What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African patriots” who went before him?

This text repeatedly contrast the past with the present or the future. We can use coordinated clauses to contrast two views, for emphasis or effect.

Given below are sentences carrying one part of the contrast. Find in the text the second part of the contrast, and complete each item.

Identify the words which signal the contrast. This has been done for you in the first item.

1. For decades the Union Buildings had been the seat of white supremacy, and now…..

2. Only moments before, the higher generals of the South African defense force and police……saluted me and pledged their loyalty….not so many years before they would not have saluted…..

3. Although that day neither group knew the lyrics of the anthem….they would soon……………..

4. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil,…………….

5. The Air show was not only a display of pinpoint precision and military force, but…………………..

6. It was this desire for the freedom of my people………that transformed………….into a bold one, that drove………………to become a criminal, that turned……………..into a man without a home.

In groups, discuss the issues suggested in the box below.

Then prepare a speech of about two minutes on the following table.

(First make notes for your speech in writing).

True liberty is freedom from poverty, deprivation and all forms of discrimination.

•Causes of poverty and means of overcoming it.

•Discrimination based on gender, religion, class, etc.

•Constitutionally guaranteed human rights.

Looking at contrasts

Nelson Mandela’s writing is marked by balance: Many sentences have two parts in balance.

Use the following phrases to complete the sentences given below:

(i) They can be (ii) I was born free

thought to love

(iii) but the triumph (iv) but he who

Over it. Conquers that

Fear

(v) to create such

Heights of character

1. It requires such depths of oppression

…………………….

2. Courage was not the absence of fear

……………………..

3. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid ……………………

4. If people can learn to hate…………………

5. I was not born with hunger to be free.

Take a point of view for or against zoos, or even consider both points of view and write a couple of paragraphs or speak about the topic for a couple of minutes in a class.

Using the Definite Article with Names

You know that the definite article ‘the’ is not normally used before proper nouns. Nor do proper nouns usually occur in the plural. (We do not say: *The Nelson Mandela, or *Nelson Mandelas). But now look at this sentence from the text:

…..the decades of oppression and brutality…… produced the Oliver Tambos, the Walter Sisulus,……….of our our time.

Used in this way with the and/ or in the plural, a proper noun carries a special meaning. For example, what do you think the names above mean?

Choose the right answer.

(a) for example Oliver Tambos, Walter Sisulus,……..

(b) Many other men like Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu……/many men of their type or kind, whose names may not be as well known.

Did you choose option (b)? Then you have the right answer.

Here are some more examples of ‘the’ used with proper names. Try to say what these sentences mean. (You may consult a dictionary if you wish. Look at the entry for ‘the’).

1. Mr. Singh regularly invites the Amitabh Bachchans and the Shah Rukh Khans to his parties.

2. Many people think that Madhuri Dixit is the Madhubala of our times.

3. History is not only the story of the Alexanders, the Napoleans and the Hitlers, but of ordinary people as well.

Read the paragraph below. Fill in the blanks with the noun forms of the verbs in brackets.

Martin Luther King’s…………….(contribute) to our history as an outstanding leader began when he came to the …………..(assist) of Rosa Parks, a seamstress who refused to give her up seat on a bus to a white passenger. In those days American Blacks were confined to positions of second-class citizenship by restrictive laws and customs. To break these laws would mean…………..(subjugate) and…………(humiliate) by the police and the legal system. Beatings, ……………..(imprison) and sometimes death awaited those who defied the system. Martin Luther King’s tactics of protest involved non-violent ……………..(resist) to racial injustice.

Idiomatic Expressions

Match the italicized phrases in column A with the phrase nearest in meaning in column B. (Hint: First look for the sentence in the text in which the phrases in column A occurs).

Expressing your Opinion

Do you think there is a color prejudice in our own country? Discuss this with your friend and write a paragraph of about 100 to 150 words about this. You have the option of making your paragraph a humorous one.

(Read the short verse given below)

When you were born you were pink

When you grew up you became white

When you are in the sun you are red

When you are sick you are yellow

When you are angry you are purple

When you are shocked you are grey

And you have the cheek to call me ‘coloured’.

Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How does Mandela illustrate this? Can you add your own examples to this argument?

Make a list of such pairs of nouns and verbs in the text.