Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: Class 10 First Flight · Chapter 2
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What you will learn in Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
- Explain what apartheid was and why Mandela's inauguration on 10 May 1994 was a turning point for South Africa
- Summarise the three parts of the extract in order and explain ideas such as the twin obligations and indivisible freedom
- Write a character sketch of Mandela and discuss the themes of freedom, courage and reconciliation with evidence
- Form nouns from verbs, use ‘the’ with proper names, and use the unit's idioms and homophones correctly
- Plan a two-minute speech and write balanced contrasts and an opinion paragraph
- Explain ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ stanza by stanza, identify its devices and argue for or against zoos
- Answer CBSE-style extract-based, short and long questions on the unit
Original companion text aligned to NCERT English Class 10, Chapter 2, pp. 16–31. Not affiliated with or endorsed by NCERT.
2.1 Before you read
Think of 15 August 1947 in India: a flag goes up, a new leader speaks, and millions feel that a long struggle has ended. South Africa had a day like that on 10 May 1994. That morning Nelson Mandela, who had spent 27 years in prison, became the country's president.
Why was this so remarkable? For most of the twentieth century, a white minority ruled South Africa. From 1948 the government turned this rule into a complete system of law called apartheid (रंगभेद). The word is Afrikaans for ‘apartness’.
A system of laws in South Africa, from 1948 to the early 1990s, that sorted people by race, kept the races apart and gave white people power over everyone else.
ExampleUnder apartheid, a black family could be forced out of a neighbourhood declared ‘for whites only’.
Under apartheid, the law placed every person in a racial group. That group decided where you could live, which school you could attend, which beach or bus you could use and even whom you could marry. The black majority had no vote at all. Fig. 2.1 shows how these laws split the country, and how the first election open to every race ended the split.
1/3Apartheid laws kept people apart in where they lived and studied, and most had no vote.
Three signboards stand in a row, labelled 'Separate areas', 'Separate schools' and 'No vote for most', under the heading 'Apartheid: the law divides'. In the second step the heading changes to 'Decades of struggle' and the three boards crack and tilt as if being pushed over. In the third step the boards have gone; a ballot box marked VOTE stands in the middle with a paper going in, the heading reads '27 April 1994' and the words 'one person, one vote' appear beside it.
The chapter is an extract from Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom (1994). It falls into two halves. First he describes his inauguration, the ceremony at which he took office as president. Then he looks back at what freedom, courage and duty had meant in his life.
South Africa's long walk
- 1910
Union of South Africa formed
Four colonies were joined into one country after the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902); power stayed in white hands.
- 1912
The ANC is founded
It began as the South African Native National Congress, to defend the rights of black South Africans.
- 1948
Apartheid becomes law
The National Party won the election and began passing apartheid laws.
- 1962
Mandela is arrested
Sentenced to life in 1964, he spent 18 of his 27 prison years on Robben Island.
- 1990
Mandela walks free
He was released on 11 February, and talks to end apartheid began.
- 1994
The first election for all
Voting began on 27 April, now Freedom Day; Mandela took office on 10 May.
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Answer (A) a formal ceremony at which a new leader takes office
Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.
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- pleasantly besieged : crowded round by welcome visitors
- a rainbow gathering : people of many colours and nations together
- the seat of white supremacy : the centre from which white rule was run
- a twilight existence : a hidden, half-secret life
- a glimmer of humanity : a brief sign of kindness
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Answer False
2.2 Part 1: The inauguration
What happens. The extract begins on the inauguration morning itself. Mandela has spent the days before it receiving a stream of world leaders, the biggest crowd of foreign guests South Africa has ever seen, and he admits he enjoyed this friendly ‘siege’. Even the weather seems to celebrate: the sky is clear and bright. Fig. 2.2 maps the whole day in five stops; this part covers the first two.
5/5Mandela looks back on the long struggle and its heroes.
A road map titled '10 May 1994, Pretoria' with five numbered stops joined by a winding road. Step 1 shows only stop 1, 'Oaths', clearly; the other stops are faint. Step 2 adds stop 2, 'Speech'. Step 3 adds stop 3, 'Fly-past', where the road turns downwards. Step 4 adds stop 4, 'Two anthems', on the lower road. Step 5 adds stop 5, 'Sense of history', which completes the journey through the day.
Think about the setting. The Union Buildings in Pretoria, a curved sandstone complex finished in 1913, had housed the governments that ran apartheid. On this day its open-air amphitheatre was packed with people of every colour and nationality, gathered to see a government elected by all South Africans take office. The place itself told the story of the change.
Three oaths were taken, and their order sent a message of its own. The last white president, F. W. de Klerk, now became second deputy president. Thabo Mbeki of the ANC became first deputy president. Then Mandela, with his daughter Zenani at his side, swore loyalty to the Constitution and promised to serve the nation and its people.
The speech. Mandela then spoke to the guests and to the millions watching on television. Rather than retell it line by line, sort its ideas into four groups:
- Looking back: apartheid was an extraordinary human disaster, and it went on far too long; and the new leaders were treated as outlaws only recently.
- Gratitude: the world's leaders have come to share a victory that belongs to everyone, a win for justice, peace and human dignity.
- Promises: political freedom is won; next comes freedom from poverty, hunger, suffering and every kind of discrimination, including against women. Never again will one group crush another.
- Hope: out of so much suffering must grow a society all humanity can be proud of, a glorious human achievement that lasts.
Let freedom reign. God bless Africa!
Why ‘outlaws’? The ANC was a banned organisation from 1960 to 1990, and its leaders were hunted, jailed or forced into exile. Meanwhile much of the world had turned its back on the apartheid state. So on this day the former ‘criminals’ were the ones welcoming the world's leaders.
Words from part 1
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Answer (C) the long years of apartheid
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Answer False
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- (A) freedom from poverty and hunger
- (C) an end to discrimination, including against women
- (D) no group ever again oppressing another
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Answer (A) It belonged to South Africans and to all who stood for justice.
2.3 Part 2: A sense of history
The fly-past. Next came a sight that made the whole crowd look up. Air force planes and helicopters swept over the Union Buildings in perfect formation. Mandela reads a message in it. These forces had once defended apartheid; now they flew in honour of a government the people had freely elected. Their skill was also a pledge of loyalty to democracy.
The irony was not lost on him. Earlier that day, the country's top army and police generals, medals from the apartheid years on their chests, had saluted him and sworn loyalty. Not long before, their job would have been to arrest him. The show ended with jets painting the sky in the colours of the new flag.
