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Chapter 51
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
Mandela sees prison as about taking away a person’s identity. He feels isolated in Pretorial Local, the prison where he’s staying, getting only half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon for exercise. Mandela knows Sobukwe is somewhere in prison and hopes to see him and put aside any competition between ANC and PAC. They and a couple other political prisoners get to speak briefly in the courtyard. Two weeks later, Sisulu also comes to Pretoria to serve a six-year sentence. But bail efforts for him are successful, and once he’s out, he goes underground. The prison gives Mandela the wrong dosage of blood pressure medication, and he blacks out at one point, needing stitches from the fall. Rumor spreads that his health is poor.
Although being sent to prison is a major setback for Mandela, both politically and personally, he still tries to make the best of his situation. For example, being stuck in prison helps Mandela and Sobukwe to put aside the rivalry between the ANC and PAC, recognizing that they both face a common enemy. While Mandela tries to remain strong in the face of adversity, the mix-up with Mandela’s blood pressure medication is a reminder that he is mortal and faces limitations. That he’s injured when the prison administration gives him the wrong dose also highlights how little power he and other prisoners have in this situation.
Themes
