ClassicNote on Born a Crime
Table of Contents
Biography of Trevor Noah (1984–N/A) ..................................................................................................... 1
Born a Crime Study Guide.......................................................................................................................... 2
Born a Crime Summary .............................................................................................................................. 3
Born a Crime Characters.............................................................................................................................
Trevor Noah .......................................................................................................................................
Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah ...............................................................................................................
Robert.................................................................................................................................................
Andrew...............................................................................................................................................
Isaac....................................................................................................................................................
Abel ....................................................................................................................................................
Temperance Noah...............................................................................................................................
Frances Noah......................................................................................................................................
Sibongile and Dinky...........................................................................................................................
Bulelwa ..............................................................................................................................................
Koko...................................................................................................................................................
Mlungisi .............................................................................................................................................
Teddy..................................................................................................................................................
Tim .....................................................................................................................................................
Sizwe ..................................................................................................................................................
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Born a Crime Glossary................................................................................................................................
Animosity...........................................................................................................................................
Fester ..................................................................................................................................................
Jubilant ...............................................................................................................................................
Catharsis.............................................................................................................................................
Haranguing.........................................................................................................................................
Subjugate............................................................................................................................................
Pugilistic.............................................................................................................................................
Lenient................................................................................................................................................
Obliterated..........................................................................................................................................
Ostracism............................................................................................................................................
Ramifications .....................................................................................................................................
Palatial................................................................................................................................................
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Placid..................................................................................................................................................
Gravitational.......................................................................................................................................
Unconscionable ..................................................................................................................................
Wayward.............................................................................................................................................
Shorthand ...........................................................................................................................................
Wrath ..................................................................................................................................................
Plight ..................................................................................................................................................
Retainer ..............................................................................................................................................
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Born a Crime Themes .................................................................................................................................10
Race....................................................................................................................................................10
Language ............................................................................................................................................10
Family ................................................................................................................................................10
Growing Up........................................................................................................................................10
History................................................................................................................................................11
Violence..............................................................................................................................................11
Masculinity.........................................................................................................................................11
Born a Crime Quotes and Analysis.............................................................................................................12
Born a Crime Chapters 1-3 Summary and Analysis...................................................................................16
Born a Crime Chapters 4-6 Summary and Analysis...................................................................................20
Born a Crime Chapters 7-9 Summary and Analysis...................................................................................23
Born a Crime Chapters 10-14 Summary and Analysis...............................................................................26
Born a Crime Chapters 15-16 Summary and Analysis...............................................................................29
Born a Crime Chapters 17-18 Summary and Analysis...............................................................................32
Born a Crime Symbols, Allegory and Motifs .............................................................................................35
Mulberries (symbol)...........................................................................................................................35
Patricia's second-hand car (symbol)...................................................................................................35
Driveways in Soweto (symbol) .........................................................................................................35
The stolen digital camera (symbol)....................................................................................................36
Language (motif)................................................................................................................................36
Born a Crime Metaphors and Similes.........................................................................................................37
"the Xhosa played chess with the white man" (pg. 4-5) (Metaphor) .................................................37
"Like the gazelle runs from the lions, I ran." (pg. 16) (Simile) .........................................................37
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"Imagine being thrown out of an airplane" (pg. 31) (Metaphor) .......................................................37
"I became a chameleon" (pg. 56) (Metaphor) ....................................................................................38
"It was an ocean of black, like someone had opened a tap and all the black had come pouring
out" (pg. 57) (Simile) .........................................................................................................................38
Born a Crime Irony .....................................................................................................................................39
The incident with Hitler at the dance (dramatic irony) ......................................................................39
Patricia's pregnancy with Isaac (situational irony).............................................................................39
Noah's missed opportunity with Zaheera (situational irony) .............................................................39
Noah being asked to pray to banish the demon (dramatic irony) ......................................................40
Born a Crime Imagery ................................................................................................................................41
Alexandra ...........................................................................................................................................41
Noah's preparations for prom .............................................................................................................41
Noah's poverty in the car repair shop.................................................................................................41
Noah's weeping when his mother is shot ...........................................................................................41
Born a Crime Apartheid in South Africa ....................................................................................................43
Born a Crime Literary Elements .................................................................................................................44
Born a Crime Links.....................................................................................................................................47
Born a Crime Essay Questions ...................................................................................................................48
Born a Crime Quizzes.................................................................................................................................50
Quiz 1 Answer Key............................................................................................................................54
Born a Crime Quizzes.................................................................................................................................56
Quiz 2 Answer Key............................................................................................................................60
Born a Crime Quizzes.................................................................................................................................62
Quiz 3 Answer Key............................................................................................................................66
Born a Crime Quizzes.................................................................................................................................68
Quiz 4 Answer Key............................................................................................................................72
Born a Crime Bibliography.........................................................................................................................74
Copyright Notice.........................................................................................................................................75
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Biography of Trevor Noah (1984–N/A)
Trevor Noah was born on February 20, 1984 in Johannesburg, South Africa. His father was a man of
Swiss-German descent, classified as "white" under South African legislation, while his mother is of
African descent, classified as "black." Noah grew up primarily raised by his mother and her extended
family in the Johannesburg area. He attended Maryvale College, a private Catholic school.
Noah began his career with a small role on the South African soap opera Isidingo and by hosting a radio
show before switching to a focus on comedy. He quickly became a strong presence in the South African
comedy scene, performing in festivals such as The Blacks Only Comedy Show, the Heavyweight Comedy
Jam, and the Cape Town International Comedy Festival. He also moved into TV hosting in 2004 with an
educational TV program called Run the Adventure and went on to co-host other television programs such
as a dating game show and a reality competition series.
Noah moved to the United States in 2011 and appeared on The Tonight Show in January 2012. He was
the first-ever South African stand-up comedian to do so. In 2013, he appeared on the Late Show with
David Letterman, and in 2014, he became a reoccurring contributor to The Daily Show in 2014. In
September 2015, Noah replaced Jon Stewart as the host of The Daily Show. He is currently under
contract to host the show through 2022, and he is also scheduled to produce and host annual end-of-year
specials for the Comedy Central network.
In addition to his work as a comedian, Noah has made appearances on film and TV projects such as
Nashville and Black Panther. He published his first book, Born a Crime, in 2016, to strong acclaim.
Biography of Trevor Noah (1984–N/A)
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Born a Crime Study Guide
Born a Crime is the first book written by Trevor Noah, who is better known as a comedian and actor. The
comedic memoir was first published in November 2016. It received mostly favorable critical reviews,
and it also became a New York Times best-seller. The book was listed on Best Books of the Year writeups in sources such as Newsday, Esquire, NPR, and Booklist. Trevor Noah recorded the audiobook
version of his memoir, which was Audible’s highest-rated audiobook of 2016 and has remained one of
the top-selling titles on Audible since its release. Noah's memoir was also nominated for two NAACP
Image Awards, one for Outstanding Literary Work by a Debut Author and another for Outstanding
Literary Work in the Biography/Auto-Biography category.
As of 2019, Paramount Players was set to produce the film adaptation of the book, set to star Lupita
Nyong'o as Patricia, Noah's mother. Liesl Tommy, a South African director, is slated to direct the film
adaptation.
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Born a Crime Summary
Trevor Noah's memoir interweaves vignettes from his childhood and adolescence with reflections on the
history and culture of South Africa. The various episodes are not always presented in a strict
chronological order, and they include information about his life and the life of his mother.
Trevor's mother, Patricia Noah, is born into a Black South African family that belongs to the Xhosa tribe.
After her parents' divorce and her father goes to live with his second wife and new family, Patricia grows
up feeling neglected as the middle child of a working-class single mother. Although she hopes to return
to live with her father, she ends up being sent to live with her paternal aunt in an impoverished rural area.
Patricia, however, is able to get a good education and is ambitious, determined to make a better life for
herself. She begins working as a secretary, and when she becomes frustrated with her family members
taking most of her money, she moves to an apartment in Johannesburg by herself. There, she meets
Robert, a white man with whom she becomes friends. Wanting to have a baby so that she can establish a
new family for herself, Patricia persuades Robert to father her child; she gives birth to Trevor, a lightskinned, mixed-race child. At this time, it is illegal in South Africa for people to have sex with
individuals from different racial classifications, so Trevor is evidence of her criminal activity.
