LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 18:9 September 2018
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
         Dr. S. Chelliah, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com is included in the UGC Approved List of Journals. Serial Number 49042.

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Resilience of the Human Spirit
as Observed in The Autobiographical Work of Nelson Mandela,
Long Walk to Freedom

Kavitha Karen Xavier, Ph.D. Research Scholar


Abstract

Any subject dealing with the study of Autobiography brings into question the meaning or origin of the word and its definitions. The word Autobiography is derived from three Greek words: autos, bios, and graphein meaning ‘self’, ‘life’ and ‘write’ respectively. This style of life writing has been around for centuries and it was not classified as a literary genre until the late eighteenth century. Every autobiographical work tends to be a cry for the expression of identity and every autobiographical study yearns to understand the evolution of the individual. Anyone familiar with the life story of Nelson Mandela will know that his very name is synonymous with the word ‘resilience’. Nelson Mandela spearheaded the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and emerged victorious after spending 27 years in prison. His is no ordinary story and the human soul cannot fathom how Mandela stood by his ideals and liberated his people from oppression and suppression. It seems inconceivable to maintain sanity, dignity, hope and a reason for existence under severe oppressive forces, that taxed the spirit, body and mind of political prisoners. But Mandela possessed an inner strength that could not be diminished, it shone forth brightly, enlightening this great man and ensconcing him in its powerful aura.

Keywords: Resilience, Apartheid, Autobiography, Nelson Mandela, Democracy, Equality, Perseverance, South Africa, Racism, Racial inequality.

Nelson Mandela

Henry David Thoreau said, “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live” (65). Nothing could be truer than this quote when considering the autobiographical work of one of the greatest men of the 20th and the 21st century, Nelson Rohlihlahla Mandela. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela was first published in Great Britain in 1994 by Little, Brown and Company. Mandela dedicates the book to his six children, his twenty-one grandchildren and his three great-grandchildren. The book is also dedicated to Mandela’s comrades, friends and fellow South Africans who have witnessed and been part of the greatest anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. Mandela started writing his autobiography clandestinely in 1974 during his imprisonment on Robben Island. He resumed work on it after being released from prison in 1990. Since its initial publication, the book has been widely read and distributed resulting in making Long Walk to Freedom one of the greatest autobiographies ever written where the resilient nature and disciplined spirit of Mandela shines throughout, overwhelming the reader. No wonder this engaging and inspiring account of Nelson Mandela’s life has carved a niche for itself in literary studies about the most famous autobiographies of today.

This is only the beginning part of the ARTICLE. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Kavitha Karen Xavier
Ph.D. Research Scholar
Department of English & Research Centre
Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Nagercoil
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti
Tirunelveli 627 012
Tamil Nadu, India
kavitha.karen@gmail.com

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