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Chapter 93
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
International pressure builds on South Africa, which has to call states of emergency again in 1987 and 1988. Still, the Nationalists have a large share of the votes. Mandela goes to the hospital again for water in his lung. He is moved to a fancy clinic where he is the first Black patient, and Coetsee comes to visit him. The nurses, who are all White or Coloured, throw a party for Mandela in his room before he leaves the facility, while his guards stand and watch.
Although Mandela is unusual as the first Black patient at the hospital, he becomes popular there, showing how racial differences and prejudices become less important as people form personal relationships with those who are different. The support that Mandela has among the nurses is yet another sign that things are slowly changing in South Africa, even if the elections don’t yet reflect it.
Themes