Although both Patricia and Robert have to make sure that they hide their relationship to Trevor for fear
of being arrested, he recalls a happy early childhood growing up first in a small flat, and then, as the
influence of apartheid gradually diminishes, in a primarily colored neighborhood called Eden Park. He
visits with his father every week, and he also spends time with his mother's family in the Black
neighborhood of Soweto. He is a rambunctious child and his mother often disciplines him strictly, but
they also have a very loving relationship. Patricia encourages Trevor to be a curious and independent
thinker who reflects critically, asks lots of questions, and thinks for himself. She plants the seeds of
ambition in him, encouraging him to believe in himself and have aspirations. She also gives him a good
educational foundation by getting him enrolled in a private Catholic school, although Trevor often gets in
trouble there for challenging rules and questioning authority.
When Trevor is about six years old, Patricia meets a charismatic mechanic named Abel, and after the two
of them have dated for a while, they decide to marry. Trevor doesn't trust the man who will become his
stepfather, but there's little he can do. The marriage and then the birth of Trevor's half-brother Andrew
introduce new dynamics into the family. For example, Abel does not like Trevor spending time with his
father Robert, so Trevor visits less frequently. This diminishing relationship leads to Robert moving
away to Cape Town when Trevor is thirteen years old. Around this time, Trevor also gets kicked out of
Catholic school and transfers to a public school called H.A. Jack at the end of the sixth grade. Starting at
the new school, where students of different races don't intermingle much, Trevor realizes that he feels
most comfortable with the Black students and identifies as Black. However, by this time it is clear that he
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doesn't fit in well with any specific group. His mother's family and other residents of Soweto have
always treated him differently because he was light-skinned and spoke perfect English. In the primarily
colored neighborhood of Eden Park, he's considered either too black or too white to fit in. Trevor rarely
has close friends, is often bullied or outcast, and becomes resourceful about moving fluidly between
communities, focusing on honing his language skills so that he can try to fit in wherever he goes.
This pattern continues once Trevor starts high school at Sandringham, a large public school. By this time,
his stepfather has experienced serious economic troubles after trying to start his own car repair shop.
Patricia provided money to help him, but Abel's problems with alcohol make him irresponsible and the
business fails. Abel has also begun to occasionally be physically abusive towards Patricia, Trevor, and
their pets. To cut their losses, they sell the shop and move to a primarily white neighborhood called
Highlands North. Patricia legally divorces Abel but continues to live with him, supporting the family
with her income while he drinks more and more heavily. Trevor becomes interested in his own business
ventures, first making money placing lunch orders for other students, and then eventually selling pirated
and mix CDs. While awkward and unsuccessful at attracting girls, Trevor does have a few close friends
and starts making a significant income for himself.
When Trevor finishes high school, he has no clear plan in place. He doesn't have the money to attend
university, and the only work he can find is expanding his CD business and also beginning to DJ parties.
This line of work leads him to spending more and more time in Alexandra, an impoverished
neighborhood dominated by petty crime. By this time, tensions between Trevor and Abel have led Trevor
to move into his own apartment. The relationship between Patricia and Abel has deteriorated, and he is
hoping that his mother will leave Abel entirely. Trevor is devastated when he finds out that Patricia is
pregnant again, and he spends less time with his mother and younger brothers after this. When he is in
his early twenties, his career starts to take off, giving him other things to focus on. When Trevor is
twenty-four, his mother encourages him to seek out his estranged father, Robert. Trevor tracks down
Robert and begins to rebuild a relationship with him. Patricia also eventually leaves Abel and remarries.
Trevor is startled to receive a phone call one day when he is in his mid-twenties and learn that Abel has
shot his mother. He rushes to her side and covers her medical costs. Miraculously, Patricia sustains only
minor injuries, and the incident reaffirms the deep love between mother and son. Unfortunately, Abel is
able to avoid jail time and goes on to live as a free man, having served only parole.
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Born a Crime Characters
Trevor Noah
Trevor is the protagonist and narrator of the story, which follows him as he grows from a very young
child into a man in his early twenties.
Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah
The mother of Trevor, and a major character in the memoir. She made the radical choice to have a mixedrace child at a time when this was illegal in South Africa.
Robert
Trevor's father, a white man of Swiss German descent. He is a presence in Trevor's early childhood but
the two gradually become estranged.
Andrew
Trevor's younger half-brother, the son of Patricia and Abel.
Isaac
Trevor's youngest half-brother, the son of Patricia and Abel.
Abel
Trevor's stepfather. He marries Patricia and fathers two sons with her. He is a physically abusive
alcoholic who shoots and tries to kill Patricia.
Temperance Noah
Trevor's maternal grandfather.
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Frances Noah
Trevor's maternal grandmother.
Sibongile and Dinky
Trevor's aunt and uncle; Sibongile is Patricia's sister, and Dinky is her husband.
Bulelwa
Trevor's cousin, the child of Sibongile and Dinky.
Koko
Trevor's great-grandmother.
Mlungisi
Trevor's cousin.
Teddy
Trevor's childhood friend, the son of a domestic worker.
Tim
Trevor's friend who encourages and entices him into a number of schemes and plans.
Sizwe
Trevor's friend who introduces him to the neighborhood known as Alexandra and works with him to
hustle and attempt to make money there.
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Born a Crime Glossary
Animosity
Strong dislike or distrust.
Fester
To linger and slowly increase in intensity.
Jubilant
Joyful and triumphant.
Catharsis
Sense of emotional release and culmination.
Haranguing
Nagging or taunting.
Subjugate
Gain control or power over someone or something.
Pugilistic
Related to the sport of boxing.
Lenient
Not strict.
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Obliterated
Wiped out or annihilated.
Ostracism
Exclusion from community or social privileges.
Ramifications
Consequences.
Palatial
Large and luxurious.
Placid
Calm and uneventful.
Gravitational
A tendency to be drawn to someone or something.
Unconscionable
Unforgivable or intolerable.
Wayward
Willful or disobedient.
Shorthand
A simplified way of signaling a concept or idea.
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Wrath
Anger.
Plight
Unfortunate or tragic circumstances.
Retainer
Fee paid to a professional to ensue access to their services.
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Born a Crime Themes
Race
Race is a key theme in the memoir because South Africa is a place where someone's race determines
many details of their life, and also because it is a constant source of tension and confusion for Trevor. He
fully belongs neither in the Black nor the White communities, and he is constantly made to feel different
from others because of his mixed racial heritage. Trevor's personal experience of racial ambiguity is
juxtaposed against an exploration of how South Africa has made race an individual's defining
characteristic. As Leon de Kock explains, "expressions of Self are often marked by a simultaneous
setting apart from various Others. And yet it is precisely such attempted setting apart that marks the
South African subject as fractured" (pg. 266).
Language
There are 11 official languages in South Africa, and, along with race and culture, language is used as a
major way for groups to classify who belongs and who is considered an outsider. Alongside being
racially ambiguous, Trevor also speaks multiple languages, and this allows him to easily fit in with
different groups who might otherwise not be accepting of him. Trevor's language skills allow him to
broaden his horizons and move between different communities, giving him a degree of freedom and
flexibility which not many South Africans possess.
Family
Family is a key theme in the memoir, being mainly represented via Trevor's loving but complex
relationship with his mother, Patricia. Other family members such as his grandparents, cousins, father,
and younger brothers play secondary roles. Family is sometimes a source of pain and confusion for
Trevor, as he does not initially understand why his mother is so strict with him. Additionally, when
Trevor is a very young child, both of his parents have to hide their relationship with him. Nonetheless,
the unconditional love and values he receives from his mother are a defining force in Trevor's identity.
Growing Up
The memoir follows Trevor as he progresses from a young child with very limited awareness of the
world around him to a young man who can think critically and make decisions about the life he wants to
live. Many of the incidents Trevor chooses to narrate are ones where he learns a key lesson and moves
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towards greater maturity and deeper self-understanding. For example, the incident at prom teaches him
about being more respectful and attentive to women, rather than focusing solely on their looks, while the
incident where he meets with his father after a long absence teaches him that relationships cannot be
forced but rather have to grow organically between people. The memoir creates a structure for Trevor to
turn seemingly random memories into a chain of events that helped him to mature and grow over time.
History
The memoir is constructed both to tell the story of Trevor's personal history and to offer a broader
reflection on the history of South Africa. By juxtaposing personal and national histories, the memoir
hints at how the two are interconnected. Trevor would not have been the same person if he had grown up
in any other place: much of his identity and experience is directly tied to the way in which race was
embedded in the history and politics of South Africa. The focus on ordinary and comical events in
Trevor's life also serves to challenge and unsettle ideas of what history means. Most people would
assume that a history of South Africa would focus on major political movements and profiles of famous
leaders. However, Trevor's story implies that history also encompasses individual lives and experiences.
