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Chapter 37
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
Mandela’s trial continues to drag on. His travel ban ends two days before adjournment, and he doesn’t think the police keep track of such things, so he makes plans to drive a car 300 miles to Pietermaritzburg for a meeting. He will return to Pretoria for a verdict. The speech Mandela gives calls for unity from all groups, including Black, White, Indian, and Coloured. Meanwhile, Nationalists hold an all-White referendum that declares that South Africa should become a republic.
Mandela’s speech at the trial about unity among the different racial groups is a summary of all the ideas he has been putting together over this first part of his life. Once again, he contrasts his own positive view of the future with a more negative portrayal of the Nationalists, who claim to be a democracy but who pointedly exclude most of the population from the voting process.
Themes