Two anthems. Music gave the day its strongest symbol. Two anthems were played: Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, the hymn of the freedom movement, and Die Stem, the anthem of the old white republic. The surprise was who sang what. White South Africans joined in the first and black South Africans in the second, stumbling over words they had never wanted to learn. Mandela was confident they would soon sing them without a slip.
A sense of history. Standing there, Mandela felt the weight of the past. He compares two moments almost ninety years apart: the decade in which racial rule was built, and the decade, his own eighth, in which it fell. The comparison below sets them side by side.
Two decades, two systems
First decade of the 1900s
- The Anglo-Boer War had just ended.
- White groups made peace with each other.
- Together they built a system of racial rule over the dark-skinned majority.
- Mandela was not yet born.
Last decade of the 1900s
- Racial rule was overturned.
- A new system recognised the rights of all, whatever their colour.
- Mandela, now in his eighth decade, led the new nation.
Mandela refuses to take the credit for himself. In his view, thousands of ordinary people built this victory through suffering and sacrifice that could never be measured. Think of a relay race: the patriots before him had carried the baton for decades, and now it had reached his hands. His one sorrow was that they never saw the finish line, and he could not thank them.
Here Mandela makes a surprising claim. The very cruelty of apartheid produced its greatest opponents: leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu and Chief Albert Luthuli, whose bravery, good sense and big-heartedness may never be matched. In his words, the depths of oppression created heights of character (Fig. 2.3). He does not pretend the cost was small, since healing may take generations. But he insists that the country's real riches lie not in its mines but in such people.
3/3Mandela names leaders such as Tambo, Sisulu and Luthuli.
Step 1 shows only a deep V-shaped valley on the left, labelled 'Depths of oppression'. In step 2 a tall peak rises on the right, labelled 'Heights of character', and a curved arrow labelled 'produced' arches from the valley to the peak. In step 3 the names Tambo, Sisulu, Luthuli, Dadoo, Fischer and Sobukwe appear below the peak.
| Name | Who they were |
|---|---|
| Oliver Tambo | Mandela's law partner; led the ANC from exile for many years |
| Walter Sisulu | ANC leader and Mandela's mentor; jailed with him on Robben Island |
| Chief Albert Luthuli | ANC president; awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1960 |
| Yusuf Dadoo | a doctor of Indian origin who led Indian South Africans against apartheid |
| Bram Fischer | an Afrikaner lawyer who defended Mandela at his 1963–64 trial and was later jailed |
| Robert Sobukwe | founder of the Pan Africanist Congress (1959); held alone on Robben Island |
Courage. Where did Mandela learn about courage? Not from books, but from his comrades: ordinary men and women who faced beatings, torture and even death rather than give up what they believed in. Watching them, he reached a conclusion that is often quoted:
…not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
In other words, a brave person still feels afraid but does not let fear decide. Think of a student who reports a bully even though her hands are shaking. She is braver than someone who simply never felt any fear.
Love and hate. Mandela was convinced that hatred is not something we are born with. A small child dislikes nobody for their colour, family or faith; that dislike has to be learnt. Whatever can be learnt can also be unlearnt, and love comes to the human heart more easily than hate. He had proof from his own life: in the hardest prison years, a guard would sometimes show a flash of kindness, and that was enough to keep his hope alive. Goodness, he concludes, may be hidden like a covered flame, but it cannot be snuffed out.
Words from part 2
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Answer (D) Only a few years earlier they would have arrested him.
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Answer (A) to show that both communities now shared one nation
Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.
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- courage : winning over fear
- hatred : something people learn
- goodness : a flame that cannot be put out
- the nation's wealth : its people
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Answer False
2.4 Part 3: Twin obligations and the hunger for freedom
Mandela now turns to his own life, and to a conflict every freedom fighter knows. All of us, he says, owe something to two groups: our own family, and the wider family of our people and nation. He calls these duties twin obligations (दायित्व).
Picture a weighing scale with the family in one pan and the people in the other (Fig. 2.4). In a fair, humane society, a person can keep both in balance, each in his own way. Under apartheid this was almost impossible. A black man who worked for his people was hunted by the police, so he had to leave home and live in hiding. Mandela calls this a twilight existence: a life of hiding and resistance.
3/3His family lost a son, brother, father and husband.
A weighing scale with two pans, 'Family' on the left and 'His people' on the right. In step 1, headed 'In a fair society', the beam is level and the two pans balance. In step 2, headed 'In apartheid South Africa', the beam tips: the 'His people' pan sinks and the 'Family' pan rises. In step 3, headed 'The cost to his family', the words 'son, brother, father, husband' appear under the raised family pan, naming the roles he could not fulfil.
Notice how carefully Mandela words this. He never claims he chose his people over his family; apartheid made the choice for him. The price was paid at home, by a mother who lost her son's company and children who grew up without their father.
The hunger for freedom. Next Mandela traces how his idea of freedom grew (Fig. 2.5). He was not born hungry for freedom, because as a child he felt he already had it.
5/5He saw that the oppressor, too, must be set free.
A staircase of five stairs rising from bottom left to top right. Step 1 lights only the bottom stair, 'Boy: free in his village'. Step 2 adds 'Student: freedom for himself'. Step 3 adds 'Young man: work and family'. Step 4 adds 'ANC: his people's freedom'. Step 5 lights the top stair, 'Leader: free the oppressor too', so the whole climb is visible.
- Boyhood: in his village he felt completely free: outdoor play, swimming, roasting maize cobs (mealies), riding bulls. Only his father's word and his clan's customs set any limits.
- Student days: he learnt that this freedom had been an illusion. At first he wanted only small, transitory freedoms for himself, like coming home late, choosing his own books and going wherever he wanted.
- Young man in Johannesburg: he longed for basic, honourable freedoms: to make the most of his abilities, earn a living, marry and raise a family without the law blocking him.
- Joining the ANC: he saw that everyone who looked like him was just as unfree. His hunger for his own freedom became a greater hunger for his people's freedom.
- The mature leader: he understood that freedom cannot be divided, and that the oppressor too must be set free.
This hunger changed his whole life. Look at the before-and-after pairs in the table.
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| a frightened young man | a bold one |
| a law-abiding lawyer | a ‘criminal’ in the eyes of the state |
| a man devoted to his family | a man with no home |
| a man who loved life | a man living like a monk |
Mandela does not claim to be a saint. His point is simpler: whatever little freedom he had felt hollow while his people had none.
