Long Walk to Freedom

Long Walk to Freedom

by

Nelson Mandela

Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Racism and Division Theme Icon
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Icon
Nonviolent Protest vs. Violent Protest Theme Icon
The Value of Optimism Theme Icon
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.
Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Theme Icon

Although today, Nelson Mandela is widely admired for his political and social justice accomplishments, his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom shows how his ideas were controversial in their time, earning many admirers for his bravery but also facing opposition from all sides. Mandela’s primary opponents throughout the book are the Nationalists, a political party in South Africa dedicated to apartheid, a form of legally-sanctioned white supremacy. Although the Nationalists are supposedly democratically elected, only White people have the right to vote in South Africa during their reign, making their rule far from democratic—White people are a tiny majority in South Africa. In addition to the Nationalists, over the course of his long career in politics, Mandela also faces opposition from people who are on his side of the liberation struggle but who have different ideas about the best course forward. Most prominent among these opponents are the PAC, who focus exclusively on the Black experience and leave out members of other oppressed races in the country, like Indian South Africans. Additionally, Mandela also has allies like Tambo and Luthuli, who are less radical than Mandela when it comes to endorsing violence as a protest tactic. Mandela always listens to and respects these allies, even backing down in cases where he sees he’s outnumbered, but he’s also forthright about defending his own opinions about the best path forward.

Amid all this opposition, Mandela tries to present himself as someone who is willing to negotiate and make compromises. As the book’s title suggests, Mandela believes that obtaining freedom is a long progress, and he celebrates small, incremental gains, while realizing that there is still more work to do. Mandela tells stories that describe various instances when he managed to negotiate with people who had different viewpoints from him. For example, although Mandela strongly disagrees with President de Klerk, he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize in conjunction with him and makes sure to shake his hand after their presidential debate. Mandela believes that it is important to respect his enemies and try to find common ground, even when he believes that their policies or beliefs are unjust. The culmination of Mandela and his allies’ efforts is the first truly democratic election in South African history, when all citizens have a right to vote. The election does not immediately resolve the nation’s racial strife or violence, but Mandela relates how the occasion brings together people of different races, singing together in both Afrikaans and Xhosa. Ultimately, Mandela’s autobiography suggests that while democracy can be a slow and uneven way of effecting social change, it is still the most effective way to achieve change that lasts. Additionally, his story shows how the path to this change may involve negotiating and compromising without losing sight of one’s principles.

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Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress appears in each chapter of Long Walk to Freedom. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress Quotes in Long Walk to Freedom

Below you will find the important quotes in Long Walk to Freedom related to the theme of Negotiation, Democracy, and Progress.
Chapter 7 Quotes

Even though I thought what I was doing was morally right, I was still uncertain as to whether it was the correct course. Was I sabotaging my academic career over an abstract moral principle that mattered very little? I found it difficult to swallow the idea that I would sacrifice what I regarded as my obligation to the students for my own selfish interests. I had taken a stand, and I did not want to appear to be a fraud in the eyes of my fellow students. At the same time, I did not want to throw away my career at Fort Hare.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Page Number: 52
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

My devotion to the ANC and the struggle was unremitting. This disturbed Evelyn. She had always assumed that politics was a youthful diversion, that I would someday return to the Transkei and practice there as a lawyer.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker), Evelyn Mase
Page Number: 206
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26 Quotes

Her name was Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela, but she was known as Winnie. She had recently completed her studies at the Jan Hofmeyr School of Social Work in Johannesburg and was working as the first black female social worker at Baragwanath Hospital. At the time I paid little attention to her background or legal problem, for something in me was deeply stirred by her presence. I was thinking more of how I could ask her out than how our firm would handle her case. I cannot say for certain if there is such a thing as love at first sight, but I do know that the moment I first glimpsed Winnie Nomzamo, I knew that I wanted to have her as my wife.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker), Nomzamo Winifred “Winnie” Madikizela, Evelyn Mase
Page Number: 214
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 39 Quotes