Violence
Trevor's life is marked by violence and the threat of violence. Whether it is being threatened by a minibus driver while riding with his mother as a child,or being afraid of being assaulted during the time he
spends in jail, Trevor often has to cope with the reality that living in South Africa as a colored man
means facing dangerous situations. He is also impacted by domestic violence when his stepfather
becomes abusive towards both him and his mother. Culminating with his mother's shooting, Trevor's
experience of violence forces him to confront assumptions he holds and also helps him to realize just
how important his mother is to him.
Masculinity
Trevor grows up primarily raised by women, without a lot of male role models, but he nonetheless
absorbs ideas of what he thinks masculinity should look like. As he gets older, he tries to enact different
forms of masculinity by trying to make himself physically attractive, pursuing girls, trying to make
money, and trying to become popular. He also observes other men and their values, such as when he
notices the tension between his mother and stepfather due to Abel wanting a very traditional wife who
respects his authority without question. Trevor's vision of what masculinity should look like is shaped by
his close bond with his mother and a deepened understanding of how different people can embody
masculinity in different ways.
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Born a Crime Quotes and Analysis
You separate people into groups and make them hate one another so you can run them all.
Trevor Noah, pg. 4
This quote illustrates Trevor's shrewd understanding of how racism, power, and oppression intersect. As
someone who does not fit into a neat category, he is well-positioned to observe that most individuals are
not that different from one another, no matter what their culture, race, or language is. However, by
focusing on arbitrary distinctions, the apartheid government encourages individuals to see others as
fundamentally different, and therefore not to be trusted. Because different groups, such as Black and
colored people, would become preoccupied with power struggles and tensions, white colonial powers
could more easily continue to maintain authority. With this quote, Trevor shows that none of the nonwhite groups in South Africa gained any power or influence as a result of racial separation, and that
focusing on difference and mistrust is a way that individuals become trapped in cycles of being
powerless.
Because a mixed person embodies that rebuke to the logic of the system, race-mixing becomes a
crime worse than treason.
Trevor Noah, pg. 21
As a mixed-race person, Trevor is very aware that his existence challenges attempts at state control. Even
under the oppressive influence of apartheid, people of different races experienced love and desire.
Mixed-race people show that no system of laws can ever fully control or contain human impulses. Like
most authoritarian systems, apartheid responded to challenges to control by trying to crush them entirely.
Racial mixing is taken seriously and punished severely in South Africa because it shows that underneath
the apartheid system, people are still more similar than they are different.
I'm scared I'm going to break him. I don't want to kill a white person. I'm so afraid. I'm not
going to touch him.
Frances Noah, pg. 52
Trevor's grandmother speaks this quote when she explains why she is uncomfortable hitting him, even
though she disciplines her other Black grandchildren. Because Trevor has lighter skin, bruises and marks
show up differently on him, and his grandmother therefore worries she might be causing him more
severe injury. Also, in a world where a Black person attacking or injuring a white person has very serious
consequences, Trevor's grandmother is so afraid of the idea of hurting a white person that she sees
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disciplining her grandson through the same lens. Even within his own family, Trevor's race and
appearance set him apart. He is treated differently from his cousins, with whom he shares very similar
genes, because his appearance leads him to be coded differently.
That, and so many other smaller incidents in my life, made me realize that language, even more
than color, defines who you are to people.
Trevor Noah, pg. 56
South Africa operates according to a strict system of racial classification, where one's appearance largely
determines what rights and privileges one has. However, in practice, Trevor finds that people base their
ideas of whether someone fits in or not on whether that person can speak a shared language. Trevor
learns to speak multiple languages, and this allows him to fit in with different groups, even if they
initially assume he is an outsider. Over and over again, Trevor builds trust by being able to speak to
someone in their language. While he can't alter the way he looks, language is a skill he can develop
through his own agency, and this gives him a sense that he has some control over his fate.
When I look back, I realize she raised me like a white kid—not white culturally, but in the sense
of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and
thoughts and decisions mattered.
Trebor Noah, pg. 73
Looking back on his childhood and the way Patricia approached raising him, Trevor realizes just how
valuable the experience was. Even though they grew up poor in a country where they were denied many
basic rights and freedom because of their race, Patricia wanted Trevor to be confident and ambitious. She
encouraged him to think for himself, and to be curious and hopeful. As he gets older, Trevor recognizes
that these values, which might seem simple on the surface, were usually experienced by children who
had the privilege of knowing they could get a good education and make choices about what kind of
future they wanted. For many black children growing up in poverty with nothing to look forward to, this
kind of encouragement was unheard of.
I remember the thing that caused the trauma, but I don't hold on to the trauma. I never let the
memory of something painful prevent me from trying something new.
Trevor Noah, pg. 90
In this quote, Trevor reflects on an outlook that he learned from his mother, an outlook which has served
him well throughout his life. Patricia has shown incredible resilience and optimism even though many
bad things have happened to her. Trevor, likewise, decides that when bad things happen in his life, he
will try to learn from the experience, but he will never stop taking risks in order to avoid pain. Perhaps
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because he grows up witnessing suffering and injustice all around him, Trevor accepts that some amount
of pain is a fact of life: the choice that people have is how they respond to that pain. Trevor's choice is to
focus on moving forward and never getting stuck in the past. Even though many traumatic things happen
to him, he uses these as fuel for comedy and storytelling rather than becoming embittered.
Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being.
Trevor Noah, pg.110
Trevor speaks this quote when he reunites with his father Robert after many years of estrangement.
Trevor had assumed that Robert had lost interest in him, but he is surprised and moved to find that
Robert has, in fact, been following his career very closely and is clearly very proud of his son. Trevor
realizes just how much joy it gives him to know that his father cares, even though he could have easily
lost interest in him. While Robert has not played an active role in his son's day to day life, he has chosen
to be invested in the relationship, and that choice matters more to Trevor than anything else.
For all that black people have suffered, they know who they are. Colored people don't.
Trevor Noah, pg. 116
In this quote, Trevor unpacks some of the complexity around being a colored person in South Africa, and
how it is different from being Black. While colored people are somewhat better treated legally and
socially, they have an ambivalent history and often lack the strong sense of community and identity that
Black South Africans have. The entire history of colored people is intertwined with a history of
colonialism, oppression, and violence: they can't look back to a time before a European presence, nor can
they take pride in historical roots. Unlike Black people, Trevor also observes, colored people often live in
hope of being someday accepted as white, and that this makes them very quick to try to distinguish why
they are "better" than the people around them.
I wasn't popular but I wasn't an outcast. I was everywhere with everybody, and at the same time
I was all by myself.
Trevor Noah, pg. 141
Trevor speaks this quote to explain the social status he occupied in high school. While it most
immediately describes the position he occupies in the school's social hierarchy, it also reflects how he
doesn't really fit in anywhere within South African society. Trevor has to largely keep his identity and
origins a secret, and he doesn't actually belong to any of the major racial groupings. Amongst other
students, he learns to be skilled at highlighting the ways he resembles different groups, but he never
actually experiences a deep sense of belonging.
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Someone put a beautiful woman on my arm, and said "She's your girlfriend." I'd been
mesmerized by her beauty and just the idea of her—I didn't know I was supposed to talk to her.
Trevor Noah, pg. 177
Trevor speaks this quote as he reflects on how he ended up in the bizarre situation with his prom date. He
was excited that a beautiful girl was willing to go to prom with him, and he was also nervous and shy
around her. The result was that he never spoke directly to her and did not realize that she did not speak
any English until the night of the dance. While some of Trevor's confusion is understandable and results
from his friend Tim tricking him, he also realizes that he did not try to learn anything about his date. He
was fixated on her physical appearance rather than seeing her as another person with whom he could
have a conversation.
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Born a Crime Chapters 1-3 Summary and
Analysis
Summary
Trevor Noah opens his memoir by articulating a central premise: that apartheid relied on creating
artificial divisions between groups of people so that the white colonial elite could maintain their hold on
power. He introduces the major tribes of South Africa, with a focus on the two main groups: the Zulu and
Xhosa. He identifies the Zulu as having taken a forceful and combative approach to resisting colonial
power, while the Xhosa primarily used strategy and political maneuvering. These different approaches
led to increased tension between the two groups, and once apartheid fell, systematic oppression was
replaced by different African tribes fighting against one another.
