Long Walk to Freedom

At midnight, the day after the sentencing, the Pretoria warden, Colonel Aucamp, tells Mandela he will be imprisoned where he can walk around and see the ocean. Mandela knows this means Robben Island.

The seven convicted men are flown directly to the island and housed in a new block designed for political prisoners and capable of housing 30 convicts. More prisoners are added to the block—a sizeable percentage of them are members of the ANC, MK, or allied organizations—forming a core of about twenty prisoners.

The prisoners are put to work breaking rocks in the block’s courtyard, and they are not allowed to talk. The food and clothing provided are barely adequate, and the mood is grim. Mandela writes: “The high spirits with which we left Pretoria had been snuffed out by its stern atmosphere; we were face to face with the realization that our life would be unredeemably grim” (387).

Life on Robben Island settles into a routine that is “comforting for the prisoner, which is why it can be a trap” (389). To bolster his own morale, Mandela frames his time in prison as a continuation of his struggle for dignity. He refuses to believe he will die in prison and resists every attempt to diminish his sense of self.