I did not regard the verdict as a vindication of the legal system or evidence that a black man could get a fair trial in a white man’s court. It was the right verdict and a just one, but it was largely as a result of a superior defense team and the fair-mindedness of the panel of these particular judges.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Page Number: 260
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 59 Quotes

That first week we began the work that would occupy us for the next few months. Each morning, a load of stones about the size of volleyballs was dumped by the entrance to the courtyard. Using wheelbarrows, we moved the stones to the center of the yard. We were given either four-pound hammers or fourteen-pound hammers for the larger stones. Our job was to crush the stones into gravel.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Related Symbols: Robben Island
Page Number: 385
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 63 Quotes

In jail, all prisoners are classified by the authorities as one of four categories: A, B, C, or D. A is the highest classification and confers the most privileges; D is the lowest and confers the least. All political prisoners, or what the authorities called “security prisoners,” were automatically classified as D on admission. The privileges affected by these classifications included visits and letters, studies, and the opportunity to buy groceries and incidentals—all of which are the lifeblood of any prisoner. It normally took years for a political prisoner to raise his status from D to C.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Related Symbols: Robben Island
Page Number: 398
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 66 Quotes

For me, hunger strikes were altogether too passive. We who were already suffering were threatening our health, even courting death. I have always favored a more active, militant style of protest such as work strikes, go-slow strikes, or refusing to clean up; actions that punished the authorities, not ourselves. They wanted gravel and we produced no gravel. They wanted the prison yard clean and it was untidy. This kind of behavior distressed and exasperated them, whereas I think they secretly enjoyed watching us go hungry.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Related Symbols: Robben Island
Page Number: 423
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 69 Quotes

The High Organ was the source of some controversy because of its ethnic composition: all four permanent members were from Xhosa backgrounds. This was a matter of coincidence rather than design; the senior ANC leadership on the island, the only four to have served on the National Executive Committee, happened to be Xhosa. It would not have been proper to take a less senior comrade and put him on the High Organ simply because he was not a Xhosa. But the fact that the High Organ was Xhosa-dominated disturbed me because it seemed to reinforce the mistaken perception that we were a Xhosa organization.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker), Walter Sisulu
Related Symbols: Robben Island
Page Number: 442
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 84 Quotes

It took fifteen years, but in 1979, the authorities announced over the intercom system that the diet for African, Coloured, and Indian prisoners would henceforth be the same. But just as justice delayed is justice denied, a reform so long postponed and so grudgingly enacted was hardly worth celebrating.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Page Number: 502
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 93 Quotes

I responded that the state was responsible for the violence and that it is always the oppressor, not the oppressed, who dictates the form of the struggle. If the oppressor uses violence, the oppressed have no alternative but to respond violently.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker), Colonel Willemse, Kobie Coetsee, Dr. Barnard
Page Number: 537
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 99 Quotes

De Klerk again excused himself and left the room. After ten minutes he returned with a compromise: yes, I could be released at Victor Verster, but, no, the release could not be postponed. The government had already informed the foreign press that I was to be set free tomorrow and felt they could not renege on that statement. I felt I could not argue with that. In the end, we agreed on the compromise, and Mr. de Klerk poured a tumbler of whisky for each of us to drink in celebration. I raised the glass in a toast, but only pretended to drink; such spirits are too strong for me.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker), Nomzamo Winifred “Winnie” Madikizela, F. W. de Klerk
Related Symbols: Car
Page Number: 558
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 104 Quotes

Despite his seemingly progressive actions, Mr. de Klerk was by no means the great emancipator. He was a gradualist, a careful pragmatist. He did not make any of his reforms with the intention of putting himself out of power. He made them for precisely the opposite reason: to ensure power for the Afrikaner in a new dispensation. He was not yet prepared to negotiate the end of white rule.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker), F. W. de Klerk, Chief Buthelezi
Page Number: 577
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 115 Quotes

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.

Related Characters: Nelson Mandela (speaker)
Page Number: 625
Explanation and Analysis: