NCERT Solutions Class 10 English –
Chapter 2 Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom
1. At the beginning of his speech, Mandela mentions “an extraordinary human disaster”. What does he mean by
this? What is the “glorious … human achievement” he speaks of at the end?
Answer: In Mandela’s speech ‘an extraordinary human disaster’, he wanted to express the practice of Apartheid in
South Africa. During this practice, there was a racial segregation of people based on colour and the Black people
suffered the most as they were discriminated by the rest. They could not enjoy the right to freedom. Mandela was
jailed as a prisoner for 18 years on the infamous ‘Robben Island’ where he was mistreated by the authorities. He
considered it as “great glorious human achievement” that he became the first Black President of South Africa where
the Blacks were deprived of basic needs and suffered different kinds of discrimination and were treated badly.
2. What does Mandela thank the international leaders for?
Answer: Mandela felt extremely privileged to welcome the dignitaries and international leaders at the swearingin
ceremony because it was not too long ago when the South Africans were considered outlaws. He therefore, thanked
all of them for having come from far and wide to witness the historical oath-taking ceremony of the first Black
President of South Africa. This was a wonderful gesture of international recognition to a newly born free democratic
nation. This event could be considered as a common victory for justice, peace and human dignity.
3. What ideals does he set out for the future of South Africa?
Mandela set the ideals of liberating the people of South Africa from the continuing bondage of poverty, deprivation,
suffering, gender and other discrimination. He wanted the people of the country to enjoy the right to freedom from
all forms of bondage and prejudice
What do the military generals do? How has their attitude changed and why?
Answer: The highest military generals of South African defence force and police saluted and pledged their loyalty to
Mandela. This was of great significance as otherwise during the Apartheid era they would have arrested him and put
him behind bars. Their attitude changed towards Blacks due to the struggles and sacrifices that were put in by many
heroes of South Africa. This struggle for freedom was not just a struggle with Apartheid, but brought a massive
change in mindsets of many people. Mandela believed that love is something that could be taught and human beings
are naturally inclined towards love more, rather than hate.
Why were two national anthems sung?
Answer: On the auspicious occasion of the inauguration ceremony, two national anthems were sung – the Whites
sang ‘Nkosi Sikelel –iAfrika’ and the Blacks sang ‘Die Stem’ that was the old anthem of the Republic. Both the
anthems symbolized the equality of rights between Whites and Blacks.
How does Mandela describe the systems of government in his country - (i) in the first decade, and (ii) in the final
decade, of the twentieth century?
Answer: (i) In the first decade of the twentieth century, the white-skinned people of South Africa patched up their
differences and erected a system of racial domination against the dark-skinned peoples of their own land. This
created the basis of one of the harshest, most inhumane, societies the world has ever seen or known. (ii) In the final
decade of the twentieth century, the previous system of government had been overturned forever and replaced by
one that recognised the rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of the colour of their skin.
What does courage mean to Mandela?
Answer: According to Mandela, courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. A brave man is not one
who does not feel afraid, but one who conquers that fear.
Which does he think is natural, to love or to hate?
Mandela thought that love comes more naturally to the human heart rather than hate.
What “twin obligations” does Mandela mention?
Answer: Mandela mentions two obligations that every man has in life – (i) obligations to his family, to his parents, to
his wife and children; and (ii) he has an obligation to his people, his community and his country.
What did being free mean to Mandela as a boy, and as a student? How does he contrast these “transitory
freedoms” with “the basic and honourable freedoms”?
Answer: Like any other kid, Mandela felt freedom meant to be happy, make merry and enjoy the blissful life in his
childhood years. However, when a young fellow becomes an adult, the antics of childhood look transitory because all
the childish activities are worthless from an adult’s perspective. When a person becomes an adult, he learns to earn
a livelihood and earn his own bread and butter. In such a scenario, he understands the basic and honourable
freedom in his family and the society that he lives in.
Does Mandela think the oppressor is free? Why/Why not?
Answer: Mandela does not feel that the oppressor is free because in his opinion, an oppressor is like a victim of
hatred who is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. He perceives that both the oppressor
and the oppressed are robbed of their humanity and peace of mind.