Noah then shifts into the first of his personal recollections: as a child, he was thrown out a moving car by
his mother. At age 9, he, his mother, and his infant brother, Andrew, had their car break down on a
Sunday as they were trying to get to church. Noah's mother was a deeply religious woman and typically
spent Sunday attending three different services, one each at a primarily Black, primarily White, and
mixed church. Refusing to be swayed from her goal of attending church, Noah's mother decides to travel
using the minibus system, a transit system established by Blacks who were forbidden from accessing
regular public transit. Noah reflects on how his mother responded to his rebellious nature by being firm
and no-nonsense, and because of this relationship, he didn't challenge her plan even though he was
unhappy about traveling by minibus.
At this point, tensions and violence were running high for Black individuals in South Africa. The fall of
apartheid had put two major political parties, roughly aligned with the Zulu and Xhosa tribes into a
power struggle and Noah witnessed violence and riots frequently. Nonetheless, his mother insisted on
them continuing to go about their day to day lives. After a long day of attending church services, Noah's
mother and her two children find themselves far from home with no transit available. After getting into
one car, another minibus comes along with a driver angry at being deprived of his fare. The family gets
into the minibus, only to have the driver threaten and insult them. Feeling increasingly unsafe, when the
bus slows down, Noah's mother opens the door, pushes him out, and then leaps out with the baby in her
arms. They run to a nearby gas station and phone the police.
Noah pauses to provide additional historical context for the South African political situation: in the 17th
century, Dutch colonists established a trading presence and began systematically oppressing the African
population in order to maintain control of their new colony. The British eventually took over, driving the
original Dutch settlers away from the coast where they developed the Afrikaners culture. After the
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British lost power, the white Afrikaners returned to power and enacted apartheid a systematic approach
to controlling the predominantly Black population.
Noah was born into this system of apartheid, the child of a Black Xhosa woman named Patricia and a
white man of Swiss-German nationality named Robert. At the time he was born, it was illegal for
individuals belonging to different racial classifications to marry or have sex with one another, and thus
Noah's very existence is an indication of criminal behavior. His mother's strong-willed and rebellious
approach to life is evident both in her decision to have a mixed-race child and in her other decisions. At a
time when most Black women were limited to working in factories or domestic service, she was able to
acquire training and work as a secretary. She also decided to move away from her family home and live
in central Johannesburg. It was illegal at this time for Black individuals to live outside of designated
neighborhoods, but Patricia is able to arrange to secretly rent an apartment.
While living in her new apartment, Patricia meets and befriends a white man named Robert. She wants to
have a child but does not want a partner, so she persuades Robert to conceive a child with her while
promising him that he will not have any responsibilities. However, after Noah is born, Robert realizes
that he wants to play a role in the life of his son. Because Noah is visibly light-skinned, his mother hides
his parentage and passes him off as the child of two colored parents rather than her own child. Noah is
kept largely isolated and hidden as a child, especially when he spends time with his grandparents in the
Black neighborhood of Soweto, because he could be taken away from his mother and she could be
arrested for having a mixed-race child.
Noah continues to meditate on his childhood, noting that in South Africa, Christianity coexists alongside
traditional African beliefs about witchcraft and other spiritual practices. Within his immediate and
extended family, Noah mostly grew up around women, with few male role models. This situation was
part of a wider pattern where the structures of apartheid fragmented many families. For many of the
women Noah observed growing up, a fervent religious belief functioned as a way to cope with the
immense responsibility they had to shoulder. Noah reflects on the socio-economic features of Soweto,
including the lack of indoor plumbing. At age five, he decided one day to defecate on a piece of
newspaper inside the house rather than going out to the outhouse. However, his blind great-grandmother
noticed suspicious sounds and smells and alerted his mother and grandmother, who became convinced
that a demon had entered the house. Noah never admits that he was the one responsible.
Analysis
This opening section highlights how Trevor Noah will interweave personal and political histories
throughout the memoir. On one hand, he is telling the story of his own life to an audience who likely
already has some familiarity with him in his persona as actor and comedian. On the other hand, he is
sharing information about South Africa and the traumas of apartheid. Combining the personal history of
a specific individual with this information makes it more likely to reach a wider audience. Moreover,
Noah's personal anecdotes provide additional context and nuance for how laws and political changes
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played out in the day-to-day lives of ordinary individuals. It can be easy to assume that history is
primarily about listing dates, key events, and the names of famous figures, but this memoir offers an
alternative perspective on how history can be presented and consumed. Trevor Noah's celebrity status
also gives him a unique ability to draw readers into learning about the history of South Africa. Fans may
wish to know more about him or be seeking to learn how he grew into the personality he is, and Noah's
memoir harnesses "the ambivalent emotional currents underlying the cultural fascination with both life
narratives and celebrity" (Mayer & Novak 150) to tell not just his own story, but also the tumultuous
story of a specific nation.
In order to tell his own story, especially the story of his childhood, Noah also has to give a lot of attention
to his mother Patricia, a formative presence in his life. Patricia is going to be an important character in
the memoir because she has played a part in most of the key events in Noah's life. More so than many
mothers, Patricia also made a series of deliberate choices that set Noah up to have a very unusual life.
Patricia refused to have her choices and ambitions be dictated by the rigid rules of apartheid, nor by
broader cultural norms in South African society. She wanted to have a child of her own, and she was
willing to have that child be mixed-race. By doing so, Patricia took a huge risk and potentially also chose
to bring a child into the world knowing that her son was going to have a hard time fitting in. Even though
he will later be open about the way his racial heritage will create challenges in his life, Noah celebrates
Patricia's courage in making her own decisions and following her heart.
The incidents Noah narrates in the first few chapters highlight how he uses funny or dramatic moments
to give a personal insight into the realities of life in South Africa. Although apartheid was set up to allow
white colonial powers to dominate and oppress the non-white population, much of the day-to-day tension
and violence Noah experiences results from tensions between different non-white groups. The memoir's
first episode shows him, his mother, and his baby brother being endangered not by white men, but by
Black men who belong to a different tribe. One of the particularly toxic consequences of colonialism and
apartheid was the way it led to power struggles between groups who were simultaneously being
oppressed by the white ruling elites. Since apartheid ends when Noah is quite a young child, his early life
is more impacted by the indirect fallout of violence and power struggles between different Black African
groups than direct conflict with white individuals. Noah first explains this reality to readers, and then
gives a vivid dramatic episode in which his mother throws him out of a moving car. The episode makes a
factual reality more vivid and memorable. It also shows how Noah and his mother find humor in
challenging and dangerous situations. The incident is one in which they could all have been killed; Noah
doesn't shy away from admitting that reality, but he also doesn't dwell on it.
The opening episodes also highlight the important role of Christianity in Noah's childhood. Patricia's
fervent religious faith shows the complex ways in which colonial influences play out over time.
Christianity was introduced by European colonialists and may represent a tool of oppression. However,
on the individual level, her faith has given Patricia a sense of self-confidence and bravery that actually
makes it possible for her to rebel against those same oppressive systems. For Patricia, her extended
family, and many other Black South Africans, Christianity has been synthesized and intertwined with
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traditional tribal spiritual beliefs. As the episode with the demon shows, along with Noah's description of
the role witchcraft played in South African culture, traditional beliefs continue to be integral to the
worldview of Black South Africans, but they also regularly go to Christian church services and invoke
Jesus through prayers. This fusing of religious beliefs in a colonial context represents an example of
Homi K. Bhaba's theory of hybridity: as Amardeep Singh explains, "In thinking about religious
hybridity, the question is usually not whether or not someone converts to a foreign or imposed religious
belief system, but how different belief systems interact with traditional and local cultural-religious
frameworks." In Noah's world, Christianity coexists with a legacy of colonialism in complicated ways
because while it has been interwoven with pre-colonial beliefs, his grandmother and others still believe
that because Noah is light-skinned, his prayers are more effective. They have always been shown images
of Jesus depicted as a white man, so while it has been partially integrated, Christianity has also
reaffirmed a worldview in which white or light-skinned individuals are inherently superior to those with
darker skin.
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Born a Crime Chapters 4-6 Summary and
Analysis
Summary
Noah reflects on how shared or different languages can be used to divide people or bring them together,
noting that aside from nationality, race, and appearance, people generally trust other people who can
communicate easily with them in a shared language. Growing up as a visibly light-skinned child in a
family and neighborhood where everyone else was Black gave Noah both privileges and a sense of
isolation. All of his family members, with the exception of his mother, treated him more leniently than
other children. Noah's mother also ensures he grows up speaking perfect English because she knows this
will give him greater opportunities later in life. Observing how his mother's ability to speak in multiple
languages gives her flexibility and freedom, Noah imitates this habit. Over the course of his life, being
able to speak many different languages allows him to fit in with different groups who would otherwise
see him as an outsider.
