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Chapter 85
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
One day, some Thembu chiefs come to visit Mandela. The visit gets official approval because authorities believe Mandela’s involvement in Transkei matters will distract him from the broader liberation struggle and that traditional leaders might counterbalance the ANC. The Thembu chiefs have a leadership crisis: Sabata, the main traditional chief, has been deposed by K. D. Matanzima, Mandela’s nephew and the prime minister of Transkei. Mandela hears the situation and advises them to support Sabata, since Matanzima is usurping power. Matanzima wants to meet with Mandela, but Mandela refuses, out of fear that this would legitimize Matanzima.
This passage shows how complicated some of the political questions Mandela has to face are. Mandela has to advise the Thembu chiefs against supporting Mandela’s own nephew, because to do so would legitimize the government’s attempts to exert control over Transkei. Mandela’s decision shows that he respects tradition and legitimacy, putting justice ahead of his own family connections and contrasting himself with the corruption that many of the Nationalist politicians exhibit.
Themes
In 1982, Mandela hears that Winnie is in the hospital after a car accident. He gets Winnie’s attorney, Dullah Omar, to come and tell him the full story. He learns that Winnie is recovering successfully. Soon after, Mandela hears that he’s being transferred. He doesn’t know why and is anxious. He packs his things and is taken to a new location, only learning when he arrives that it’s called Pollsmoor Prison.
The car used to be a symbol of Mandela’s status and mobility, but now a car crash has killed his son and injured Winnie. This reflects how as much as Mandela tries to plan for a better future, some things are random and outside his control. The prison authorities try to further reduce Mandela’s autonomy by leaving him in the dark about things like his prison transfer.
Themes