Why did such a large number of international leaders attend the inauguration? What did it signify the triumph of?
Answer: Being a part of the inauguration ceremony, the international leaders showed a gesture of solidarity from the
international community to the concept of end of Apartheid. This signified the victory of good over evil and the
triumph of a tolerant society without any prejudice and discrimination of caste, colour or creed.
What does Mandela mean when he says he is “simply the sum of all those African patriots” who had gone before
him?
Answer: By saying that he is “simply the sum of all those African patriots”, Mandela offers his tribute to all the
people who had sacrificed their lives in favour of the struggle for freedom. He says that he shall always remain
grateful and thankful to those who had gone before him because those freedom fighters had paved the path of co-
operation and unity for him. Therefore, Mandela felt that when he comes to power, he would bring equality among
his people along with their support and co-operation.
Would you agree that the “depths of oppression” create “heights of character”? How does Mandela illustrate
this?
Can you add your own examples to this argument? Answer: Yes, I agree with the statement that “depths of
oppression” do create ‘heights of character”. Nelson Mandela illustrates this by citing examples of great heroes of
South Africa such as Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Chief Luthulis, Yusuf Dadoos, Bram Fischers, Robert Sobukwes
among others who inspired other people by sacrificing their lives in the long struggle for freedom. In India’s Pre-
Independence era, there was a galaxy of great leaders who didn’t give up to the oppression of British rule such as
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Lala Lajpat Rai, Chandra Shekhar Ajad,
Bhagat Singh and many more. Nelson Mandela seems to be absolutely right, if we compare them with the quality of
political leaders that India is having today.
How did Mandela’s understanding of freedom change with age and experience?
Answer: With age and rich experience, Mandela understood the essence of freedom in everyone’s life. As a young
boy, he always thought that he was born free and could do anything that he wanted. He strongly believed that as
long as he obeyed his father and abided by the customs of his tribe, he was free in every possible way. However, as
he grew older, he started feeling that freedom was required to raise a family and to earn livelihood, this started
dominating his thoughts and views. In due course of time, he realised that he was selfish and was leading an
illusionary life during his boyhood. He slowly understood that it was not just his freedom alone that was being
curtailed, but the freedom of all the Black people was retrenched. Mandela understood that his people were being
deprived and discriminated and this led him to develop a hunger for the freedom of his people.
How did Mandela’s ‘hunger for freedom’ change his life?
Answer: During his youth, Mandela realised that it was not just his freedom alone that was being curtailed, but the
freedom of all Black people. The hunger for his own freedom became the hunger for freedom for all his fellow
brothers and sisters. In the process, this changed the fearful man to a bold rebel. Mandela sacrificed the comforts of
a settled family life to fight for the freedom of his countrymen. He joined the African National Congress and this
changed his perspective from a frightened young man into a fearless person who fought against racial prejudice and
colour discrimination.
NCERT Solutions Class 10 English - Chapter 4
From the Diary of Anne Frank
Question 1: What makes writing in a diary a strange experience for Anne Frank?
Answer: Writing in a diary was a strange experience for Anne Frank because she had never written anything before
in a diary as she had received it as a gift on her thirteenth birthday. She considered the diary to be her best friend
where she could write all her thoughts and feelings. However, she also felt that no one would be interested in the
musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl, hence she could write freely in the diary to get all the worries off her chest.
Question 2: Why does Anne want to keep a diary?
Answer: Anne used to feel lonely and upset always as she had no friend. She wanted to get all the burden and
worries off her chest, hence she decides to keep a diary in which she could confide her secrets and treat it as a true
friend.
Question 3: Why did Anne think she could confide more in her diary than in people?
Answer: Anne had a strong feeling that paper had more patience than people to listen to her mental state. It was
easier for her to pen down all her thoughts and wishes in a diary that she had in her mind. Hence, to confide her
secrets, she felt her personal diary was the best companion and it was also not meant for anyone else to read.
Question 1: Why does Anne provide a brief sketch of her life?
