Chapter 2: Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Chapter 2: Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Before You Read (Page 1)
* Can you say which of the three countries named below had such a political system until very recently?
Ans. (ii) South Africa
* Can you guess what the occasion might be?
Ans. The occasion is the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black President.
Activity (Page 2)
Here is the correct matching for the expressions:
A rainbow gathering of different colours and nations – A beautiful coming together of various peoples, like the colours in a rainbow.
The seat of white supremacy – The centre of racial superiority.
Be overwhelmed with a sense of history – Feel deeply emotional, remembering and understanding all the past events that have led up to the moment.
Resilience that defies the imagination – A great ability (almost unimaginable) to remain unchanged by suffering, without losing hope, goodness, or courage.
A glimmer of humanity – A sign of human feeling such as goodness, kindness, pity, or justice.
A twilight existence – A half-secret life, like a life lived in the fading light between sunset and darkness.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 3)
1. Where did the ceremonies take place? Can you name any public buildings in India that are made of sandstone?
Ans. The ceremonies took place in the “lovely sandstone amphitheatre formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria”.
(Public buildings in India made of sandstone include the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, and the Red Fort in Delhi.)
2. Can you say how 10 May is an ‘autumn day’ in South Africa?
Ans. South Africa is in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are the opposite of those in the Northern Hemisphere. May falls during the autumn season there.
3. At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human disaster”. What does he mean by this? What is the “glorious… human achievement” he speaks of at the end?
Ans. “An extraordinary human disaster” refers to the system of apartheid in South Africa, a long-lasting period of racial oppression.
“A glorious human achievement” refers to the establishment of “newborn liberty”—South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government—which is a “common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity”.
4. What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?
Ans. He thanks them for coming to “take possession with the people of our country” of what he calls a “common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity”.
5. What ideals does he set out for the future of South Africa?
Ans. He pledges to “liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination”.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 6)
1. What do the military generals do? How has their attitude changed, and why?
Ans. The highest military generals “saluted me and pledged their loyalty”.
Their attitude has changed because “not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me”.
This change is due to the end of apartheid and the establishment of a “new government that had been freely and fairly elected”.
2. Why were two national anthems sung?
Ans. Two national anthems were sung to symbolize the new unity of the nation. The whites sang ‘Nkosi Sikelel -iAfrika’ (the anthem of the black people), and the blacks sang ‘Die Stem’ (the old anthem of the white republic).
3. How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country…
Ans. (i) in the first decade… of the twentieth century? He describes it as a “system of racial domination” that was one of the “harshest, most inhumane, societies the world has ever known”.
(ii) in the final decade… of the twentieth century? He describes the new system as one “that recognised the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin”.
4. What does courage mean to Mandela?
Ans. To Mandela, courage is “not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it”. He states, “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”.
5. Which does he think is natural, to love or to hate?
Ans. He thinks it is natural to love, stating that “love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”.
Oral Comprehension Check (Page 9)
1. What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention?
Ans. Mandela mentions:
* “obligations to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children”
* “an obligation to his people, his community, his country”
2. What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy, and as a student? How does he contrast these “transitory freedoms” with “the basic and honourable freedoms”?
Ans. As a boy: Being free meant “to run in the fields… free to swim… free to roast mealies… and ride the broad backs of slow-moving bulls”.
* As a student: Being free meant “the transitory freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read what I pleased and go where I chose”.
* Contrast: He contrasts these “transitory freedoms” (which were personal and temporary) with “the basic and honourable freedoms” of adult life, such as “achieving my potential, of earning my keep, of marrying and having a family”.
3. Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/Why not?
Ans. No, he does not. He states that “A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred; he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness”. He concludes that “The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity”.
Thinking about the Text (Pages 9-10)
1. Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration? What did it signify the triumph of?
Ans. A large number of international leaders attended to celebrate the end of apartheid and South Africa’s isolation. It was the installation of the country’s “first democratic, non-racial government”.
* It signified the triumph of “justice, for peace, for human dignity”.
2. What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African patriots” who had gone before him?
Ans. He means that he is the product of the collective “unimaginable sacrifices of thousands” of people who fought and died for freedom. He sees himself as the living result of their “long and noble line” of courage and suffering.
3. Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How does Mandela illustrate this?
* (This question asks for your agreement, but Mandela’s point is clear.)
* Mandela illustrates this by stating that the “decades of oppression and brutality” had the “unintended effect” of producing men of “extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity”. He names examples like “the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis” and others.
4. How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
Ans. Mandela’s understanding of freedom evolved significantly:
* As a boy: He had an “illusion” of freedom, seeing it as the ability to run, swim, and play.
* As a student: He saw freedom as “transitory” personal perks, like staying out late or reading what he liked.
* As a young man: He desired “basic and honourable freedoms” like earning a living and raising a family.
* As a leader: He “slowly saw” that true freedom was not individual but collective. His “hunger for my own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of my people”.