Freedom is indivisible. Mandela's last idea is his deepest. Freedom cannot be shared out in pieces: while any South African was oppressed, every South African, Mandela included, was unfree. Then comes his most generous thought: the jailer needs freeing as much as the prisoner. Hatred and prejudice (पूर्वाग्रह) cage the person who holds them, and cruelty damages the humanity of the one who inflicts it as well as the one who suffers it.
Words from part 3
- Joined the ANC for his people
- Wanted small freedoms as a student
- Wanted work and family
- Saw that oppressors need freeing too
- Felt free as a village boy
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- Felt free as a village boy
- Wanted small freedoms as a student
- Wanted work and family
- Joined the ANC for his people
- Saw that oppressors need freeing too
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Answer (D) duties to his family and to his people
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Answer False
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Answer indivisible
2.5 Mandela's character and the themes
The extract has one real character, Mandela himself, seen through his own eyes. Board questions often ask for a character sketch or a theme, so collect evidence as you read. Fig. 2.6 sorts his qualities into public and personal ones.
3/3Forgiving, humble and selfless: the man.
A character web with 'Mandela' in an oval at the centre and six spokes leading to trait boxes. In step 1 only the centre is clear and the six boxes are faint. In step 2 three public qualities light up in solid boxes: Courageous, Patriotic and Wise. In step 3 three personal qualities light up in dashed boxes: Forgiving, Humble and Selfless.
- Courageous: he fought apartheid for decades and endured 27 years in prison without giving up; he defines courage as conquering fear.
- Patriotic: he calls his people the nation's real wealth and puts their freedom above his own comfort.
- Wise: he sees that hatred is learnt, that freedom cannot be divided and that oppressors too need freeing.
- Forgiving: he welcomes old enemies, de Klerk and the generals, as partners in the new nation, without bitterness.
- Humble: he calls himself just the sum of the patriots before him, no more virtuous than anyone else.
- Selfless: he gave up family life, home and safety for his people.
2.5.1 Themes and message
- Freedom: its meaning grows from personal fun to the freedom of a whole people, and finally to freeing the oppressor too.
- Equality and reconciliation: the two anthems, the generals' salute and the ‘rainbow’ crowd show old enemies learning to share one country.
- Courage and sacrifice: the new nation stands on the sacrifices of thousands.
- Human goodness: love is more natural than hate, and goodness can be hidden but not destroyed.
- Duty: the clash of twin obligations shows the personal price of public service.
The message. Freedom is worth every sacrifice, but it belongs either to everyone or to no one. Hatred is learnt, so it can be unlearnt.
Two kinds of freedom
Transitory freedoms (student)
- staying out at night
- reading whatever he liked
- going wherever he chose
- about personal enjoyment
Basic and honourable freedoms (young man)
- using his abilities fully
- earning his living
- marrying and raising a family
- living lawfully without being blocked
| Image | What it suggests |
|---|---|
| a rainbow gathering | people of many colours together, like the bands of a rainbow |
| a twilight existence | a half-hidden life lived in the shadows |
| goodness as a flame | kindness can be covered but never put out |
| the bars of prejudice | hatred imprisons the person who hates |
| people finer than diamonds | a nation's real wealth is its people |
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Answer (C) humility
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- (B) each group singing the other's anthem
- (C) the generals saluting Mandela
- (D) de Klerk sworn in as a deputy president
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Answer True
2.6 Thinking about language
The language work in this unit covers four skills: making nouns from verbs, using the with names, understanding idioms, and telling apart words that sound or look alike.
2.6.1 Nouns from verbs
Many nouns are made by adding a suffix (प्रत्यय) to a verb. The most common noun suffixes are -ion, -ation and -ment. Sometimes the spelling changes a little: a final e is dropped first. Fig. 2.7 runs four verbs from this chapter through a ‘suffix machine’.
3/4deprive → deprivation: drop the e, add -ation.
A verb box on the left, a dashed suffix circle in the middle and a noun box on the right, joined by arrows. Step 1 shows achieve plus -ment making achievement, with the note 'Just add the suffix'. Step 2 shows oppress plus -ion making oppression, again just adding the suffix. Step 3 shows deprive plus -ation making deprivation, with the note 'Drop the final e first'. Step 4 shows liberate plus -ion making liberation, with the note that verbs ending in -ate drop e and add -ion.
| Verb | Noun | How |
|---|---|---|
| inaugurate | inauguration | drop e, add -ion |
| install | installation | add -ation |
| demonstrate | demonstration | drop e, add -ion |
| emancipate | emancipation | drop e, add -ion |
| discriminate | discrimination | drop e, add -ion |
| dominate | domination | drop e, add -ion |
| imagine | imagination | drop e, add -ation |
| oblige | obligation | drop e, add -ation |
| incline | inclination | drop e, add -ation |
| achieve | achievement | add -ment |
Not every noun follows a neat rule: decide gives decision, explain gives explanation and pronounce gives pronunciation. When in doubt, check a dictionary.
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Answer (1) contribution, (2) appreciation
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Answer (B) decide – decidement
2.6.2 Using ‘the’ with names
Normally we do not put the before a person's name, and we do not make names plural. We say Mandela, not the Mandela or Mandelas. But writers sometimes break this rule on purpose, and then the name takes on a special meaning:
- the + plural name = people like that person. Our district has produced the Mary Koms of tomorrow means it has produced young boxers as gifted as Mary Kom.
- the + name + of + a group or time = the person who plays that role. Riya is the Lata Mangeshkar of our school means she is the school's finest singer.
- the + plural surname = a whole family. The Iyers are coming for dinner means the Iyer family is coming.
- a + name = someone like that person. He thinks he is a Tendulkar means he thinks he bats like Sachin Tendulkar.
So when Mandela says that oppression produced the Tambos and the Sisulus, he means it produced many people like them, including heroes whose names the world may never know.
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Answer (A) our school has girls who box as brilliantly as Mary Kom
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Answer (C) The Bhatias have moved to Pune.
2.6.3 Idiomatic expressions
An idiom is a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of its separate words. Mandela uses several. Find each one in the text, then read our explanation and example.
| Expression | Meaning | Our example |
|---|---|---|
| not unmindful of | fully aware of | She was not unmindful of danger, but she spoke up anyway. |
| pushed to our limits | made to suffer almost more than we could bear | The flood-relief volunteers were pushed to their limits. |
| keep (someone) going | give someone the hope or strength to carry on | Letters from home kept the soldier going. |
| earn one's keep | earn enough to pay for food and lodging | After college, Neha moved to Pune to earn her keep. |
| patch up differences | settle a quarrel | The neighbours patched up their differences over the shared wall. |
| know by heart | remember word for word | We knew the national anthem by heart in Class 1. |
| time and again | many times, repeatedly | Time and again, the coach reminded us to warm up. |
Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.
