SAT經典范文賞析

納爾遜•曼徳拉Nelson Mandela
Rachel H. During the late 1980s and throughout the 90s, in a time of major strife and conflict in South Africa, Nelson Mandela worked against the common opinion of his country and became a beaker of peace, and resolution. In a time of great hate and tension between blacks and whites, Mandela went against the majority to unify his country. He was an active anti-apartheid activist and was initially committed to non-violence resistance. Though, the South African court convicted him on charges of sabotage, as well as other crimes committed while he led the movement against the apartheid. Mandela served 27 years in prison in accordance to the charges placed against him. Despite spending so many years in confinement, Mandela went on to become the president of South Africa in 1994. However, he inherited a country where the majority opinion was hatred and anger. He realized that he must take a separate path; to become a symbol of unity and to build a bridge between the two colors. When he became elected president in 1994, he used a white sporting event (the Rugby World Cup) as an excuse to bring together the entire nation. He encouraged young Wack men to cheer on the white, South African rugby players during the World Championships, which was held in South Africa. Mandela separated himself from the views of nation and used his positive morale to create a better nation that works to expel hatred instead of promoting it.

點評：到目前為止，很多人可能已經知道了電影《成事在人》（Invictus）的梗概。只是Rachel寫的比電影首映更早、更好。他從社會視角來看曼德拉的生活以及他的時代，很有歷史深度。讀完這篇文章，誰還用去看電影！