Noah begins his schooling at Maryvale Academy, a private Catholic school attended by children of all
different races and where students mixed and mingled freely. In the sixth grade, Noah transfers to a
public school where his testing performance shows he should attend gifted classes. He is astonished to
find these classes almost exclusively have white students in them, and then he realizes that the black
students are attending classes for less academically advanced students. Noah decides to switch into these
classes, despite warnings from school officials, because he feels welcomed and experiences a sense of
belonging with the Black students.
Noah discusses the history of education for Black people in South Africa: prior to apartheid, they could
be educated by European missionaries where they often acquired a high-quality education. Under
apartheid, the South African government wanted to limit education for Blacks, so they set up a system of
Bantu schools where Blacks were taught only rudimentary skills designated appropriate for the lowskilled jobs they were expected to hold. He then moves on to recounting his mother's personal history.
Patricia's parents (Noah's grandparents) divorced when she was young, and she grew up unhappy with
her mother and siblings. She made a plan to go and live with her father, but she was unexpectedly sent to
live on her aunt's farm in an isolated area. Growing up there, Patricia experienced intense poverty but
also received a good education at a local mission school. Her ambition drove her to obtain training and
find work as a secretary, but she was expected to contribute most of her money to supporting her family.
Frustrated, she made the decision to move to Johannesburg alone. Once she had Noah, Patricia became
determined to see him well-educated and able to question and think for himself.
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As the end of apartheid eases some racial stigma, Patricia is able to live more openly as the mother of a
colored child, and she and Noah move to Eden Park, a neighborhood primarily inhabited by colored
people and near black neighborhoods. They also acquire a used car, allowing them to explore and go on
adventures, reveling in a sense of freedom. Despite living in poverty, Noah remembers a happy
childhood animated by curiosity and a sense of possibility. Nonetheless, Noah and his mother experience
lots of conflict since he is a high-energy, mischievous, and strong-willed child. In order to discipline him,
his mother sometimes resorts to somewhat extreme measures, such as pretending in public that she
doesn't know him and has no relationship to him. When she gets frustrated trying to argue with him, she
writes him letters trying to assert her authority. She uses corporal punishment, but Noah respects that she
is always clear about why he is being punished. He experiences challenges with discipline at Catholic
school as well, especially because he is not afraid to point out that he finds many of the religious beliefs
illogical. Noah's mother often sides with him, refusing to punish her son for being intelligent and
questioning authority. Noah is eventually expelled from Catholic school, which is what leads to him
transferring to public school.
One of Noah's worse transgressions occurs when he is around seven. Patricia is dating a man named
Abel, who lives above the garage of a white family. Patricia and Noah sometimes stay with him, and
Noah befriends another boy, who is the son of the family's Black maid. One day, Noah and the other boy
are playing together, using a magnifying glass and matches to burn words into pieces of wood. Leaving
the tools unattended, they set a mattress on fire, and the fire spreads to consume the entire house. Noah is
not punished, but Abel comes to live with him and his mother because he is kicked out by the family.
Analysis
This section highlights some of the formative ways through which Noah develops his personality, values,
and sense of self. Despite growing up with a lot of challenges and restrictions, Noah has gone on to be
incredibly successful. Some of that can be attributed to his linguistic fluidity, education, and sense of
confidence. South Africa is a complex and multi-lingual society, described by scholars as "radically
heterogeneous in linguistic and cultural terms" (Attwell & Attridge pg. 5). As a mixed-race individual,
Noah is at a disadvantage because he doesn't belong clearly to any one particular group. One strategy he
adopts to cope with this lack of fixed identity is enhancing his ability to move between as many different
groups as possible. Although he will never be immediately and clearly recognizable as a member of a
particular group, Noah can enhance his ability to fit in anywhere and everywhere by learning to speak
multiple languages. He learns this strategy from Patricia. As a Black woman, she has a more solid
identity, but also one that carries many restrictions. By speaking multiple languages, she has expanded
the possibilities available to her and wants the same for her son.
Likewise, Patricia has also seen how education has broadened her horizons and given her opportunities.
She makes sure that Noah has access to a good school, but by sending him to a Catholic school she also
sets the stage for Noah to experience conflict. Noah makes a direct parallel between the Catholic religion
and apartheid, arguing that both rely on harshly shutting down any dissent or challenges to authority.
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Noah is used to thinking for himself and articulating his opinions, so he is not afraid to challenge ideas
that he finds illogical. This puts him in conflict with the school. Interestingly, despite her own deep faith,
Patricia vehemently stands up for her son's right to think for himself and challenge doctrine he doesn't
agree with. Patricia sees it as one of her goals as a parent to make sure Noah can think for himself.
This desire to support Noah confidence and critical thinking showcases both how mother and son are
similar, and why they sometimes come into conflict. When Noah describes Patricia's own childhood, it is
clear that she was also rebellious and strong-willed, and it is not surprising she has passed these qualities
on to her own son. Noah's very existence represents an act of refusing to follow the rules, and he lives his
life with that same spirit. Patricia makes sure to give her son the broadest and most optimistic perspective
she can. Her approach to parenting only backfires in that Noah is sometimes unwilling to listen to her. He
is used to standing up for himself and arguing his case, and this leads to power struggles between mother
and son. Despite these disciplinary challenges, Patricia still continues to invest in her son's education and
confidence. She would rather raise a strong-willed and assertive child than a passive one, even if the
latter might be easier for her to control.
This section also continues to develop the theme of Noah feeling a lack of belonging, especially amongst
other children. His education and linguistic ability mean that he has things in common with white
children, but those white children would most likely come from a higher socio-economic background.
Because he has grown up amidst Black family members, Noah identifies as Black. He will always
foreground that community as the one where he feels most at-home and most like himself. At the same
time, he has to actively choose where he belongs rather than simply fitting in. As the conversation with
the teachers shows, choosing to identify as Black also has potential consequences. The Black South
African population has historically suffered the worst discrimination and been the most disenfranchised.
While choosing to think of himself and live as Black, Noah foregoes potential privileges such as
attending more advanced academic classes.
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Born a Crime Chapters 7-9 Summary and
Analysis
Summary
Noah notes that amongst Black people in South Africa, and in other regions as well, there is traditionally
a mistrust and dislike of cats. Nonetheless, Patricia defiantly adopted two black cats as pets. After a short
time, the cats are killed by someone in the neighborhood. Later, Patricia adopts two puppies, whom she
and Noah name Panther and Fufi. Fufi is Noah's pet, and he loves her even though she seems
unintelligent. He will later find out that she was deaf, which explains much of her behavior. Fufi is
skilled at climbing walls and breaking out of the yard. One day, Noah pursues her to another house where
a young boy claims she is his dog. Devastated, Noah goes home and returns with his mother, but the
other family insists Fufi is their dog. Patricia has to show lots of documentation, threaten to call the
police, and eventually pay off the other family to be able to take Fufi home. Noah is still
heartbroken—until his mother explains that Fufi was not doing anything wrong. Ever since then, Noah
has understood that it's important not to imagine that one has exclusive ownership of the people one
loves.
Noah reflects on what he knows of his father, a reserved and private man. Robert grew up in Switzerland
and trained as a chef before moving to South Africa in the 1970s. He found the system of apartheid
totally illogical and chose to reject it, opening one of the first restaurants that would serve both Black and
White customers. The restaurant was very successful, but Robert finally had to close it when he was
required by law to have different washrooms for every racial categorization. As a child, Noah visited his
father every Sunday and also celebrated birthdays and Christmas with him. When Noah was thirteen,
Robert moved to Cape Town. By that time, father and son were spending less time together because
Noah was preoccupied with his own life and his stepfather Abel didn't like him having contact with
Robert. After the move, the two of them lost touch.
When Noah is twenty-four, his mother insists he reconnect with his father, so he tracks Robert down and
goes to visit him in Cape Town. Noah is very moved to realize his father has been following his career,
but he also pushes too hard trying to re-establish a relationship. His father teaches him that intimacy and
comfort can only grow organically as a result of people spending time together.
Noah explains the earliest origins of colored people in South Africa: this group arose from relationships
between the Dutch colonists, the Khoisan tribe who preceded other African groups, and then the slaves
the Dutch brought with them from regions like West Africa, Madagascar, and the East Indies. Most
colored people speak Afrikaans rather than African languages and have no clear sense of a distinct
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history or sense of belonging. After the move to Eden Park, Noah finds himself isolated and lonely
because although he is surrounded by other colored people, he is viewed as other. Under apartheid,
colored people occupied an ambivalent political and social status where they were elevated above blacks
but constantly reminded that they were inferior to whites. Categorization under apartheid was illogical
and arbitrary: if someone "appeared" white enough due to skin color, accent, or mannerism, they could
get reclassified as white. They could also get demoted to Black. Ethnic groups were assigned arbitrarily:
Chinese people were classified as Black, while Japanese were classified as white. Noah is in a
particularly ambivalent position because he largely identifies as Black and proudly speaks African
languages, but he also speaks perfect English and is well-educated.