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- not unmindful of : well aware of
- pushed to our limits : made to bear almost more than we could
- keep me going : give me hope to carry on
- earning my keep : earning enough to live on
- patched up their differences : settled their quarrels
2.6.4 Homophones and homographs
Some words trick us because they sound alike or look alike. Homophones sound the same but differ in meaning, and usually in spelling: peace and piece, reign and rain. Mandela's call ‘Let freedom reign’ would mean something very odd with rain! Homographs are spelt the same but differ in meaning, and sometimes in sound.
- The farmer will lead the cattle past the old lead pipes. The first rhymes with need (to guide); the second rhymes with bed (a heavy metal).
- A tear rolled down her cheek when she saw the tear in her new kurta. The first rhymes with fear; the second rhymes with bear (a rip).
- Please close the window; the storm is close. The first ends in a z sound (shut); the second in an s sound (near).
- She bought a pair of sandals and a pear. These are homophones: same sound, different spelling.
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Answer reign
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Answer (D) The old pipe is made of lead.
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Answer False
2.7 Speaking and writing
2.7.1 Speaking: a two-minute speech
Task. Discuss the topic in groups, jot down notes, and then give a two-minute speech. Topic: a person is truly free only when free from poverty, want and every kind of discrimination. Your group might discuss why poverty exists and how to end it, discrimination by gender, religion, caste or class, and the rights our Constitution guarantees.
2.7.2 Writing: balance and contrast
Mandela's prose is full of balance: a sentence splits into two halves that weigh against each other. Often one half gives what was and the other what is, or one says what is not and the other what is. Small signal words hold the halves together: but, and now, yet, although, not only … but also. Fig. 2.8 shows one contrast from part 1 as a seesaw.
3/3The other half states the present, and the sentence balances.
A seesaw on a triangular pivot under the title 'A two-part contrast'. In step 1 only the left half, 'Once: seat of white rule', sits on the plank, which tilts down on the left. In step 2 a box with the signal words 'and now' appears above the pivot. In step 3 the right half, 'Now: a meeting of all races', appears on the right and the plank swings level, showing the sentence in balance.
To spot a contrast in the text, look for the signal words and ask which two things are being weighed. Find these six contrasts in the text and note the signal word in each:
- the Union Buildings in the past and on 10 May 1994
- what the generals did that day and what they would have done a few years earlier
- how well each group knew the other's anthem that day, and later
- the riches under South Africa's soil and its real treasure
- the fly-past as a show of force and as a sign of loyalty
- what Mandela was before and after the desire for freedom took hold
Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.
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- Once the field was a rubbish dump; : now it is a playground.
- Talent opens the door, : but hard work keeps it open.
- Although our team lost the match, : it won the crowd's respect.
- Not only did she pass the exam, : she also topped the district.
2.7.3 Writing: expressing your opinion
Task. Is there prejudice about skin colour in our own country? Talk it over with a friend, then write a paragraph of 100–150 words giving your opinion. You may make it light-hearted if you wish.
2.8 A Tiger in the Zoo
Have you ever watched a big cat in a zoo walking up and down, up and down, along the front of its enclosure? Wildlife experts call this pacing, and it is often a sign of stress. Leslie Norris's short poem asks us to look at such a tiger and imagine where it truly belongs.
The poem has five stanzas of four lines each. It travels out of the cage into the forest and then returns to the cage (Fig. 2.9). Stanza 1 shows the tiger in his cage, stanzas 2 and 3 imagine him in the wild, and stanzas 4 and 5 return to the zoo, first by day and then at night.
4/4Night in the zoo: he stares at the free stars.
Two panels side by side: 'In the zoo' with cage bars on the left and 'In the wild' with grass and trees on the right. Numbered circles mark the stanzas: 1 Pacing, 4 Locked in and 5 Staring at stars in the zoo; 2 Hunting and 3 Snarling in the wild. Step 1 highlights stanza 1 in the zoo. Step 2 highlights stanzas 2 and 3 in the wild. Step 3 highlights stanza 4 back in the zoo. Step 4 highlights stanza 5, and two stars appear above the cage.
2.8.1 Stanza by stanza
Stanza 1 (the cage). The opening picture is of a magnificent animal in a tiny space. Everything about the tiger suggests beauty and power, yet all he can do is pace. The key contrast is between his soundless movement and the anger building inside him: the cage has not tamed him, it has only silenced him.
Stanza 2 (the wild: hunting). With the words should be, the poet carries us out of the zoo into the tiger's real home. We now see him as a hunter: hidden, patient and perfectly fitted to his surroundings, with prey close at hand. Every image in this stanza is about stealth and instinct.
Stanza 3 (the wild: power). Now we see the tiger's fierceness. In the wild, the people living near the forest would fear him. The poet is not praising danger; he wants us to see the tiger's true, wild nature, the very thing the zoo has taken away. The exclamation mark at the end carries that energy.
Stanza 4 (back to the cage). But snaps us back to reality. The cage is described like a prison cell, hard and lifeless, and all the strength we saw in stanzas 2 and 3 is now useless. His refusal to look at the visitors can be read as contempt, boredom or despair; either way, he will not perform for them.
Stanza 5 (night in the zoo). When the crowds have gone, the only sounds come from people guarding the zoo: even the night is watched. The tiger looks up. His bright eyes and the bright stars mirror each other, but the stars are free in the open sky and he is not. The poem ends on this silent, sad picture of longing.
Words from the poem
The two worlds in the poem's words
In the cage
- Actions: stalks, paces the length of the cage, ignores visitors, hears, stares
- Place: a cage a few steps long, a concrete cell, behind bars
In the wild
- Actions: lurks, slides, snarls, bares fangs and claws, terrorises
- Place: shadow, long grass, a water hole, houses at the forest's edge, a village
2.8.2 Poetic devices, mood and tone
| Device | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast | zoo (stanzas 1, 4, 5) against the wild (2, 3) | shows what captivity has taken from the tiger |
| Alliteration | the s sounds of stanza 1: stalks, stripes, steps | soft hissing sounds echo his silent movement |
| Metaphor | velvet quiet (stanza 1) | his paws are as soft and silent as velvet |
| Oxymoron | quiet rage (stanza 1) | anger that cannot be let out, so it boils inside |
| Repetition | quiet (stanza 1); brilliant (stanza 5) | joins the tiger to his silence and to the free stars |
| Imagery | fangs, claws, long grass, patrol cars, stars | lets us see and hear both worlds |
| Enjambment | sentences run on across lines | the lines keep moving, like the restless tiger |
| Rhyme scheme | abcb: lines 2 and 4 rhyme, some only partly | a simple, steady beat, like pacing |
Why repeat quiet and brilliant? In stanza 1, the repeated quiet first describes the tiger's soft steps and then his anger. The silence of his paws and the silence of his rage become one, so we sense fury held down. In stanza 5, the repeated brilliant links the tiger's eyes to the stars. Both shine and both belong to nature, but only the stars are free. The repetition fixes this final picture of longing in our minds.
