CBSE Class 10 English First Flight - Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Summary & Notes

Summary of Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

“A Long to Freedom”, by Nelson Mandela is all about the struggle of freedom of South-Africa. On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela has taken the vow as the first black president of South Africa. And therefore it was becoming a new-born democratic country. Nelson Mandela took the oath as the first black president.

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Summary

Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is an extract from the autobiography of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela that describes the struggle for freedom of black people in South Africa. On 10th May 1994, Nelson Mandela took the oath as South Africa’s first Black President after more than three centuries of White rule. His party had won 252 out of the 400 seats in the first democratic elections in the history of South Africa.

Many dignitaries and political figures from several countries had attended the inauguration ceremony that took place in the Union Buildings amphitheatre in Pretoria. In his speech, Mandela addressed all dignitaries respectfully and assured his fellow countrymen that his country would never experience similar suppression by one group over another. While taking his vow as the first black President, he established democracy in the country and said there would be no discrimination of people, irrespective of caste, colour, creed or race. He assured that the government would always treat all the people of the country with due respect and equality.

The lovely day of inauguration was symbolic for Mandela as the South African people sang two national anthems – the vision of whites sang ‘Nkosi Sikelel –iAfrika’ and the blacks sang ‘Die Stem’, the old anthem of the Republic. All these events reminded Mandela how the black-skinned people were exploited by the white people earlier. He deeply felt the pain of his race and said that this type of suppression and racial domination of the white-skinned people against the dark-skinned people on their own land gave rise to one of the harshest and most inhumane societies the world had ever seen or known. He strongly believed that no person is born to hate the other person on the basis of skin colour, background or religion. Although people must learn to hate initially, because if they learn to hate, they can be taught to love as well, as love comes more naturally to humans than hate. He also mentioned how a person becomes brave, not because he does not feel afraid, but because he knows how to conquer his fears.

Furthermore, Mandela stated that every man in life has two major obligations. The first one being towards his family i.e, parents, wife and children and the second obligation towards his motherland, countrymen and his community. Everyone is able to fulfil those obligations according to his own interests and inclinations. However, it was difficult to fulfil both these obligations as a black man in a country like South Africa before the democratic wave took over the nation by storm. When Mandela became an adult, he realised that freedom was merely an illusion and temporary in nature for the black-skinned people of his country. He felt that they were treated as slaves of exploitation and all the people of his race were treated unfairly by the white-skinned people.

According to Mandela, freedom was indivisible for all. But the people of his colour and race were bound in chains of oppression and tyranny. He knew that the oppressor must be liberated just like the oppressed because a person who snatches another’s freedom is also a prisoner of similar oppression. Thus, the oppressor is not free too and feels shackled in the chains of oppression himself.

Conclusion of Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

In the chapter – Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, we learnt that brave men are not those who never feel afraid, but the ones who know how to conquer fear. Mandela strongly felt that every individual has certain duties and responsibilities towards his own country and community.