Answer: Anne provided a brief sketch of her life because she wanted to describe about her family, school and
herself. By reading her diary, it could help the reader to develop some sort of connection with her and all the
activities that were happening around her at that time.
Question 2: What tells you that Anne loved her grandmother?
Answer: Anne lived at Aachen with her grandmother while her parents settled down in Holland. She was extremely
close to her grandmother and wrote about her in her diary. However, when her grandmother died in January 1942,
she said, “No one knows how often I think of her and still love her”. She wanted to convey through this message how
dearly she loved her grandmother. On her thirteenth birthday, she lit up one candle along with the rest to express
her love and gratitude for her beloved grandmother.
Why was Mr Keesing annoyed with Anne? What did he ask her to do?
Answer: Mr Keesing was annoyed with Anne because she was a very talkative girl. He often punished her by
assigning her extra homework to write essays on topics that were related to her nature in order to keep her silent.
How did Anne justify her being a chatterbox in her essay?
Answer: Anne justified her being a chatterbox in her essay by clearly pointing out that she had inherited it from her
mother who was also as talkative as her or even more. She also stated that nobody could do anything about such
inherited traits
Question 3: Do you think Mr Keesing was a strict teacher?
Answer: No, Mr Keesing was not a rigidly strict teacher but he expected his class to maintain silence and discipline
while he was imparting his lecture to the class. As a matter of fact, a teacher always thinks about the welfare of his
students. Any teacher would be annoyed if the children keep on talking during the class. Mr Keesing was annoyed
with Anne because she was very talkative. So to punish her, he would give her to do extra homework and often told
her to write essays on her talkative nature. Besides, it should be noted that had he been strict, then he would not
have laughed at Anne’s funny arguments.
What made Mr Keesing allow Anne to talk in class?
Answer: Anne’s last essay entitled — ‘Quack, Quack, Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’.” in the form of a poem
showed Mr Keesing the lighter side of Anne. He was impressed with the way she presented her arguments in a
rhythmic manner. It helped in bridging the gap between Mr Keesing and Anne and thereafter she was never assigned
extra homework by him.
Was Anne right when she said that the world would not be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old girl?
Answer: It is a human tendency that kids are often not considered seriously by elders. Being a thirteen-year-old girl,
Anne thought that most people don’t want to give importance to a child’s perspective towards the world because
they think children are too immature to talk about worldly matters. However, Anne Frank’s diary was popular among
the masses and was translated in different languages and she became one of the most renowned and discussed of
the Holocaust victims.
There are some examples of diary or journal entries in the ‘Before You Read’ section. Compare these with what
Anne writes in her diary. What language was the diary originally written in? In what way is Anne’s diary different?
Answer: Anne’s diary was originally written in Dutch. It was different from other entries in several aspects and from
most of the examples given before the text. She had named her diary as ‘Kitty’. She wrote in an informal tone which
exuded the carefree nature of a teenager. She confided her feelings and secrets on it as she considered her diary to
be her best friend. She wrote a lot of personal events and memories in her diary, which made it different from other
diaries.
Why does Anne need to give a brief sketch about her family? Does she treat ‘Kitty’ as an insider or an outsider?
Answer: Anne gave a brief introduction of her family in the ‘diary’ because she felt that it was hard to make others
realise that a teenager like her could write about loneliness and all the events happenings around her in a mature
manner. She talked about her adorable father, compassionate mother, beloved grandmother and loving elder sister
in her diary ‘Kitty’. Kitty was gifted to her by her parents on her thirteenth birthday and she considered it as her best
friend and treated it as an insider as she could confide all her feelings and emotions by writing on it.
How does Anne feel about her father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing? What do these tell you
about her?
Answer: Anne had fond of memories of her adorable father, her grandmother, Mrs Kuperus and Mr Keesing, her
Maths teacher who had left indelible and lasting impressions on her mind and had a major impact in her life. The
way she wrote about all of them in her diary revealed that Anne was very attached to each of these people and was
quite good at understanding people. She had developed an everlasting bond and a wonderful interpersonal relation
with each of them.
What does Anne write in her first essay?
