Exploration 9

The most powerful theme or idea in Nelson Mandela's speech is happiness. In his speech Mandela's says, "This reward will not be measured in money. Nor can it be reckoned in the collective price of the rare metals and precious stones that rest in the bowels of the African soil we tread in the footsteps of our ancestors. It will and must be measured in the happiness and welfare of the children, at once the most vulnerable citizens in any society and the greatest of our treasures." I feel that this is the most powerful theme of the speech because his entire speech was based on the happiness and welfare of the citizens in Africa. He wanted everyone to live in peace with no burdens of their past, and he felt that the only way this reward could be measured was by the happiness and welfare of the citizens.