"The Long Walk To Freedom"

The last class with Dr. Edwin this week, we went through an autobiography of Nelson Mandela, “The Long Walk to Freedom”. The description Mandela gave in his cell and the things happened in the prison provides a clear picture of how people were treated in the prison. He was moved from one prison to another many times as a way not to make him and other prisoners comfortable in one place. This is one way to give psychological torture so it will disorientate a person and emotionally break your will. Nelson Mandela spent most of his youth in prison. Reading his autobiography passes a message that he was sending out, he is not fighting a personal battle but a battle for everyone. Mandela refused to wear the long trousers he requested because all the others were not given long trousers to wear. Mandela is willing to sacrifice wearing the long trousers because of the inequality of his friends and the other black people there.

Using autobiography in class is effective and interesting. Students might get bored over the time just reading literature and their text books. Therefore by using autobiography, it will capture students attention because it is something different that what they everyday learn. In addition since this kind of text is referential, students would not face much trouble in understanding the meaning/message/idea in the text. Just by reading an autobiography in class, students will be able to understand and have an idea about a person, their beliefs, their point of view; their experiences as well as it can inspire students.