Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom

by

Nelson Mandela

Robert Sobukwe Character Analysis

Robert Sobukwe is an anti-apartheid activist that Mandela admires, but the two of them are eventually at odds with each other once Sobukwe becomes the head of the PAC. The PAC champions Pan-Africanism as the solution to apartheid, not multiracialism like the ANC. Like Mandela, he spends much of his life in prison and is an influential figure in the liberation movement.
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Robert Sobukwe Character Timeline in Long Walk to Freedom

The timeline below shows where the character Robert Sobukwe appears in Long Walk to Freedom. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 30
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Icon
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest Theme Icon
...contradicts ANC’s multiracial perspective. Despite this rivalry, Mandela knows and respects the PAC president Robert Sobukwe and has other former colleagues in the party as well because they used to be... (full context)
Chapter 33
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Icon
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest Theme Icon
...believes this is a tactical move, not one based on unity, and ANC doesn’t join. Sobukwe, the PAC president, turns himself into the police on March 21, but he unexpectedly gets... (full context)
Chapter 52
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Icon
...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... (full context)
Chapter 53
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest Theme Icon
...political offenders, and stories spread about people being abused in jail. Some political prisoners, like Sobukwe, are simply re-detained after their original sentences are up. (full context)
Chapter 84
Racism and Division Theme Icon
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Icon
The Value of Optimism Theme Icon
...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... (full context)