Shayla Boyd
Mr. Griffin
English 3, Period 5
November 5, 2014
Nelson Mandela: Changing South Africa One Step At A Time
By Shayla Boyd
Martin Luther King Jr, one of the great leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ”(King). Dr. King was not only concerned with unfair treatment of blacks in a particular place, but the injustice they faced everywhere. Nelson Mandela would agree with this because he not only fought for oppressed South Africans, but Africans everywhere who experienced the same thing. The history of South Africa has gone from complex and tragic to inspirational with the help of one man. A majority of the South African government was ruled by whites, who practiced apartheid …show more content…
Towards the climax of the story, Huck said revealed that he would just “go to hell”, if that means that he would save the Jim, the runaway slave Huck genuinely cared about. Similar to this, Mandela experienced a hell on Earth in order to protect the rights of the South African people. Another similarity is the internal conflict both Huck and Nelson Mandela faced when trying to make a difference. Mandela admits to being in a sort of “dreamy, notasalgic state”(Mandela 431). Mandela stated, “My memories transported me into moments of both great joy and sadness” (Mandela 431). Although he is known for his amazing bravery and willingness to protect the rights of other, Mandela was forced to go through trials while in prison in order to succeed. Similar to this, Huck has numerous situations where he thinks about turning Jim and returning home. He feels that because it is against the law to help runaway slaves get to freedom, he was doing the wrong thing. Huck comes to realize that just because society says something is wrong, doesn 't mean that it is truly wrong and vise versa. When Mandela was released in 1990, he did not spend his time basking in the glory that the South African people displayed towards him. Instead, he go to work to fulfill the plan that he had been working on 26 years prior. Mandela was officially …show more content…
Merriam-Webster, 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. King, Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham Jail. Stamford, CT: Overbrook, 1968. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.uscrossier.org/pullias/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/king.pdf >
Luebering, J.E. Britannica Remembers Nelson Mandela." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. <http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/1957407/Britannica-Remembers-Nelson-Mandela> Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. Print. Sparks, Allister Haddon. The Mind of South Africa. New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Print. Schlesinger, Arthur. The Mandelas. New York: Chelsea House Publisher. 1988. Print
Mr. Griffin
English 3, Period 5
November 5, 2014
Nelson Mandela: Changing South Africa One Step At A Time
By Shayla Boyd
Martin Luther King Jr, one of the great leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ”(King). Dr. King was not only concerned with unfair treatment of blacks in a particular place, but the injustice they faced everywhere. Nelson Mandela would agree with this because he not only fought for oppressed South Africans, but Africans everywhere who experienced the same thing. The history of South Africa has gone from complex and tragic to inspirational with the help of one man. A majority of the South African government was ruled by whites, who practiced apartheid …show more content…
Towards the climax of the story, Huck said revealed that he would just “go to hell”, if that means that he would save the Jim, the runaway slave Huck genuinely cared about. Similar to this, Mandela experienced a hell on Earth in order to protect the rights of the South African people. Another similarity is the internal conflict both Huck and Nelson Mandela faced when trying to make a difference. Mandela admits to being in a sort of “dreamy, notasalgic state”(Mandela 431). Mandela stated, “My memories transported me into moments of both great joy and sadness” (Mandela 431). Although he is known for his amazing bravery and willingness to protect the rights of other, Mandela was forced to go through trials while in prison in order to succeed. Similar to this, Huck has numerous situations where he thinks about turning Jim and returning home. He feels that because it is against the law to help runaway slaves get to freedom, he was doing the wrong thing. Huck comes to realize that just because society says something is wrong, doesn 't mean that it is truly wrong and vise versa. When Mandela was released in 1990, he did not spend his time basking in the glory that the South African people displayed towards him. Instead, he go to work to fulfill the plan that he had been working on 26 years prior. Mandela was officially …show more content…
Merriam-Webster, 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014. King, Martin Luther. Letter from Birmingham Jail. Stamford, CT: Overbrook, 1968. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. <http://www.uscrossier.org/pullias/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/king.pdf >
Luebering, J.E. Britannica Remembers Nelson Mandela." Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. <http://academic.eb.com/EBchecked/topic/1957407/Britannica-Remembers-Nelson-Mandela> Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. Print. Sparks, Allister Haddon. The Mind of South Africa. New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Print. Schlesinger, Arthur. The Mandelas. New York: Chelsea House Publisher. 1988. Print