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Chapter 54
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
On October 9, 1963, Mandela gets taken in a police van to the Supreme Court in Pretoria, for a trial that gets known as the Rivonia Trial, which features the state vs. him and some other activists. Mandela hates having to go to court in a khaki prison uniform. Over three weeks, he gets two half-hour visits a week with his defense team. Meanwhile, government-supporting newspapers print headlines to try to paint Mandela as a dangerous revolutionary. When the trial starts, the prosecution attempts to portray Mandela as someone willing to blow up all of Johannesburg. But Mandela and Sisulu, his ally who is also among those on trial, all plead not guilty, saying the real guilty party is the government.
Years after they first started, Mandela’s legal struggles still continue. This reflects the lack of progress by the current South African government and how in many ways, they keep doing the same thing, administration after administration. Mandela also highlights how the government’s portrayal of him has become increasingly inaccurate as they stretch the truth. In their arguments, Mandela has gone from simply being a Communist to being someone willing and able to blow up a whole city. Although Mandela has the truth on his side, this is not enough to survive in the increasingly corrupt court system.
Themes
The state has a star witness, Bruno Mtolo, who goes by Mr. X. He is a Zulu man who was a leader in MK. He says he lost faith in the organization and came to believe it was just a tool of the Communists. He presents a document from MK about guerrilla warfare, but Mandela tries to argue for the truth: that while MK considered this option, they never believed it was viable. In spite of the grim mood and the trial, Mandela and the other prisoners try to keep their spirits up, with one asking for Mandela to be his new child’s godfather.
Once again, the passage shows how Mandela and his allies are capable of thinking with nuance, but the government tries to portray things in absolutes. Mandela learns that regardless of whether or not he uses techniques like guerrilla warfare, the state will blame him for it anyway. This demonstrates how the government distorts the truth, further showing how their rule is illegitimate.
Themes