Mood and tone. The mood is sad and restless. The tone is sympathetic to the tiger and quietly critical of keeping wild animals caged. The poet never tells us what to think; he places two pictures side by side and lets the contrast speak.
Theme and message. The poem is about freedom and captivity. A wild creature belongs in its natural home, and a cage destroys what makes it wild. Read beside Mandela's extract, it reminds us that the longing for freedom is not only human.
Tap an item on the left, then its match on the right.
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- Stanza 1 : pacing silently in the cage
- Stanza 2 : hunting near a water hole
- Stanza 3 : snarling at a village's edge
- Stanza 4 : shut in a cell of concrete
- Stanza 5 : gazing at the stars at night
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Answer (D) He is angry but cannot let it out.
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Answer (C) He is bored, angry and hopeless in his cage.
Show answer
Answer False
2.8.3 Thinking about the poem: should there be zoos?
The textbook pairs this poem with two more poems about caged big cats, and a few lines by a third poet. Read them in your NCERT book; here is the idea of each, in brief.
| Poem | Poet | Its idea in brief |
|---|---|---|
| The Tiger | Peter Niblett | A caged tiger roars and dreams of freedom, then remembers the dangers of the wild and stops thinking. Captivity is safe but empty. |
| The Panther | Rainer Maria Rilke | A panther has stared at bars so long that the world beyond seems to vanish; its strong will is numbed. |
| The Greater Cats | Victoria (Vita) Sackville-West | Big cats gaze out through their bars, as if still seeing the deserts and night skies of home. |
Zoos: both sides, and other ways
For zoos
- breed endangered animals, such as the red panda at Darjeeling's zoo
- care for injured or orphaned animals
- let city children see animals and learn to protect them
- support research on animal health
Against zoos
- enclosures cannot match forests and grasslands
- many caged animals show stress, such as endless pacing
- animals are put on show for entertainment
- wild skills like hunting and roaming fade
Other ways
- national parks and wildlife sanctuaries
- tiger reserves
- rescue and rehabilitation centres
- documentaries and virtual tours
2.9 Revision and board practice
Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: key points and summary
- Apartheid divided South Africa by race until the first election open to all, in April 1994 (Section 2.1).
- On 10 May 1994 Mandela took the oath at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, once the seat of white rule (Section 2.2).
- His speech promised freedom from poverty and discrimination, and that no group would ever again oppress another (Section 2.2).
- The generals' salute and the two anthems showed old enemies accepting one democratic nation (Section 2.3).
- Mandela saw himself as the latest in a long line of patriots; oppression produced leaders of great character (Section 2.3).
- Courage is conquering fear; hatred is learnt, and love comes more naturally (Section 2.3).
- Under apartheid he could not meet both his twin obligations, to family and to people (Section 2.4).
- His idea of freedom grew from boyhood to his people's freedom; freedom is indivisible, and the oppressor too must be freed (Section 2.4).
- Mandela is courageous, patriotic, wise, forgiving, humble and selfless (Section 2.5).
- Nouns form from verbs with -ion, -ation and -ment; the + a plural name means ‘people like them’ (Section 2.6).
- Balanced sentences set two halves against each other with signals such as but, and now and although (Section 2.7).
- ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ moves from cage to wild and back, contrasting a caged tiger's silent rage with his true wild life (Section 2.8).
The CBSE paper tests this unit through extract-based questions, short answers of about 40–50 words and long answers of about 100–120 words. Each question below has a model answer, and the short and long answers also list the points an examiner looks for. Read the passage in your NCERT book before you answer.
Long answers are easiest to write, and to mark, when they follow a plan. Fig. 2.10 shows how to spend about 120 words.
4/4End with your view or a summing-up line.
Four horizontal blocks under the title 'Building a long answer', each labelled on the left with a word count inside. Step 1 shows only the first block, 'Opening line', about 20 words. Step 2 adds 'Point 1 + evidence', a longer block of about 35 words. Step 3 adds 'Point 2 + evidence', also about 35 words. Step 4 adds 'Conclusion', about 20 words, and the total line 'Total about 110 to 120 words' appears at the bottom.
Show answer
Answer (C) He welcomed de Klerk into his government.
Show answer
Answer False
Check your reading: questions with answers
In which building complex, and in which city, did Mandela take his oath? Name two buildings in India made of sandstone.
Show solution
At the amphitheatre of the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
- Indian examples: the Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the North and South Blocks, Humayun's Tomb.
In India, 10 May is in summer. Why does Mandela call it an autumn day?
Show solution
South Africa is in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are reversed. March to May is autumn there.
What is the ‘extraordinary human disaster’ Mandela speaks of, and what is the ‘glorious human achievement’?
Show solution
The disaster is apartheid, which oppressed millions for decades.
- The achievement is the end of apartheid and the birth of a free, democratic, non-racial nation.
What reason does Mandela give for being grateful to the foreign guests?
Show solution
For coming to share with South Africans a victory that belonged to everyone: a victory for justice, peace and human dignity.
What kind of country does Mandela promise to build? List his ideals.
Show solution
Freedom for all from poverty, hunger and suffering.
- An end to discrimination of every kind, including against women.
- No group ever again oppressing another.
- A society the whole world can be proud of.
Describe what the generals did at the ceremony. What did it show about the change in South Africa?
Show solution
Earlier they would have arrested him; now they saluted him and pledged loyalty.
- Apartheid had ended, and the armed forces now served a freely elected, democratic government.
What did the singing of two national anthems stand for?
Show solution
Whites sang the freedom hymn and blacks sang the old anthem.
- It stood for equality and reconciliation: each group now respected the other's song and shared one nation.
How does Mandela describe the way South Africa was ruled at the start of the 1900s, and at their end?
Show solution
First decade: white groups joined to build a harsh system of racial rule over the dark-skinned majority.
- Last decade: that system was overturned and replaced by one recognising everyone's rights, whatever their colour.