5. How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life?
Ans. The desire for his people’s freedom “animated” his life and completely changed him. It:
* “transformed a frightened young man into a bold one”
* “drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal”
* “turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home”
* “forced a life-loving man to live like a monk”
Thinking about Language (Pages 10-12)
I. Noun and Verb Pairs
1. Make a list of such pairs of nouns and verbs in the text.
* rebellion / rebel
* constitution / constitute
* oppression / oppress
* discrimination / discriminate
* liberation / liberate
* deprivation / deprive
* formation / form
* government / govern
* inauguration / inaugurate (from context)
* imagination / imagine
2. Fill in the blanks with the noun forms of the verbs in brackets.
* …Martin Luther King’s contribution (contribute) to our history… began when he came to the assistance (assist) of Rosa Parks…
* …To break these laws would mean subjugation (subjugate) and humiliation (humiliate) by the police…
* …Beatings, imprisonment (imprison) and sometimes death awaited…
* …non-violent resistance (resist) to racial injustice.
II. Using the Definite Article with Names
* Choose the right answer.
(b) many other men like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu …/many men of their type or kind, whose names may not be as well known. [cite: 124-125]
* Try to say what these sentences mean.
* [cite_start]Mr Singh regularly invites the Amitabh Bachchans and the Shah Rukh Khans… This means Mr. Singh invites famous superstars of the same type as Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan.
* …Madhuri Dixit is the Madhubala of our times. This means Madhuri Dixit is seen as the modern equivalent or successor to the legendary actress Madhubala.
* History is not only the story of the Alexanders, the Napoleons and the Hitlers… This means history is not just about great, powerful, and often tyrannical leaders like Alexander, Napoleon, and Hitler.
III. Idiomatic Expressions
was not unmindful of the fact – Had not forgotten; was aware of the fact.
When my comrades and I were pushed to our limits – Felt that we could not endure the suffering any longer.
To reassure me and keep me going – Help me continue to live in hope in this very difficult situation.
The basic and honourable freedoms of… earning my keep… – Earning enough money to live on
Writing (Pages 12-13)
I. Looking at Contrasts
* It requires such depths of oppression (v) to create such heights of character.
* Courage was not the absence of fear (iii) but the triumph over it.
* The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid (iv) but he who conquers that fear.
* If people can learn to hate (i) they can be taught to love.
* I was not born with a hunger to be free. (ii) I was born free. [cite: 83-84, 138]
II. This text repeatedly contrasts the past with the present or the future.
* [cite_start]For decades the Union Buildings had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colours and nations…
* Only moments before, the highest generals… saluted me… not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me. [cite: 40-41]
* [cite_start]Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem… they would soon know the words by heart.
* My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people…
* The Air Show was not only a display of pinpoint precision… but a demonstration of the military’s loyalty to democracy…
* It was this desire… that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home.
III. Expressing Your Opinion
* This is a writing prompt that asks you to write a 100-150 word paragraph on whether you think colour prejudice exists in your own country [cite: 148-149].
Homophones (Page 13)
Sentence 1: wound (verb, past tense of ‘to wind’, meaning to wrap around) and wound (noun, an injury).
* Sentence 2: desert (verb, to abandon), dessert (noun, a sweet dish), and desert (noun, an arid, sandy region).
Poem: A Tiger in the Zoo
Before You Read (Page 14)
* Which stanzas speak about the tiger in the zoo?
Stanzas 1, 4, and 5.
* Which ones speak about the tiger in the jungle?
Stanzas 2 and 3.
Thinking about the Poem (Page 15)
1. (i) Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger…
| In the Cage (Zoo) | In the Wild (Jungle) |
|—|—|
| stalks (few steps) | lurking in shadow |
| quiet rage | sliding through long grass |
| stalking (length of cage) | snarling around houses |
| ignoring visitors | baring his white fangs |
| hears… patrolling cars | terrorising the village |
| stares at stars | |
(ii) Find the words that describe the two places…
The Cage (Zoo) – (few steps of his) cage The Wild (Jungle) – Shadow / long grass
The Cage (Zoo) – Concrete cell The Wild (Jungle) – Water hole
The Cage (Zoo) – (Behind) bars The Wild (Jungle) – Jungle’s edge
The Cage (Zoo) – (Visitors) The Wild (Jungle) – (Village)
2. Notice the use of a word repeated… What do you think is the effect of this repetition?
* (i) On pads of velvet quiet, / In his quiet rage.
The repetition of “quiet” contrasts the tiger’s natural stealth (his “velvet quiet” paws) with his unnatural, suppressed anger (his “quiet rage”). His quietness is both a sign of his power and his helplessness.
* (ii) And stares with his brilliant eyes / At the brilliant stars.
The repetition of “brilliant” connects the tiger’s eyes to the stars. It emphasizes that the tiger’s spirit is still bright, alive, and wild, just like the distant, free stars he is longing to be under.
3. & 4. Discussion/Writing Prompts
* These questions ask you to discuss and form an opinion on whether zoos are necessary for conservation, education, or if there are alternatives [cite: 173-174]. [cite_start]You are then asked to take a point of view (for or against zoos) and write a few paragraphs or prepare a short speech.