Intertextual Exile: Volker Braun's Dramatic Re-Vision of GDR Society Page: 116

                                
failed. In the following scene the audience is privy to the start of
the reverse chronology of Guevara's mission and death. While on
his deathbed, Guevara must listen as the ranger Prado tells how he
was shot and captured. The ranger then shoots Guevara, and the
colonel, Selnich, attempts to dispose of the body:
Verstecke ihn.
Verbergen hastig den Leichnam.
Sie werden ihn hier finden.
Wuhlen den Leichnam hervor.
Willst du ein Golgatha, zu dem sie pilgern.
Verbrenne ihn.
Zunden den Leichnam an.
Christus der Agitator
Geschlachtet, und sein gut beweinter Tod
siegt ubers machtigste der Reiche, Rom.
Soll er hier auferstehn. LaB ihn verschwinden.
Vergraben infieberhafter Eile den Leichnam (128).
The comparison to Christ depicts Guevara as a figure of authority,
one with many followers. The reference to pilgrims and Golgatha,
Christ's place of death, alludes to Guevara's messianic role.
Guevara's enemies, those who hold positions of power, fear that he
will be heralded as a hero. But, the strategic placement of
Guevara's death at the outset of the play enables Braun to focus
both the remainder of the play as well as audience attention on the
failings of the revolution. If the audience can learn from these
mistakes, then the play will fulfill its didactic function.
As audience, we are already privy to the consequences of
Guevara's actions. The play's reverse chronology thereby permits
us to concentrate on Guevara's theories instead of focusing on his
life. Throughout, we learn of Guevara's passion for and intense

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