How does Mandela define a brave person?
Show solution
Courage is not having no fear; it is conquering fear. A brave person feels afraid but does not give in to it.
Mandela believes love can be learnt. Why does he think so?
Show solution
Love. Nobody is born hating others for their colour, background or religion; hate is learnt, so love can be taught, and it comes more naturally.
What are Mandela's twin obligations? Why could he not fulfil both?
Show solution
Duties to his family and to his people.
- Under apartheid, serving his people meant living in hiding, cut off from his family.
Compare Mandela's idea of freedom in his boyhood with his idea of it in his student days. How do both differ from the ‘basic and honourable freedoms’ he wanted later?
Show solution
Boy: running, swimming and playing freely in his village.
- Student: small, short-lived freedoms for himself, like staying out late.
- Basic and honourable freedoms: to use his abilities, earn a living, marry and have a family without the law blocking him.
Why does Mandela say that the person who oppresses others also needs to be liberated?
Show solution
Anyone who robs others of freedom is himself imprisoned by hatred and prejudice; both oppressor and oppressed lose their humanity.
Thinking about the text: questions with answers
What did the presence of so many world leaders at the ceremony show? Whose victory were they celebrating?
Show solution
Much of the world had opposed apartheid, so they came to welcome the new democracy and show support.
- Their presence celebrated the triumph of justice, peace, equality and human dignity over racism.
Explain why Mandela will not take sole credit for the victory, calling himself ‘simply the sum’ of earlier patriots.
Show solution
The victory was not his alone. He was the latest link in a long chain of freedom fighters whose sacrifices made that day possible; he carried forward their work.
‘Suffering can bring out the best in people.’ Discuss this with reference to the leaders Mandela names, and add one example from Indian history.
Show solution
Yes. Apartheid's cruelty produced leaders like Tambo, Sisulu and Luthuli, who showed extraordinary courage, wisdom and generosity.
- Example: Dr B. R. Ambedkar faced caste discrimination as a child, yet became the chief architect of India's Constitution.
- Hardship tests people; those who stand firm grow stronger.
Show, stage by stage, how Mandela's idea of freedom widened as he grew up.
Show solution
Boy: felt born free in his village.
- Student: wanted personal, short-lived freedoms.
- Young man: wanted to earn, marry and live lawfully.
- ANC member: wanted freedom for all his people.
- Leader: saw that freedom is indivisible; even the oppressor must be freed.
What did Mandela have to give up because of his longing for his people's freedom?
Show solution
It made a frightened youth bold, turned a law-abiding lawyer into a ‘criminal’, took away his home and family life and made him live like a monk. He could not enjoy limited freedoms while his people were unfree.
Board practice: extract-based questions: questions with answers
Read the passage or stanza named in each question in your NCERT book, then answer the parts.
Read the opening paragraph of the extract (it begins ‘Tenth May dawned…’).
Mandela says he was ‘pleasantly besieged’ because…
Show answer
Answer (B) many welcome guests crowded round him
A siege by friends: leaders kept arriving to greet him, and he enjoyed it.Why was this gathering historic?
Show solution
It was the largest meeting of world leaders ever held on South African soil, marking the end of apartheid.
The word ‘dignitaries’ means…
Show answer
Answer (C) people of high official rank
Dignitaries are people who hold important official positions.What mood does the bright, clear morning suggest?
Show solution
Hope and joy: a fresh start for the nation after a dark past.
Read the paragraph about the jets and the generals (it begins ‘A few moments later…’).
Apart from skill and strength, what did the fly-past show?
Show solution
The armed forces' loyalty to democracy and to the freely elected government.
‘Not unmindful of’ means…
Show answer
Answer (B) fully aware of
A double negative: not unmindful = well aware.Why is the generals' salute ironic?
Show solution
Only a few years earlier the same officers would have arrested Mandela.
The jets' smoke trail was in the colours of…
Show answer
Answer (C) the new national flag
The smoke showed the colours of the new South African flag.
Read the paragraph in which Mandela explains courage (it begins ‘It is from these comrades…’).
From whom did Mandela learn the meaning of courage?
Show answer
Answer (D) his comrades in the struggle
He learnt it from fellow fighters who risked everything.What had he seen these people do?
Show solution
Risk death for what they believed in, and suffer beatings and torture without giving in.
What does resilience mean as Mandela uses it here?
Show solution
The power to bear terrible suffering, recover and keep going, so great that it is hard to imagine.
According to Mandela, a brave person never feels afraid.
Show answer
Answer False
False. A brave person feels fear but conquers it.
Read the paragraph that begins ‘Freedom is indivisible…’.
What does ‘freedom is indivisible’ mean?
Show solution
Freedom cannot be split: if any one person is unfree, nobody is truly free.
Mandela calls the oppressor a prisoner of…
Show answer
Answer (A) hatred
The oppressor is trapped by hatred, behind bars of prejudice.Why must the oppressor be liberated too?
Show solution
Because hatred and narrow-mindedness rob him of his humanity, just as oppression robs his victims of theirs.
Which word is closest in meaning to ‘prejudice’?
Show answer
Answer (B) bias
Prejudice is an unfair opinion formed without reason, that is, bias.
Read stanza 1 of ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’.
Where is the tiger and what is he doing?
Show solution
In his small zoo cage, walking up and down its few steps.
‘Pads of velvet quiet’ suggests that his paws are…
Show answer
Answer (B) soft and silent
Velvet is soft; his paws move without a sound.What does ‘quiet rage’ tell us about his feelings?
Show answer
Answer (C) he is angry but cannot express it
The anger is real but silent and trapped.Pick out the rhyming words in this stanza.
Show solution
cage and rage.
Read stanza 5, the last stanza of the poem.
What sounds does the tiger hear at night?
Show solution
The last human voices of the day and the cars of the night patrol.
The device in brilliant eyes and brilliant stars is…
Show answer
Answer (D) repetition
The word brilliant is repeated to link the tiger's eyes with the stars.Why does the tiger stare at the stars?
Show solution
He longs for the freedom of the wild; the stars are free in the open sky, while he is caged.
The mood of this stanza is…
Show answer
Answer (A) sad and longing
The quiet night picture is full of longing.
Board practice: short answers (40–50 words): questions with answers
Why does Mandela value South Africa's people above its minerals?
Show solution
Although South Africa is rich in gold and diamonds, Mandela values its people more. Apartheid's cruelty produced men and women of rare courage, wisdom and generosity, such as Tambo and Sisulu. Such people are worth more than any gem.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- minerals vs people
- oppression produced great character
- named examples
What is a ‘twilight existence’? Why did Mandela have to live one?
