Critical
Analysis for “After Mandela” by Patricia Smith
“After Mandela” by Patricia Smith explains that
South Africa has come a long way since Mandela first sparked the end of
apartheid in South Africa but although there has been many successes there are
have also been many downsides during the time, so much so that Mandela’s dream
and example cannot be lived up to in the future. There are many things that
Patricia Smith uses to support this claim. Smith implies that South Africa “has
struggled--- and sometimes failed--- to live up to the ideals and promise that
Mandela represented”. She includes many examples to prove this. “Although
democracy is now firmly developed [due to Mandela] the presidents who have
followed have failed to live up to his example”. This is the idea she sticks
through throughout the article, she gets deep into it and is passionate for the
idea that no other president could live up to what Mandela was. Smith also
includes examples of progressive successes that have improved South Africa and
brought it a long way from apartheid to support the part of the main idea that
says that South Africa has come a long way; for example she says, “It (South
Africa) boasts the continent’s largest economy and the 15th largest
stock exchange in the world. It has an abundance of natural resources that it
exports--- including diamonds, gold and platinum”. But Smith wants to show that
it is still far from perfect; she also includes examples of those things that
are negative since apartheid was solved and implies that “there have been many
disappointments too.” For example, “Unemployment is higher than ever… 85
percent of black South Africans remain poor, while 87 percent of whites are
middle or upper class.” She also quotes Steven Friedman, “We’ve had some successes
and also a lot of setbacks.” But also to ensure that readers knew what Nelson
Mandela meant to the country Smith stresses, that Mandela was a man with a
message of peace, a “call to move forward rather than turning to violence.” To
strengthen this she describes Mandela’s story and how he contributed to South
Africa’s successes and also that he wasn’t really a part of South Africa’s
setbacks. This series of ideas support the main idea and work to prove it
because they convince readers of Mandela’s strength at the time of his death
using examples of strengths because of him and strengths without him that can
harm South Africa, it convinces them that Mandela was very important to South
Africa, which he was.
With
this article Patricia Smith tried to make the reader think and feel that it is
true that South Africa has come a long way but that it’s still a long way from
being a perfect nation and also she wanted the reader to realize the
contributions of Mandela and that losing him meant losing “the ideals and
promise that he represented” and that there is still a lot of hope for the
country. To achieve this Patricia Smith utilizes multiple craft moves. She
quotes officials and people with a title. For example, “‘We’ve had many
successes and also a lot of setbacks,’ says Steven Friedman of the University
of Johannesburg. Again she says, “‘In all of the great liberation movements
there is the problem of producing great leaders to take over,’ says William
Gumede, a South Africa scholar at Oxford University in England.” I know I will
definitely believe whatever a man with a fancy title like that, that is a
problem that we face, titles of any sorts are convincing. This technique grasps
reader’s attention and convinces them that whatever they say is true and trustworthy
information. When the reader knows that information is coming from or is
supported by an Oxford graduate they will more likely believe and agree with it
rather than believing someone with just his name and this is truly sad. Another
technique that Smith utilizes is giving and using specific examples and them
making larger connections, often to the world, using the example. For example,
after describing the opinion of an older educated women in South Africa Smith
says, “Such feelings are common among her generation, known as the ‘born frees’
because they were born after the end of apartheid, or just before it ended, and
were too young to remember it.” Patricia uses this as a passageway in her
writing to make a larger connection and to start speaking of the “born free”
generation, the time period of Nelson Mandela, generally where she wants to get
in her piece. This technique gets large information through to the reader while
also keeping them engaged with a realistic example through a story. This is smoother
than the “For example,” strategy used by many writers, a strategy that I
probably used in this writing as well. This can be choppy and too straight
forward depending on the writing you may want to use it, especially in pieces
like articles in a teen magazine. You want your readers engaged in your writing
at all times and the craft move that Smith uses definitely does the job by
keeping readers in her writing and allowing them to make realistic connections.
A third craft move that Patricia Smith utilizes is the use of complex
transitions. A simple one that is also smooth is “Despite…” This technique gets
the “but” parts of her purpose for the piece through to the reader while also
allowing her a way for her to move on in what she’s writing.
Overall
this text had a very large message about Nelson Mandela, a man with a dream and
a message never to be forgotten. Reading this article was very moving and
influential. To learn more about such a great man sparked a light in me to fix
whatever problems I could whether they were big or very small, because they all
make a difference. It taught me to follow in Mandela’s footsteps even if I
don’t have the ability to do what he had for South Africa, I can learn to be
persistent, to be determined and to never give up. This article definitely
taught me a lot about Nelson Mandela’s contributions to the world, and it was
really the perfect time to read about such a great man. His death only made the
article more effective. 
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