Noah's isolation and difference mean that he is often the target of bullying. For example, a girl tricks him
into stealing his bicycle because he is so eager and excited that someone is showing him friendly
behavior. On another occasion, a group of older boys throws mulberries at him. His mother thinks the
incident is funny, but when Noah tells Abel what happened, he realizes he can manipulate Abel's anger in
order to get revenge. Sure enough, Abel tells Noah to take him to the boys who bullied him. Once they
find them, Abel catches one of the children and whips him with a tree branch. Watching the violence,
Noah experiences first pleasure and then horror. The boy's father later comes to the house to confront
Abel but ends up also being frightened of him.
Analysis
In this section, Noah grapples with both the grief caused and the lessons taught by personal relationships.
His relationship with his childhood dog Fufi and his father cause him pain, but they also shape him into
the man he becomes. The episode with Fufi is mostly played for comedic effect, but it also includes some
poignant lessons. Noah's explanation of finding out that Fufi was deaf all along highlights that we don't
always have full context about a situation. While it seems like Fufi is simply stupid, she is actually
grappling with real challenges. In a similar way, Fufi's second family causes the young Noah a lot of
pain. It also ends up teaching him a valuable lesson, in part because his mother helps him to make
meaning out of it. If Patricia had not been there to help Noah see the lesson of the situation, he might
simply have focused on the pain instead. This is another way in which Patricia helps her son to mature
and grow.
Similarly, Patricia plays a key role in reuniting Noah with his father Robert. Noah has resigned himself to
the fact that the two have lost touch, but he still feels sadness and a sense of loss. Patricia wisely notices
that Noah would be at more peace with his identity if he had a better relationship with his father. Noah
has had the benefit of having strong ties with the Black, African roots of his identity through his mother
and her extended family, but he needs more context around what he has gotten from his father's side.
Noah experiences joy when he realizes that his father has always cared about him and felt proud of him.
Nonetheless, in his excitement, Noah pushes too hard. Just like he has to learn from Fufi that he can't
control the actions of others, he learns from Robert that he can't force a relationship on his own terms,
and he will have to be patient.
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Along with these personal lessons, Noah continues to grapple with his place in South African society as
he grows older. Because Noah's persona and behavior are a combination of things he's learned from
different communities, he signals himself as an outsider. As Deborah Posel explains, "While understood
and represented as a biological phenomenon, 'race' was also crucially a judgment about social standing.
Constructions of a person’s race were based as much on 'modes of living' as on physical appearance" (pg.
94). Noah's inability to fit neatly into understandings of how a person of a given race should behave
means that he is often lonely. While being bullied by other children seems like mostly a personal loss, it
offers another insight into how apartheid had a personal impact on the lives of all South Africans. In a
society where fitting into racial categories is so important, being different is barely tolerated.
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Born a Crime Chapters 10-14 Summary and
Analysis
Summary
The next section focuses on a series of misadventures in Noah's romantic life as he transitions into
adolescence. His mother has always tried to give him advice about women and speak frankly to him
about love and sex. When Noah is twelve, he has just started at a new school where Valentine's Day is
taken very seriously. Some girls in his grade suggest he should choose Maylene, a girl with whom he
sometimes walks home from school. At H.A. Jack, Maylene is the only colored student, and Noah is the
only mixed student, so people assume they would be a good match. After going through the socially
regimented process dictated by their friends, Noah asks Maylene to be his valentine, and the two of them
kiss. Excitedly, he buys her a selection of gifts, only to arrive on Valentine's Day and find that Maylene
has agreed to be the valentine of a white boy named Leonardo.
In Grade 8, Noah starts middle school at Sandringham, a huge school that is racially and economically
diverse. Noah has experienced intense poverty growing up with his mother and has become more selfconscious about income over time. He doesn't fit in with the white kids because of his lack of money, and
while he feels most comfortable with the poor Black students, they live in far-away neighborhoods, so he
can't socialize with them outside of school. At lunchtime, the students rush to line up to buy food. Being
fast, Noah begins taking orders from wealthy white students and taking a cut in exchange for standing in
line to get their food for them. Although he still feels isolated and lonely, he now has a function within
the social hierarchy of the school.
Being useful is important because Noah is poor, afflicted with bad acne, and wears ill-fitting clothes. He
resigns himself to never having a girlfriend. He is friends with a girl named Johanna who is also close
friends with a beautiful colored girl named Zaheera. Noah has a crush on Zaheera and imagines that if he
can stay friends with her for years, he might someday be able to ask her out. He supports her as she dates
a different boy, and Noah and Zaheera begin to talk on the phone regularly. One day, Noah unexpectedly
learns that Zaheera and her family have moved to America, and that, worse, she had a crush on him but
was always too shy to say anything. Noah realizes that he should have taken a risk, and he learns that
regret is always worse than failure.
At the time when Noah is attending Sandringham School, he and his family have also moved to primarily
white Jewish neighborhood called Highlands North. The neighborhood is quite far from school and also
very isolated. The only kids he can find to befriend are the black children of the black domestic workers
who sometimes live with the families they work for. One of these children, Teddy, also goes to
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Sandringham, and Noah and Teddy become close friends. They often go to a local mall together and they
discover that they can easily steal chocolates from a small shop there. One day, Noah gets caught by a
security guard and the two boys run off, chased by security. Noah is able to get away, but Teddy is
caught. A few days later, Teddy's parents show up at the house and speak with Patricia. They explain that
another boy was with Teddy, but that he won't say who and he insists it wasn't Noah. The next day at
school, Noah is questioned because people assume that since he was Teddy's best friend, he might know
about Teddy's other friends. Finally, Noah realizes why he is not being accused: the video footage of the
theft and running away appears to show a white boy, and despite all evidence pointing towards Noah
having been the other thief, no one can see past their conviction that they are looking for a white boy
rather than a colored one.
As Noah gets older, he acquires a computer and CD writer and builds a business selling pirated CDs. He
works alongside two other boys named Tim and Sizwe. Tim is connected to rougher black
neighborhoods, accustomed to hustling and scamming. For example, he passes Noah off as a famous
American rapper in order to make money from selling tickets to the fake performance. When Noah
confides his disappointment at not having a date to senior prom, Tim promises to find him a beautiful
date in exchange for a better cut of the CD sales. Noah is suspicious, but a few weeks later, Tim
introduces him to a stunningly beautiful girl named Babiki who has agreed to go to prom with him. Noah
is delighted, and he and Tim hang out with Babiki and her family a few more times leading up to the
dance.
Excited, Noah is able to negotiate borrowing his stepfather's BMW, getting a new outfit, and getting a
new hairstyle. However, disaster strikes on the night of the prom: Abel refuses to let Noah borrow the
BMW, and by the time the two have finished arguing, he is an hour late picking up his date. He then gets
lost driving to the location, and when they finally arrive, Babiki refuses to get out of the car. People
gather around, commenting on her appearance, and Noah grows increasingly panicked. Finally, Sizwe
points out that Babiki does not speak English. Noah finds this unbelievable, but then he realizes that he
has never actually spoken directly to Babiki. Since no one at the dance speaks the only language Babiki
knows, Noah finally gives up and drives her home in silence. Unexpectedly, she kisses him before she
gets out of the car.
Analysis
Noah's early experiences with girls are unsuccessful for a number of reasons. For one thing, he seems to
lack confidence. He passively accepts that Johanna would prefer to be Leonardo's girlfriend, and he
cannot imagine that Zaheera might return his feelings even though there are hints that she likes him as
well. He is too shy to try to talk with Babiki, which leads to the confusion about what language she
speaks. However, Noah's insecurity is also rooted in racial and socio-economic factors. Everyone
assumes he and Johanna should be together simply because they resemble each other in skin tone. If
Noah had more flexibility to choose a girl based on what they had in common, he might have found
someone more compatible who would have returned his feelings. His sense that he is unattractive and
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does not have fashionable clothes also plays into his insecurity. Nonetheless, Noah does learn lessons
from these early romantic experiences. He comes to see the value in being brave, and also in being
genuinely interested in the women he dates.
While his love life is largely unsuccessful, Noah does establish himself as a shrewd entrepreneur.
