"Voracious reading was like an anesthesia, numbing me to the harsh life around me."
Mark turns to books to distract and even protect himself from the racism and adversity around him. He finds solace and power in the knowledge he's gaining from reading. More significantly, the books provide a productive outlet into which Mark can pour his nervous energy.
"Let us not rest until we are free to live in dignity in the land our birth."
Mark is continually frustrated by the racial prejudice of his society. As an icon, he stands for the equal and honorable treatment of all people. He uses his fame and success to spread this message because he is privileged to have surpassed the overwhelming impediments placed in his path because of Apartheid and racsim.
"Gradually, I came to accept hunger as a constant companion. But this new hunger was different. It filled me with hatred, confusion, helplessness, hopelessness, anxiety, loneliness, selfishness and a cynical attitude toward people."
In school, Mark is denied many of the privileges offered to his white peers. Although he was no stranger to racial prejudice, growing up he had been more insulated within his home and culture. Mark is frustrated at the core of his being by what he calls "this new hunger," which in addition to his physical hunger, is an insatiable longing for equality and opportunity.
"There is a death far worse than physical death, and that is the death of the mind and soul, when, despite toiling night and day, under sweltering heat, torrential rain, blistering winds, you still cannot make enough to clothe, shelter, and feed your loved ones, suffering miles away, forcibly separated from you."
Mark continually advocates for his fellow black Africans who have been oppressed under Apartheid. They are forced to work dangerous, unforgiving jobs for meager salaries which barely support the absolute needs of their families, not to mention they never get to see their families because they must work so long. Mark uses his success to speak out against this particularly cruel and somewhat invisible injustice.