Show solution
A twilight existence is a hidden life of secrecy, like living in dim light. Under apartheid, anyone who worked for his people was hunted by the state, so Mandela had to leave his family and live in hiding as a rebel.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- meaning of the image
- apartheid punished activists
- cost to his family life
Why was Mandela pained on the day of his inauguration?
Show solution
Thousands of patriots had suffered and died to make that day possible. Mandela felt he was only the sum of their efforts, and it hurt him that they could not see the result and that he could not thank them.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- sacrifices of earlier patriots
- ‘sum of all patriots’
- could not thank them
Mandela says he did not start life hungry for freedom. Why not, and when did the hunger begin?
Show solution
As a village boy he felt completely free, so he never missed freedom. The hunger began when, as a young man, he discovered that apartheid had already taken his freedom, and later saw that all his people were equally unfree.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- felt born free as a boy
- his childhood freedom was not real
- hunger grew as he understood apartheid
How does Mandela show that goodness can survive even in the harshest conditions?
Show solution
Even in his hardest prison years, Mandela sometimes saw a flicker of kindness in a guard. That brief moment gave him hope. It convinced him that human goodness is like a flame: it may be hidden, but it can never be put out.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- prison setting
- guard's kindness
- flame image and its meaning
What does the tiger do in the zoo, and why does he ignore the visitors?
Show solution
He paces his small cage again and again, silent but full of anger. He ignores the visitors because he is bored, angry and hopeless; a proud wild hunter has no wish to be stared at by crowds.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- pacing
- silent rage
- reason for ignoring visitors
Name two things the tiger would do in the wild and two things he does in the zoo.
Show solution
In the wild he would hide in shadows and slide through tall grass to hunt deer, and snarl near villages showing his fangs. In the zoo he paces his cell and stares out at visitors and the night sky.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- two wild actions
- two zoo actions
- contrast made clear
Why do you think the poet ends the poem with the stars?
Show solution
The stars shine freely in the open sky, just as the tiger's eyes shine. Linking the two shows that the tiger belongs to nature and longs for freedom he cannot have. Ending on this quiet image leaves us sad and thoughtful.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- repetition links eyes and stars
- stars = freedom
- effect on the reader
Board practice: long answers (100–120 words): questions with answers
Write a character sketch of Nelson Mandela based on the extract.
Show solution
Nelson Mandela emerges as a great leader and a deeply human man. He is courageous: he fought apartheid for decades and endured years in prison, defining courage as conquering fear. He is patriotic, calling his people the nation's true wealth. He is forgiving, welcoming former enemies such as de Klerk and the generals into the new nation without bitterness. He is humble, describing himself as merely the sum of the patriots before him. He is also selfless, having sacrificed home and family for his people. Above all he is wise: he understands that hatred is learnt and that freedom is indivisible. He is a model of moral strength.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- four or more qualities
- evidence from the text for each
- a clear opening and conclusion
- about 120 words
‘Freedom is indivisible.’ Explain how Mandela arrived at this belief and why he thought the oppressor, too, needed to be freed.
Show solution
Mandela's idea of freedom grew in stages. As a boy he felt free, and as a student he wanted small freedoms for himself. In Johannesburg he wanted to earn, marry and live lawfully. Then he saw that everyone who looked like him was equally unfree, so he joined the ANC and fought for his people. Finally he understood that freedom cannot be divided: chains on one person are chains on all. Even the oppressor is unfree, because whoever takes away another's freedom is a prisoner of hatred and prejudice. Since both lose their humanity, both must be liberated. This generous idea explains why he sought reconciliation, not revenge, in 1994.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- stages of his understanding
- meaning of ‘indivisible’
- the oppressor as prisoner of hatred
- conclusion
Mandela had to choose between serving his family and serving his people. Was his choice right? Give your opinion with reasons.
Show solution
I believe Mandela's choice was painful but right. In a fair society he could have served both family and nation, but apartheid made that impossible: anyone who fought for his people was forced into hiding or prison. His family paid a heavy price, losing a son, brother, husband and father. Yet his sacrifice helped free millions of families, including, in time, his own. As he says, he could not enjoy limited freedoms while his people were in chains. Personal duties matter, but when injustice is so vast, serving the larger family of the nation can be the greater duty. History has proved his sacrifice worthwhile.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- clear opinion
- twin obligations explained
- cost and gain weighed
- link to the text
‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ contrasts two worlds. Describe the contrast and say whether, in your view, zoos should exist.
Show solution
Leslie Norris contrasts the tiger's cramped life in the zoo with his free life in the wild. In the zoo he silently paces a concrete cell, his power going to waste, ignoring visitors and staring at the stars at night. In the wild he would lurk in shadows, hunt deer by a water hole and snarl at the edge of a village. Devices such as the oxymoron ‘quiet rage’ and the repeated ‘brilliant’ deepen the contrast. In my view, zoos should keep only animals that cannot survive in the wild. Protecting forests and reserves is a kinder way to save tigers.
Key points the examiner looks for:
- zoo details
- wild details
- one or two devices
- a reasoned opinion
Language and writing practice: questions with answers
Change each verb in brackets into a noun to complete the passage. The students of a village school decided to set up a library. Their first (suggest) was simple: each family would give one book. The (organise) of the book drive took three weeks. With the (encourage) of their teachers and the eager (participate) of parents, they collected four hundred books. The little library is now a source of (inspire) for the whole village.
Show answer
Answer (1) suggestion, (2) organisation, (3) encouragement, (4) participation, (5) inspiration
suggest → suggestion; organise → organisation; encourage → encouragement; participate → participation; inspire → inspiration.Rewrite each sentence using an idiom from the chapter.
Even when the work was exhausting, the thought of her family gave her the strength to carry on.
Show solution
…the thought of her family kept her going.
He was fully aware of the danger.
Show solution
He was not unmindful of the danger.
After months of silence, the two friends settled their quarrel.
Show solution
…the two friends patched up their differences.
The nurses had worked until they could bear no more.
Show solution
The nurses had been pushed to their limits.
Find these contrasts in the text and complete each in your own words, naming the signal word.
The Union Buildings: for decades a seat of white rule…
Show solution
…and now a meeting place for people of all colours and nations. Signal: and now.
The generals saluted Mandela; a few years earlier…
Show solution
…they would have arrested him instead. Signal: not … but.
At the ceremony, the two groups did not know each other's anthems…
Show solution
…but they would soon know them by heart. Signal: although … soon.