Answer: Mr Keesing had asked Anne to write an essay on the topic ‘A Chatterbox’ as a punishment for her talkative
nature. In the essay, she wrote about the effects of being talkative and also argued that she had inherited it from her
mother who was also very talkative. She justified this by saying that nobody could do anything about inherited traits.
It was therefore, difficult to give up a habit so easily and it also formed a part of a student’s trait. Reading this, Mr
Keesing also had a hearty laugh at the argument given by Anne.
Anne says teachers are most unpredictable. Is Mr Keesing unpredictable? How?
Answer: Anne cited the perfect example of Mr Keesing as an unpredictable teacher because she felt that Mr Keesing
was indifferent towards her behaviour who always rebuked her for her talkative nature. Although initially he
punished her by assigning extra homework, but after reading her essays he enjoyed a good laugh and thereafter
never gave her such punishment and allowed Anne to talk in the class.
NCERT Solutions Class 10 English - Chapter 4
Poem Amanda!
Is Amanda an orphan? Why does she say so?
Answer: No, Amanda is not an orphan. She says so because she wants to be on her own. She feels that she is being
constantly nagged by her parents to follow their instructions. Being a little girl, she seeks ‘golden’ silence and ‘sweet’
freedom and wants to break all the norms. She wishes to roam around the streets alone and draw dust patterns with
her bare feet. She thinks if she were an orphan, she could do all of it without being nagged or rebuked by anyone
and be all by herself.
Do you know the story of Rapunzel? Why does she want to be Rapunzel?
Answer: The story of Rapunzel revolves around her life on a high tower. She was locked in that tower by an evil
witch. In due course of time, she got used to living there. She was very happy and content with her life in the tower.
She had very long blonde hair which was used by the witch to climb the tall tower. One fine day, a prince came to
meet her as he climbed the tower using her hair. When the witch came to know about it, she punished both of them
by separating them. Finally, after many years the couple united together forever. Similarly, Amanda wishes to live
her life like Rapunzel on a high tower on her own, away from everyone. She yearns for freedom, peace and harmony.
Due to this reason, Amanda wants to be like Rapunzel. However, she also states that since she doesn’t want to be
disturbed, she would never let her bright hair down for anyone to climb to her. She simply desires a happy and
satisfied life with no disturbance from others.
What does the girl yearn for? What does this poem tell you about Amanda?
Answer: Amanda is a young girl who yearns for freedom and wants to be on her own. With constant scolding from
her parents, she realises that she is incapable of fulfilling their expectations. Generally, children of Amanda’s age
have similar feelings, irrespective of class, colour or nationality. Although we all know that traditional societies
always demand a well-mannered behaviour from every person and the training of children by their parents play a
significant role in moulding their personality. Most parents tend to ignore the innocence and understanding level of
their children and the young minds face tremendous pressure from their elders that impacts their imaginative power
and thoughts.
Read the last stanza. Do you think Amanda is sulking and is moody?
Answer: No, Amanda is neither sulking nor moody. She simply longs for her freedom as she is fed up of following the
instructions given by her parents. She has a strong imaginative power as she visualizes herself to the likes of
Rapunzel’s story and she wants to lead a carefree life free from all nagging and scolding from her parents who are
always trying to teach manners and inculcate good habits in her.
Why are Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 given in parenthesis?
Answer: Stanzas 2, 4 and 6 are given in parenthesis because they exhibit the inner thoughts and reaction of Amanda
as she receives instructions from her mother given in stanzas 1, 3 and 5. As there is an alternate sequence of
scolding by Amanda’s mother, she gives a corresponding reaction to it on the following stanzas in parenthesis. Thus,
the parenthesis is used by the poet to convey the friendly tone of the poem
Who is the speaker in Stanzas 2, 4 and 6?
Do you think this speaker is listening to the speaker in Stanzas 1, 3, 5, and 7? Answer: The speaker of the stanzas 2, 4
and 6 is the child, Amanda herself. No, she is not listening or paying heed to her mother’s words in stanzas 1, 3 and 5
as she is lost in her own dream world. Her imagination lets her escape from reality as she is lost in her own world.
