: English Advanced Essay Marking (Modules Only) (Read 602470 times)