Growing up in relative poverty spurs him to be creative about how he can earn income, and his selfconfidence and creativity push him to think outside of the box. He's willing to do whatever it takes and
he has a natural ability to figure out what people around him want and then provide that. While there are
economic benefits to running his small businesses, Noah's work also gives him a purpose and a sense of
belonging. Because he lacks strong social ties, he focuses on making himself useful instead. Other
students might not necessarily like him or feel that he belongs in their community, but he serves a
purpose. Rather than dwelling on loneliness or a sense of isolation, Noah leverages his ambition,
creativity, and intelligence to make the best of his situation.
While Noah's racial ambiguity can lead to isolation, it can also grant him privileges. Ever since he was a
child, the fact that his skin tone approximates whiteness has allowed him to get away with things. In the
episode shoplifting with Teddy, Noah sees the stark evidence of how race is used as a way to determine
guilt and evidence. Because his appearance does not match the racial profile the police and school
officials are working with, he is never even considered as a suspect. While Noah is shocked and
somewhat guilty that he is getting away with the crime while his friend is being punished, he chooses not
to confess. Because Noah has always had to be resourceful and look out for himself, he knows to avoid
trouble at all costs, so he does not speak up.
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Born a Crime Chapters 15-16 Summary and
Analysis
Summary
Noah reflects on the way different nations have handled teaching the shameful aspects of their history. In
South Africa, there is minimal time spent learning about the legacy of apartheid. Noah then delves into
the backstory of how he got his CD business up and running. When he was in ninth grade, three Chinese
students transferred to the school; one of them, Bolo, started selling bootlegged PlayStation games and
befriended a white boy named Daniel who sells pirated CDs. Noticing that Bolo and Daniel were too
intimidated to sell to black students, Noah offered to act as a middleman. By helping them, he was able
to make his own computer more efficient.
When Daniel graduates, he gives his CD writer to Noah. Noah can now copy CDs and sell them at a rate
that is a fraction of what it would cost to buy a CD in a store. Business expands rapidly, and soon Noah is
selling mix CDs and mixing tracks together.
The money Noah makes from his business allows him the freedom to do things like buying fast food and
a cordless telephone. His business partner, Sizwe, lives in Alexandra, a small impoverished
neighborhood, and suggests that Noah start DJ'ing parties. Noah DJ's his first street party in Alexandra
the summer after he graduates from high school. He doesn't have a job, and he makes money from selling
CDs and playing parties. Without a high school market, he relies on Alexandra as his main customer
base. One key ingredient in Noah's business model is bringing dancers to parties to demonstrate the
dance moves to unfamiliar songs and get the crowd excited. A young man named Hitler is widely known
to be the best dancer. At that time, it wasn't unusual for Black South African men to be named Hitler
because most South Africans had only a very minimal knowledge of the Holocaust and didn't have a
strong sense of what Hitler had done.
As the fame of Noah's group spreads, they are invited to play different places; one day, they are invited to
an event at a Jewish school. At first, the performance goes well, with everyone enjoying the music and
dancing, but at one point, as Hitler is dancing, the rest of the group starts cheering and calling his name
to encourage him. The teachers abruptly cut short the performance and throw out the group. At the time,
Noah doesn't understand why they are being thrown out; he thinks they are being discriminated against
for being Black.
After Noah finishes high school, he decides to move out because he has a bad relationship with his
stepfather. He is trying to save money for university and relies on work selling CDs to minibus drivers in
the hood. Noah is quickly introduced to a world of hustling and petty crime, but also to a fiercely closeBorn a Crime Chapters 15-16 Summary and Analysis
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knit community. Time passes quickly, and Noah starts to drift away from his initial goals as he never
seems to amass any money. One night, Noah is DJ'ing a party and the police arrive to shut it down. Noah
tries to comply, but his software and computer take a long time to shut down. Frustrated, an officer fires a
gunshot into the computer, leading to chaos in the crowd, whom he then tear-gases. Noah's equipment is
ruined, and with no capital to get re-established, the business quickly crumbles. A short time later, Noah
is shown a stolen camera; when he looks at the pictures, he realizes that the petty crime all around him
actually has an impact on people's lives. He is also rattled by being arrested and spending the night in jail
after the police find a gun in the minibus he is riding in. Gradually, Noah realizes that he is different from
the other boys in his group because he has more privilege and choices about how he wants to live his life.
Analysis
As Noah grows up, he becomes both more successful and more restricted in his future options. His
energy, intelligence, and keen business sense help him to build a thriving business, and he is driven to try
new revenue streams and expand. While Noah takes pride in the success he developed, he also
acknowledges the help that mentoring and resources gave him. Noah is mistrustful of the common
narrative that people can achieve anything if they put their mind to it. While he was highly motivated, he
would likely not have gotten anywhere without help from others and the resources they could provide.
Especially because it would be easy for people to read Noah's story as a "rags-to-riches" memoir or
evidence that people can progress based on their will alone, he makes it clear that privilege intersects
with success.
Noah's experience of getting to know Alexandra gives him an additional understanding of South African
culture. While he has not been well-off, he has also not been exposed to the level of poverty he
encounters there. Noah's education and ability to move ambiguously between different groups gives him
a significant level of privilege compared to many of the people he encounters in Alexandra. Nonetheless,
he also finds a sense of community and acceptance there that he has not really experienced anywhere
else. Noah likes feeling useful and like he is part of something bigger than himself. While it doesn't
actually advance his income or help him progress his career, Noah quickly falls into a comfortable and
stable routine there. Especially since he is no longer living with his mother, Noah is not being spurred to
ambition and big dreams. He lets himself indulge in living day-to-day.
Noah seems to be settling into a routine that may not expand his future. Living a life husting in
Alexandra seems like it would be a waste of his education and potential, and, deep down, Noah knows
that he has more options than many of the people around him do. However, incidents like the one with
Hitler dancing at the Jewish school also show that Noah continues to have areas of ignorance due to
having seen only a small part of the world. Even with a fairly good education, Noah doesn't know much
about the Holocaust and why the name Hitler would be offensive. At a moment in the narrative when it
seems like Noah might be in danger of being stuck in his current way of life, this incident shines a light
on what that would really mean.
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However, despite Noah falling into an easy routine and lacking some ambition, incidents like the episode
with the stolen camera and spending a week in jail make him reassess and gradually decide to move
forward. Noah has a strong sense of moral responsibility and is not entirely comfortable with living a life
that relies on crime and exploiting others. He also does not want to risk spending time in prison, and he
knows that most people who get started on a cycle of crime are never able to break free of it. By looking
at men around him who lack opportunities, education, and privilege, Noah realizes that he wants to make
the most of what he has.
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Born a Crime Chapters 17-18 Summary and
Analysis
Summary
Noah reflects on how criminal activity was rampant in Alexandra, and how his mother distrusted him
spending time there. One day when Noah is about nineteen, he wants to go and purchase some cheap
mobile phones in order to resell them. The only way he can get to the shop is by driving, so he takes a
rundown old car from his stepfather's shop and puts a random license plate on it. Along the way, he gets
pulled over, and when the plates don't match the registration, he is arrested on suspicion of driving a
stolen vehicle. Noah could clear up the situation by notifying his parents, but he is more afraid of what
will happen when they find out. He does call his cousin to tell him what happened, and then he resigns
himself to spending the night in jail.
Noah decides that rather than risking a bail hearing, he will hire a defense attorney, so he asks a friend to
borrow money from his father. He keeps apart from the other men in jail, and he pretends to be tougher
than he actually is. He's surprised to find that he doesn't find life in jail as bad as he anticipated. He even
helps another man who comes into the jail by translating for him. After a week, Noah attends his bail
hearing, pays his bail, and is free to go until his trial date. When he returns home, he plans to never tell
his mother what happened, but it quickly becomes clear that she had found out what happened from the
father of his friend and had arranged to pay his bail and the fee for his lawyer.
Noah recollects when he was a young child and his mother first met Abel, who was working as a
mechanic at a local repair shop. At first, Noah thinks Abel is charming, but when his mother tells him
that they plan to marry, he warns her not to do it. However, Patricia and Abel marry anyways, and she
gives birth to their son, Andrew, about a year later. After Andrew's birth, the family travels to a rural area
traditionally inhabited by the Tsonga people to meet Abel's extended family. In this area, traditional
gender roles are rigidly enforced, but Patricia ignores them and continues to be her strong-willed,
independent self. After that, tension begins to appear between her and Abel. Abel is also harsh with Noah
because he exists as a reminder that Patricia had a life before she married him.
