Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Balance and contrast; opinion and speech
Write balanced, contrasting sentences and express an opinion.
Balanced sentences. Mandela often puts two ideas side by side: not this, but that.
- 'Courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.'
- 'The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.'
- 'If people can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.'
Past against present. Signal words show the contrast:
- 'For decades this had been the seat of white supremacy, and now it was the site of a rainbow gathering.'
- 'Although that day neither group knew the lyrics…, they would soon know the words by heart.'
- 'My country is rich in minerals and gems…, but its greatest wealth is its people.'
Your opinion: colour prejudice. The book asks: is there colour prejudice in our own country? Write 100–150 words:
- state your view in the first line;
- give two reasons and an example;
- end with what could change.
You may write it humorously, like the short poem in the book: 'When you were born you were pink… And you have the cheek to call me "coloured".'
A two-minute speech: 'True liberty is freedom from poverty, deprivation and all forms of discrimination.' Make notes first. Open with one strong line, give three points (poverty, discrimination by gender, religion or class, and the rights our Constitution guarantees) and end with a call to act.
Practise this lesson
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