Extract Based Questions [3 Marks each] Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow. Question 1.  10th May dawned bright and clear. For the past few days 1 had been pleasantly besieged by dignitaries and world leaders who were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration. The inauguration would be the largest gathering ever of international leaders on South African soil. The ceremonies took place in the lovely sandstone amphitheater formed by the Union Buildings in Pretoria. For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering of different colours and nations for the installation of South Africa’s first democratic, non-racial government. (a) Who were coming and for what before the inauguration? (b) What happened on the inauguration? (c) Find out the word that means the same ‘commencement’ from the passage. (d) Find the word from the passage which means ‘an open space surround by sloping land’. Answer: (a) Dignitaries and world leaders were coming to pay their respects before the inauguration. (b) On the inauguration the first ever democracy, a non-racial government was installed as a victory of good or evil. (c) The word is ‘inauguration’. (d) The word is ‘ampitheater’. Question 2. On that lovely autumn day I was accompanied by my daughter Zenani. On the podium, Mr de Klerk was first sworn in as second Deputy President. Then Thabo Mbeki was sworn in as first Deputy President. When it was my turn, I pledged to obey and uphold the Constitution and to devote myself to the well-being of the republic and its people. (a) Who accompanied Nelson Mandela on the inauguration? (b) Who took the oath before Mandela? For what? (c) Find out the word from the passage that has the same meaning as ‘maintain’. (d) ……. means a small platform that a person stands on when giving a speech etc. Answer: (a) Zenani, the daughter of Nelson Mandela accompanied him on the inauguration. (b) Mr Deklerk and Mr Thabo Mbeki took oath before Nelson Mandela as the second and first deputy president respectively. (c) The word is ‘uphold’. (d) The word is ‘podium’. Question 3. We, who were outlaws not so long ago, have today been given the rare privilege to be host to the nations of the world on our own soil. We thank all of our distinguished international guests for having come to take possession with the people of our country of what is after all a common victory for justice, for peace, for human dignity. We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation. We pledge ourselves to liberate all our people from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discrimination. (a) What does ‘we’ refer in the first line of the passage? (b) What did the people of South Africa achieve at last? (c) The word ‘bondage’ means …… in the passage. (d) Give a synonym of ’emancipation’. Answer: (a) ‘We’ refers to the people of South Africa in the first line of the passage. (b) The people of South Africa achieved their political emancipation at last. (c) The word bondage means slavery in the passage. (d) ‘Freedom/liberation’ is a synonym of emancipation. Question 4. A few moments later we all lifted our eyes in awe as a spectacular array of South African jets, helicopters and troop carriers roared in perfect formation over the Union Buildings. It was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but a demonstration of military’s loyalty to democracy, to a new government that had been freely and fairly elected. Only moments before, the highest generals of South African defence force and police, their chests bedecked with ribbons and medals from days gone by, saluted me and pledged their loyalty. I was not unmindful of the fact that not so many years before they would not have saluted but arrested me. Finally a chevron of Impala jets left a smoke Trail of the black, red, green, blue and gold of the new South African flag. (a) What did the highest generals do in the event? (b) What did the smoke trail of Impala symbolise? (c) Pick out the word from the passage that means the same as adorned. (d) is a line or pattern in the shape of ‘V’ signifying victory. Answer: (a) The highest generals of defence and police saluted Mandela and pledged their loyalty to him. (b) The smoke trail of Impala symbolised the new national flag of South Africa. (c) The word is ‘bedecked’. (d) Chevron. Question 5. On the day of the inauguration, I was overwhelmed with a sense of history. In the first decade of the 20th century, a few years after the bitter Anglo-Boer war and before my own birth, the white-skinned people’s of South Africa patched up their differences and created a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned people of their own land. The structure they created formed the basis of one of the harshest, most inhumane societies the world has ever known. Now, in the last decade of the 20th centuryrand my own eighth decade as a man, that system had been overturned for ever and replaced by one that recognised the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin. That day had come about through the unimaginable sacrifices of thousands of my people, people whose suffering and courage can never be counted or repaid. (a) What happened after Anglo-Boer war? (b) On what basis the structure of new government created? (c) Pick the word in the passage which has the same meaning as ‘submerged’. (d) What is the meaning of the phrase ‘to patch up the differences’? Answer: (a) After Anglo-Boer war, the white people of South Africa erected a system of racial discrimination against the black people of their own land. (b) New government was created as the recognition of the rights and freedoms of all peoples regardless of the colour of their skin. (c) The word is ‘overwhelmed’. (d) The meaning is ‘to settle some dispute’. Question 6. The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in my country and my people. All of us will spend many years, if not generations, recovering from that profound hurt. But the decades of oppression and brutality had another, unintended, effect, ‘ and that was that it produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus, the Chief Luthulis, the Yusuf Dadoos, the Bram Fischers, the Robert Sobukwes of our time-men of such extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity that their like may never be known again. Perhaps it reguires such depths of oppression to create such heights of character. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds. (a) What did the policy of apartheid create? (b) According to Mandela, what is the greatest wealth? (c) Find out the word in the passage which means ‘large-heartedness.’ (d) Pick out the word from the passage which means to treat somebody/something cruelly and unfairly. Answer: (a) The policy of apartheid created a deep and lasting wound in the country and its people. (b) According to Mandela the people of his nation are the greatest wealth, not the gems or minerals. (c) The word is ‘generosity’. (d) The word is ‘to oppress’. Question 7. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, – perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.” (a) How does Mandela define the brave? (b) Which was the grimmest time for Mandela? (c) Find a word similar in meaning to ‘victory’. (d) Explain Man’s goodness is flame that can be hidden but never extinguished. Answer: (a) Mandela defines the brave as the one who has the courage to conquer fear. (b) When Mandela and his comrades were pushed to their limit behind the bars, it was the grimmest time for him. (c) The word is ‘triumph’. (d) It means goodness flows through the human heart constantly: under compulsion, the shadow of selfishness may stop it for a while but it can never be altogether removed. Question 8. In life, every man has twin obligations- obligations to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children; and he has an obligation to his people, his community, his country. In a civil and humane society, each man is able to fulfil those obligations according to his own inclinations and abilities. But in a country like South Africa, it was almost impossible for a man of my birth and colour to fulfil both of those obligations. In South Africa, a man of colour who attempted to live as a human being was punished and isolated. (a) What are the obligations that every man has in life? (b) Why was it impossible for a coloured man to discharge his obligations? (c) Find the word in the passage which has same meaning as ‘duty’. (d) A word synonymous with intentions’ is ……… in the passage. Answer: (a) Every man has two obligations one is to his family and second to his community and country. (b) In South Africa if a coloured man tried to fulfil his obligations, he was punished and isolated. (c) The word is.‘obligation’. (d) Inclinations. Question 9. “I was not born with a hunger to be free. I was born free — free in every way that I could know. Free to run in the fields near my mother’s hut, free to swim in the clear stream that ran through my village, free to roast mealies under the stars and ride the broad backs of slow-moving bulls. As long as I obeyed my father and abided by the customs of my tribe, I was not troubled by the laws of man or God. It was only when I began to learn that my boyhood freedom was an illusion, when I discovered as a young man that my freedom had already been taken from me, that I began to hunger for it. At first, as a student, I wanted freedom only for myself, the transitory freedoms of being able to stay out at night, read what I pleased and go where I chose. Later, as a. young man in Johannesburg, I yearned for the basic and honourable freedoms of achieving my potential, of earning my keep, of marrying and having a family—the freedom not to be obstructed in a lawful life.” (a) In what ways was Mandela free? (b) What kind of freedom did Mandela yearn for as a man? (c) Give the meaning of the word ‘illusion’? (d) What do you mean by ‘transitory’. Answer: (a) Mandela was free to run in the fields, free to swim in the stream, free to roast mealies and ride the backs of slow moving bulls. (b) Mandela yearned for the basic and honourable freedoms of achieving his potential of earning his life, of marrying and having a family. (c) Something which appears to be real but isn’t actually so. (d) Transitory means ‘momentary or impermanent’ Question 10. “But then I slowly saw that not only was I not free, but my brothers and sisters were not free. I saw that it was not just my freedom that was curtailed, but the freedom of everyone who looked like I did. That is when I joined the African National Congress and that is when the hunger for my own freedom became the greater hunger for the freedom of my people. It was this desire for the freedom of my people to live their lives with dignity and self-respect that animated my life, that transformed a frightened young man into a bold one, that drove a law-abiding attorney to become a criminal, that turned a family-loving husband into a man without a home, that forced a life-loving man to live like a monk. I am no more virtuous or self-sacrificing than the next man, but I found that I could not even enjoy the poof and limited freedoms I was allowed when I knew my people were not free. Freedom is indivisible; the chains on anyone of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me.” (a) Why did Mandela join the African National Congress? (b) Why did Mandela say that freedom was indivisible? (c) Find out the word in the passage with the same meaning ‘worthy’. (d) Which word of English can replace the word ‘animated’ given is the passage without altering its sense. Answer: (a) Mandela joined the african national congress because he wanted to fight for the freedom of his people. (b) Mandela knew that freedom is indivisible because the chains on anyone of his people were chains on all of them. (c) the word is ‘virtuous’. (d) the word is compelled/forced. Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each] Question 1. What promise does Mandela make in the beginning of opening of his oath-taking speech? Answer: Mandela thanks all the international leaders and guests as he calls it an occasion of joy and victory for Justice. He promises that the country shall not again experience the oppression of one by another. Question 2. What freedom meant to Mandela in childhood? Answer: During childhood the meaning of freedom for Mandela was quite limited he considered it to be free to run in the fields, to swim in the clear stream, free to roast mealies and ride the board backs of slow moving bulls. Question 3. Why did inauguration ceremony take place in the amphiteatre formed by the Union Building in Pretoria? Answer: It was the first democratic, non-racial government taking oath in South Africa. The ceremony was attended by dignitaries from more than 140 countries around the world and thousands of the people of South Africa of all the races to make the day memorable. So, it took place in, the amphiteatre formed by the Union Building in Pretoria. Question 4. What are the ideals which Mandela set for the future of South Africa in his swearing- in ceremony? Answer: Mandela emphasised to liberate all the people from poverty, deprivation, suffering, gender and other discriminations in his swearing-in ceremony. Question 5. What did Mandela think for oppressor and oppressed? Answer: Mandela always thought that both oppressor and oppressed are deprived of their humanity. Oppressor is a prisoner of hatred while oppressed has no confidence in humanity so both of them need to be liberated. Question 6. What do you understand by Apartheid’? Answer: ‘Apartheid’ is a political system that divides people according to their race. In this system black-coloured people in South Africa were not free even to discharge their personal and social obligations of being parents, sons and husbands, etc. Question 7. Describe the effect of the policy of apartheid on the people of South Africa. Answer: The policy of apartheid could not be considered fortunate for the people of South Africa. It created distance and a deep wound in the country and the people. Many great men like Oliver Tambo, Walttr Sisulu, Yusuf Dadoo, Bram Fischer, etc were produced due to the brutality and oppression. They were men of great character Question 8. How is courage related to the brave man according to the author of the lesson? Answer: The author believes that courage is not the absence of fear, but it is the triumph over it. The brave man is not the one who does not feel fear of any kind but he is the one who has the courage to conquer it. Question 9. Could everyone fulfil the obligations personal or social in South Africa? Answer: No, everyone was not free to fulfil their obligations because of colour of the skin. If a persoti tried to fulfil their obligations, they were punished and isolated for being a rebellion. Question 10. What did Mandela realise about his brothers and sisters? Answer: Mandela realised that his brothers and sisters were not free in their own country due to their colour. The freedom of everyone in his society was curtailed. He joined the African National Congress and fought for the freedom. Question 11. Why was Nelson Mandela changed into a bold man? Answer: Nelson Mandela was changed into a bold man due to his . desire of the freedom for his country and his countrymen. He wanted to live a life with dignity as he could not enjoy the limited freedom. Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each] Question 1. What does Nelson Mandela refer to as “an extraordinary human disaster”? Answer: Nelson Mandela refers to the apartheid policy of the white race against the black people as “an extraordinary human disaster”. White people snatched freedom from the coloured people of South Africa to whom the country belonged. The black people were subjected to oppression for long. They were not even allowed to discharge their obligations to their own families, community and their country. White people had no compassion for them and oppressed their own people and put them in prison. If they had some freedom, it was curtailed. The black people lived the life of a slave. Question 2. Describe the views of Mandela for the black people who fought and sacrificed their likes for the country’s political independence? Answer: Mandela always said that the political freedom was the result of sacrifices of thousands of the black people who fought for that. He said that it could not be repaid. He thought himself as the sum of all of those African patriots. He regretted that he could not thank them. He cursed the policy of apartheid that wounded the people of his country, which would take centuries to heal. He also said that the oppression and brutality of the white people produced great freedom fighters like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Luthuli, Dadoo, Fischer, Sobukwe and many more. They were the men of courage, wisdom and large heartedness. They really suffered a lot for the political freedom of the country. Question 3. What does Mandela mean to say that the oppressor and the oppressed alike are robbed of their humanity? Answer: Mandela is right in saying that the oppressor and the oppressed alike are robbed of their humanity. Both of them are actually the victim of hatred. Everyone is obliged to discharge their duties whether personal or social but without freedom a man cannot do so. The person who snatches this freedom of a man is really an oppressor and a prisoner of hatred. He has lack of humanity. But this is the same with a person who is oppressed by other. Question 4. Describe the obligations which the author is talking about and also describe his feelings for them? Answer: In the chapter the author has talked about two obligation for every man. The first obligation is towards his family, parents, his wife and children. The second is towards his community and his country. Being a social person one has to fulfil these obligations. But being a black coloured person in South Africa, a man was not free to perform his obligations and got punished if he tried to do that. Being a child the author never thought of such obligations but after he did so, he fought for the people and the country to be free and enjoy their freedom of performing their duties personal and social. Question 5. Describe the value of freedom for the human beings and how it is important for the growth of civilisation and humanism as described in the lesson ‘Nelson Mandela : Long Walk to Freedom’.  Answer: Everybody whether human or other creatures wants to live free as freedom is natural to all living beings. The value of freedom is better known to that human being who has not tasted it till he gets it. A person who is chained with the limits and not allowed to perform his duties freely, values freedom more than anyone else. For instance the value of freedom is known better to Mandela who remained behind the bars most of his life. Think about a bird or animal which is caged as they have the habit of living with full freedom but in the cage they are not free and their conditions are very pitiable. Similarly, life becomes a hell if we are deprived of freedom. There is no growth of civilisation as it grows only when one has freedom. Similarly, humanism grows in the atmosphere of freedom.