Finishing a book should resemble a change in self, understanding a new perspective and growing in some degree to the imagination or evidence suggested by the author. When I first decided to read Long Walk to Freedom, I had some previous experiences with reading things related to the life of Nelson Mandela, but mostly of his presidency and besides the short-stories which we're told as short anecdotes, the growth of Nelson Mandela in his youth was very unknown to me.
It is remarkable that one could be born into a condition and be unaware of the truth of one's surroundings. He was subjected to a false understanding of his potential but yet he overcame. It was mentioned in his book that he, himself, had to overcome the perception which he had adopted that blacks had different abilities than that of whites. The racial segregation in South Africa had grown to an extreme that even the people themselves thought that they were disadvantaged. Nelson Mandela was a surprising example of endurance and integrity throughout his life.
Many of the things which I expected to read about in this book weren't included however. The experiences of Robben Island were short and though covered by a number of pages, the pages were full of adjectives and expressions of feelings about life in prison that seemed very general. He wrote of the extensive learning and self-educating which happened there, but little was mentioned of his efforts to mentally endure his environment in my opinion. My opinions on the given entries were quite satisfactory as one could connect and feel his experiences there. It is only in knowing that there were more that occurred there than was mentioned which raises my attention to detail. One who read this merely speculatively would be more than satisfied at the brevity of these remarks, but would yet be desirous for a longer, more rigorous relation.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking to gain a greater understanding of their life and roles which they may play in developing and changing the world around them. This book is very inspiring and a good novel for light reading for those who are interesting in world history as well.
Speculative Notes
Many people say that interesting people are all around, but the bigger question remains as to where they all are! Being at school, I've had roommates whose sole ambition is to have a good time at school while leaving their studies disregarded. Ones who have fought against school policy, taken easy classes which don't count towards their degree, spent hours on video games, and quit their jobs because they were "too tired" or "too busy" to handle it. My first thought was to not be too judgmental about it, but the minute they left the room the judgments begin to rise.
People who are trying to make a difference in the world don't find themselves disillusioned with ideas about life which are unrealistic. There is a characteristic determination which allows one to see past the superficiality of a moment and perceive the problems inherent in the nature of society. In our childhood we're not born with the desire to put away our lives into some alternate life, but rather we want to pursue our greatest desires and follow our dreams; however, it doesn't seem like people are dreaming anymore, as though people are complacent with their lives and who they've become as though they are a finished product. People are often telling me that they have reached their potential, but I cannot agree with that. We grow every day and it is never too late to start a new project or to set a new goal.
People need to get out of their entrapped mindset and explore the depths of their potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment