Final answer:
Nelson Mandela's primary aim in the passage is to elucidate his journey to understanding freedom, closely tied to South Africa's struggle against apartheid and the eventual establishment of democracy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nelson Mandela’s main purpose in the passage is likely b) to explain how he came to understand the meaning of freedom. Through his experiences of being imprisoned for his anti-apartheid activism and later becoming the first president in the post-apartheid era, Mandela symbolizes the long journey towards freedom for many South Africans. This journey included the challenges faced under apartheid, the fight for human rights, and the eventual establishment of a new democratic constitution that emphasized the inalienable rights of all citizens. The narratives of Plato and Mandela both discuss freedom, yet they do so in different contexts: Plato through the allegorical ascent of prisoners from a cave into the light and Mandela through his real-life struggle against apartheid and the quest for equality.