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Chapter 78
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
In 1976, Jimmy Kruger, the minister of prisons, comes to visit Mandela. He still believes that Mandela and ANC are violent Communists, so Mandela tries to explain to him ANC’s slow process toward incorporating violence. Mandela tries to negotiate the release of some prisoners, but Kruger doesn’t want to hear it. Instead, his offer is for Mandela alone to move to Transkei and recognize the legitimacy of its bantustan government in exchange for a lighter sentence. Mandela refuses.
Jimmy Kruger’s views differ strongly from Mandela’s, but Mandela still takes the time to try to set things straight with him. While Mandela values cooperation, he realizes that what Kruger really wants is for Mandela to legitimize the government’s unjust practices, and so Mandela refuses the offer.
Themes
