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Chapter 39
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 doesn’t go home after the verdict because he’s still anxious about authorities coming for him, so he stays at a hotel in Cape Town. He makes the decision to start living underground, which changes his whole resistance strategy, requiring even more planning than before. There’s a warrant for his arrest, and he begins going out mostly at night. He begins to look unkempt to try to hide his identity.
Although Mandela triumphed in court earlier, his decision to go underground reflects his growing understanding that no matter what he does, he won’t be able to succeed within the crooked South African legal system. Mandela shows once again that he isn’t rigid in his beliefs and is willing to adapt his strategy to whatever makes sense in the present moment.
Themes
