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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Long Walk to Freedom, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism and Division
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest
The Value of Optimism
Summary
Analysis
When Mandela returns to Johannesburg, he gets caught up in a controversy over whether ANC should participate in the Bantu Authorities. Mandela thinks it could be a good opportunity to spread the ANC platform, but the younger activists who want no part in any apartheid structure remind Mandela of his own younger self. Mandela also agrees that the government’s policies to resettle African people by ethnic group are cruel, treating people’s lives like a “jigsaw puzzle.”
The Bantu Authorities Act gave more authority to traditional tribal leaders. While in practice, this might seem like an idea Mandela could support, the real intent of the law was to give the government more control over the tribal leaders and to use these tribal associations to keep Black South Africans separated so they couldn’t and wouldn’t unite against the White national government.
Themes
Mandela gets banned again from traveling and attending political meetings, this time for five years. This time, he is more determined than ever not to let his ban affect his activism. Surprisingly, one of the biggest conflicts Mandela helps mediate during this period is at a local boxing gym where he often trains. Several boxers feel the owner is neglecting the gym and want to go start a new one. Mandela calls a meeting with both sides, but it resolves nothing. Mandela goes with the boxers to a series of new locations, none of which are any better than the old one. Although Mandela is unable to resolve this dispute, he remains fascinated by boxing because while African boxers often earn little money for their work, many have overcome the odds to build a global reputation.
Boxing is a violent sport, but it is also about control and technique. Mandela’s interest in boxing reflects his views about political violence—boxing is not about recklessly attacking but instead about being strategic. The conflict between members of the gym and the owner is a microcosm for how many Black South Africans feel that the institutions of their country are not providing enough for them. As is often the case in Mandela’s early career, Mandela doesn’t achieve immediate success, but he celebrates small victories (like the unity the boxers found together) and hopes for a better future.
Themes