Complete these contrasts from the text in your own words, naming the signal word.
South Africa is rich in minerals and gems…
Show solution
…but its real treasure is its people. Signal: but.
The fly-past was a display of precision and force…
Show solution
…and also a sign that the armed forces were loyal to democracy. Signal: not only … but.
The desire for freedom changed Mandela. Give two of its before-and-after pairs.
Show solution
A frightened young man became bold; a devoted husband became homeless. Signal: transformed … into.
Choose the right homophones. The king's (reign/rain) lasted forty years, but the (reign/rain) failed in many of them. Please (wait/weight) while I check your (wait/weight).
Show answer
Answer (1) reign, (2) rain, (3) wait, (4) weight
Reign = rule; rain = water from clouds; wait = stay until something happens; weight = how heavy something is.Explain what each sentence means.
She is the Lata Mangeshkar of our colony.
Show solution
She is the finest singer in our colony.
India needs more Ambedkars.
Show solution
India needs more people like Dr B. R. Ambedkar: wise, fearless fighters for equality.
The Kapoors have bought a new car.
Show solution
The Kapoor family has bought a new car.
Our team has no Dhonis, so we must plan carefully.
Show solution
Our team has no calm, match-winning captains or finishers like M. S. Dhoni.
Practice questions with answers (NCERT “Thinking about the poem”)
Make a two-column list, Cage and Wild, of the verbs for what the tiger does and the words for where he is. What contrast do your lists show?
Show solution
Cage: stalks, paces, ignores, stares; a few steps, concrete cell, bars.
- Wild: lurks, slides, snarls, bares fangs, terrorises; shadow, long grass, water hole, village.
- Cramped, repeated movement against free, powerful action shows what captivity takes away.
What is the effect of repeating quiet in stanza 1 and brilliant in stanza 5?
Show solution
Quiet joins his silent steps to his silent anger, showing rage held down.
- Brilliant joins his shining eyes to the shining, free stars, showing his longing for freedom.
After reading ‘The Tiger’ and ‘The Panther’ in your textbook, discuss in a group: do zoos protect animals, do they educate us, and what are the alternatives? Note three points.
Show solution
Protection: breeding of endangered species; care of injured animals.
- Education: children see animals and learn to care, though caged animals do not show natural behaviour.
- Alternatives: national parks, sanctuaries, tiger reserves, rescue centres, documentaries.
Write two paragraphs (about 150 words) for or against zoos.
Show solution
See the model answer at the end of section 2.8.3.
- Points for: breeding, rescue, education. Points against: small spaces, stress, entertainment.
- Close with a clear view and one suggestion.
How many stanzas does ‘A Tiger in the Zoo’ have, and how many are set in the wild?
Show answer
Answer (B) five stanzas, two in the wild
Five four-line stanzas; stanzas 2 and 3 imagine the wild.
Find your NCERT exercise question
Our practice questions are written for ncert.ai and follow the NCERT exercises. Find the one that matches the question in your textbook; its answer is with it.
| In your NCERT textbook | Practice question here |
|---|---|
| Oral Comprehension Check 1, Q1 | Check your reading · Q1 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 1, Q2 | Check your reading · Q2 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 1, Q3 | Check your reading · Q3 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 1, Q4 | Check your reading · Q4 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 1, Q5 | Check your reading · Q5 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 2, Q1 | Check your reading · Q6 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 2, Q2 | Check your reading · Q7 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 2, Q3 | Check your reading · Q8 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 2, Q4 | Check your reading · Q9 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 2, Q5 | Check your reading · Q10 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 3, Q1 | Check your reading · Q11 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 3, Q2 | Check your reading · Q12 |
| Oral Comprehension Check 3, Q3 | Check your reading · Q13 |
| Thinking about the Text Q1 | Thinking about the text · Q1 |
| Thinking about the Text Q2 | Thinking about the text · Q2 |
| Thinking about the Text Q3 | Thinking about the text · Q3 |
| Thinking about the Text Q4 | Thinking about the text · Q4 |
| Thinking about the Text Q5 | Thinking about the text · Q5 |
| Thinking about Language I.2 | Language and writing practice · Q1 |
| Thinking about Language III | Language and writing practice · Q2 |
| Writing II, items 1–3 | Language and writing practice · Q3 |
| Writing II, items 4–6 | Language and writing practice · Q4 |
| Box: Homophones | Language and writing practice · Q5 |
| Thinking about Language II | Language and writing practice · Q6 |
| Thinking about the Poem Q1 | Thinking about the poem · Q1 |
| Thinking about the Poem Q2 | Thinking about the poem · Q2 |
| Thinking about the Poem Q3 | Thinking about the poem · Q3 |
| Thinking about the Poem Q4 | Thinking about the poem · Q4 |
Quick check: MCQs on Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
- Before you read3 questions
- 2.2 Part 1: The inauguration4 questions
- 2.3 Part 2: A sense of history4 questions
- 2.4 Part 3: Twin obligations and the hunger for freedom4 questions
- 2.5.1 Themes and message3 questions
- 2.6.1 Nouns from verbs2 questions
- 2.6.2 Using ‘the’ with names2 questions
- 2.6.3 Idiomatic expressions1 question
- 2.6.4 Homophones and homographs3 questions
- 2.7.2 Writing: balance and contrast1 question
- 2.8.2 Poetic devices, mood and tone4 questions
- Revision check2 questions
Key terms (English–Hindi)
- apartheidरंगभेदrangbhed
- South Africa's system of laws (1948 to the early 1990s) that kept races apart and gave white people power over everyone else.First seen in the chapter →
- homograph
- A word spelt like another but with a different meaning, and sometimes a different sound, such as lead (guide) and lead (metal).First seen in the chapter →
- homophone
- A word that sounds like another but differs in meaning and usually spelling, such as peace and piece.First seen in the chapter →
- illusionभ्रमbhram
- A false belief or impression that something is real or true.First seen in the chapter →
- inaugurationशपथ ग्रहण समारोहshapath grahan samaroh
- A formal ceremony at which a new leader takes the oath and begins a term of office.First seen in the chapter →
- obligationदायित्वdayitva
- A duty that you are bound to carry out.First seen in the chapter →
- prejudiceपूर्वाग्रहpurvagrah
- An unfair opinion about a person or group, formed before knowing the facts.First seen in the chapter →
- suffixप्रत्ययpratyay
- Letters added to the end of a word to make a new word, such as -ment or -ion.First seen in the chapter →
- transitoryक्षणिकkshanik
- Lasting only a short time.First seen in the chapter →