Class 10 English Chapter 2 Question Answers - Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom

Ans:

(A) One inference about Nelson Mandela from the given context "We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation" leads one to believe that Nelson Mandela was a leader dedicated to bringing political freedom and liberation to all South Africans. He was known for his strength of spirit, integrity, honour, and leadership
(B) False. When Nelson Mandela says, "God bless Africa," he does not only mean the welfare and well-being of South Africa's black population. Instead, he is wishing for an abundance of wealth, harmony, and peace for the whole country of South Africa.
(C) In his speech, Nelson Mandela promises to free everyone from discrimination and poverty while celebrating South Africa's political emancipation. His proclamation that "The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement" conveys a great sense of pride and assurance in the enormous advances that have been made in the direction of a society that is just and free.
(D) The phrase that could correctly substitute "so glorious" in the given sentence would be "such magnificent."

Ans: When Mandela said "People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love,” he is making an observation that people don’t start hating other people the moment they are born, they learn to hate others as they go by. People are born without prejudice, it is our conditioning that teaches us to discriminate. Mandela is hopeful that if people can be taught to hate so can they be taught to love. He expresses his confidence that behaving lovingly comes naturally to humans, and so it will be easier for them to love one another. He derived his confidence from his experiences in prison. He was treated harshly in prison and faced much torture, but even during those dark times, he would find one of the guards pitying him. It taught him that even oppressors have a heart and can change if given a chance.

Ans: Nelson Mandela believes that freedom is indivisible. He also says that no one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when his comrades and he were pushed to their limits, he would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure him and keep him going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.

Ans: (c)

The phrase "a gathering of different colours" refers to the gathering of dignitaries and leaders from various nations, symbolizing unity and support for South Africa’s freedom from apartheid.
Thus, the correct answer is (c) Leaders of different nations gathered there.

Ans: (b)
Mandela speaks about the "twin obligations" that every man has. According to him, these are:
(i) The obligation to his family, to take care of and provide for them.
(ii) The obligation to his country, to work towards the freedom and welfare of his people.
Thus, the correct answer is (b) first to his family and the second to his country.

Ans: On the day of the inaugural ceremony, Nelson Mandela was overwhelmed with a sense of history. He remembered the birth of their Apartheid, its effect on his people and their long fight for freedom, the racial discrimination dark-skinned people suffered on their own land. He also remembered the freedom fighters who suffered and sacrificed their lives for freedom. Then he remembered how the system had been over-turned forever and ever and replaced by one that recognised the right and freedom of all people, regardless of the colour of their skin.

Ans: Nelson Mandela considers the fact that a black person became the President of India in a place where blacks were not treated even treated equally as human beings as 'so glorious a human achievement'.

Ans: In this lesson, Nelson Mandela talks about two obligations that are there in every man’s life. The first obligation is towards the family, parents, his wife, and children. The second obligation is towards his community and his parents. Mandela says that a man is free to do one’s duties only when he has his freedom. A person of color in South Africa was oppressed and not allowed or free to perform his obligations and was punished if he tried to do that. The author says that he never thought of these things before as a child, but after he grew up and began to think about it, he fought for the people and their freedom to perform their personal and social duties.

Ans: When Mandela grew up, he realised that brothers and sisters of his race had no liberty in their own country due to colour of their skin. He later decided to fight for freedom and dignity of people of his community.

Ans: Mandela always thought that both the oppressor and the oppressed are robbed of their humanity. The oppressor is a prisoner of hatred who is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness while the oppressed has no freedom. So, both of them need to be liberated.