Reading Mandela’s autobiography ‘The Long Walk to Freedom’ really shows me how a superior leader he is. His struggles against Apartheid save South Africa from discrimination. The first thing comes to mind when I read his autobiography is ‘What is Apartheid?’ Basically, Apartheid is a situation when minority race lead the political power and the majority forced to follow the minority rules.
This autobiography tells us how Mandela gives up his freedom for the sake of his peoples’ freedom that is oppressed by the white people.
The line that really captures my attention is “Apartheid’s regulations extended even to clothing”. What is the significance of the clothes in this autobiography? This chapter shows us what some prisoners get or don not get.
“All of us, except Kathy, received short trousers, an insubstantial jersey, and a canvas jacket. Kathy, the one Indian among us, was given long trousers. Normally Africans would receive sandals made from car tires, but in this instance we were given shoes. Kathy, alone, received socks. Short trousers for Africans were meant to remind us that we were ‘boys’. I put on the short trousers that day, but I vowed that I would not put up with them for long.”
From the extract above, we can see the way of breaking down people’s spirit by treating them differently. The long pants show greater authority. Furthermore, short pants show immaturity as it is for boys compared to long pants for young-adult, or man.
Here is picture of Mandela's prison in Robben Island.
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