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Chapter 83
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
In 1978, the prisoners finally get to hear the news, broadcast on radio over the prison intercom. The first report is the death of Sobukwe, and more stories tell of government victories. John Vorster retires as prime minister, which the prisoners only later learn was due to corruption, and P. W. Botha takes office. In prison, they sometimes show films, and eventually, when prisoners have the power to select them, Mandela gets interested in documentaries. In 1979, all prisoners—African, Coloured, and Indian—finally get the same diet.
This chapter shows how conditions in prison have been slowly improving, perhaps as a result of the complaints of people like Mandela. Although the change in food for Black prisoners is relatively minor, the equality that they get with the other prisoners shows that the different racial groups in prison are being treated more fairly—a hopeful sign that racial equality may be possible in South Africa after all.
Themes