Over time, Abel grows more aggressive as he drinks more heavily. The first time Abel hits Patricia, he
has come home drunk and carelessly set the house on fire. When Patricia gets angry with him, he hits
her. Enraged, she goes to the police, but they refuse to take her seriously and her own mother encourages
her to reunite with Abel. Abel is not violent again for a long period of time, but he eventually hits her
again. Abel's economic situation is also tumultuous: he is a very skilled mechanic, and Patricia helps him
find the money to buy his own shop. However, the business struggles and the young family moves into
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the shop, with Noah being forced to spend all his free time helping out. They live in extreme poverty at
times, until Patricia quits her job to spend all her time turning the business around. Things start to
improve, but Abel is angry that his wife is taking such an active role in the business. Patricia goes back
to work and they sell the business, using a small amount of money to buy the house in Highlands North.
She and Abel legally divorce so that her credit and finances will not be impacted by his bad decisions,
but they continue to live together and she supports him financially with her salary.
Eventually, Abel starts to hit Noah, leaving Noah very afraid and anxious to avoid his stepfather. The
tension between them leads to him moving out when he completes high school, but he keeps in close
contact with his mother. As the relationship between Patricia and Abel deteriorates, Noah anticipates that
his mother will leave him as soon as Andrew is older. Patricia unexpectedly finds herself pregnant with a
third child, which leaves Noah angry and frustrated. After the birth of Isaac, Abel continues to be abusive
and Patricia moves herself and her young sons into a separate building on the property. Noah is furious
that she won't end the relationship, so he effectively cuts ties with his mother. His own career is starting
to take off, and he moves in with his cousin.
In time, Patricia does move into her own house and remarry, but she continues to be in contact with Abel
because of the children they share. One day, Noah is astonished to receive a phone call from his brother
Andrew and learn that his mother has been shot by Abel. Panicked, he hurries to the hospital where he
learns that Abel had shown up at Patricia's house and started shooting. He shot her first in the leg, then
the gun misfired a number of times, and then he shot her in the head. Noah will later find out that after
Andrew raced to the hospital with his mother, Abel took Isaac and drove around visiting people,
announcing his intention to kill himself. He was finally persuaded not to do so and went to the police
station to turn himself in.
At the hospital, doctors are hesitant to treat Patricia because she doesn't have health insurance, but Noah
promises to pay her bills. Miraculously, her injuries turn to be minor. No one can explain why the gun
misfired, but Patricia believes that God intervened on her behalf. Abel receives only probation, never
serves any jail time, and continues to live in Johannesburg as a free man. Noah ends his memoir
reflecting on the deep love and unshakeable bond he shares with his mother.
Analysis
Noah's memoir is not presented in a strictly chronological structure, creating a more fluid, casual, and
conversational tone. As a result, in the memoir's final section, he returns to some incidents from his
earlier childhood to give context for the history of his mother's relationship with Abel. Up until this
point, Abel's presence in the memoir has been vague. Perhaps Noah has wanted to control how much of a
role Abel has in his memories and his story, and has therefore tried to minimize his stepfather's presence
in the memoir. However, in order to provide context for the memoir's climactic moment, Noah has to
dwell on the threatening presence Abel has been for so long. He never fully trusted Abel, and over time,
Abel's behavior only became more dangerous.
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Abel's relationship with Patricia includes physical abuse, financial abuse, controlling behavior, and
alcoholism. In most other areas of her life, Patricia's intelligence, confidence, and ability to stand up for
herself have served her well. It has allowed her to build a family with Noah, set up a successful career,
and raise an intelligent and confident son. Yet within her marriage, these qualities work against her. Abel
feels emasculated by her refusal to be an obedient and traditional wife, especially after she embarrasses
him in front of his extended family. She tries to support his talents and ambitions, but he does not want to
see his wife recognized for being intelligent and competent. While Noah has benefited from his mother's
talents and ambition, Abel refuses to let Patricia be a full partner to him.
Despite obviously being frustrated with Abel and aware of his flaws, Patricia resists leaving him for a
long time. The reasons for this are complex. South African society tends to shrug off domestic violence
or even condone a man's right to "discipline" his wife. Although Patricia immediately goes to the police
the first time Abel hits her, they are not interested in helping her. This incident foreshadows how, later
on, Abel will not receive jail time even after shooting her in the head. This incident confirms that Patricia
is on her own when it comes to coping with her abusive relationship. Her mother's reaction is also
unsupportive: Noah's grandmother points out that her own husband hit her and remarks that this is just
what life is like for women. This reaction shows how intergenerational trauma can be passed down,
mirroring how the suffering of apartheid can also be normalized and accepted.
Patricia's instinct that Abel will lash out if she leaves him proves correct. She finally moves out and
forms a new relationship but Abel tries to kill her, blaming her for ruining his life. While Noah has
always loved his mother, the prospect of losing her clarifies just how much she means to him. He feels
angry and helpless that he couldn't protect her, but he does what he can by paying her medical bills. Noah
shows courageous honesty in admitting that he hesitates over the prospect of signing up for a lifetime of
debt, but his love for his mother wins out. Patricia's luck—or, as she sees it, her faith—means that a very
serious incident results in only minor injuries. Ending the memoir with a joking exchange between
mother and son shows that no matter what dark incidents happen to them, they are each other partners in
resilience and hope.
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Born a Crime Symbols, Allegory and Motifs
Mulberries (symbol)
While growing up in the Eden Park neighborhood, Trevor is bullied one day by a group of colored boys.
They find him playing near a mulberry tree, and they taunt him while throwing mulberries at him. Trevor
goes home in tears and covered in berry juice, which leads to his mother joking that he finally looks
Black. The mulberries symbolize Trevor's inability to fit in and belong to any single racial grouping.
Even though he physically most resembles a colored person, the other colored kids reject him because he
speaks and behaves in ways they associate with being Black. When he is covered with mulberry juice,
staining his skin, Trevor is almost able to "pass" as belonging clearly to one group where he could find a
sense of identity, but underneath the juice, he is still someone other. Whatever his physical appearance
might suggest, on the inside, Trevor feels fundamentally different from everyone he encounters.
Patricia's second-hand car (symbol)
After the end of apartheid, when Patricia and Trevor move to the Eden Park neighborhood, she buys a
second-hand car. The car symbolizes the greater freedom they experience after the end of apartheid,
along with Patricia's desire to give her son many enriching experiences. In Trevor's very early childhood,
Patricia had to pretend that Trevor was not her child; now, the two can publicly be a family and go on
outings together. Even though the car is old and does not work very well, it gives them a sense of
adventure and possibility. It therefore also symbolizes the way Patricia always makes the most of
whatever opportunities life gives her.
Driveways in Soweto (symbol)
Growing up, Trevor spends a lot of time in the Black neighborhood of Soweto, where his grandparents,
aunts, and cousins live. This neighborhood was artificially created by the apartheid regime and Black
people were forcibly deported to live there. Most people in the neighborhood live in poverty, but they do
what they can to make life more comfortable for themselves. Almost no one owns a car, but many houses
have driveways nonetheless. The driveways symbolize the resilience and hopefulness of Black South
Africans, who are determined to work towards better socio-economic futures even when the state puts
vast limitations and obstacles in their way. At the same time, it symbolizes the injustice and tragedy of so
many people being unable to live their lives the way they would like to.
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The stolen digital camera (symbol)
For a period after graduating from high school, Trevor makes a living selling pirated CDs and DJ'ing
parties in the neighborhood of Alexandra. He is exposed to an economic system that largely relies on
petty crime such as stealing small items, and he doesn't think much of it. One day, however, Trevor is
shown a digital camera someone has stolen from a tourist, and as he looks through the photos, he realizes
that this theft has impacted a real person. The camera symbolizes the moment at which Trevor feels an
increased sense of moral responsibility and realizes that he does not want his livelihood to be reliant on
actions that hurt others.
Language (motif)
The use and complexity of language are an important motif in the memoir. There are 11 official
languages in South Africa, and many more are regularly spoken. It is common for conversations to be
happening in multiple languages at the same time. Trevor discusses how the diversity of languages can
be a source of chaos and confusion, but also how it can be a way to bond with different individuals. In
interactions such as going to prom with Babiki, helping to translate for a man in jail, or preventing a
group from assaulting and robbing him because he shows he can speak the same language, the
complexities of living in a multi-lingual world are a consistent motif.
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Born a Crime Metaphors and Similes
"the Xhosa played chess with the white man" (pg. 4-5)
(Metaphor)
Noah uses this metaphor to describe the way in which one African tribe, the Xhosa people, engaged with
white Europeans in South Africa. "Playing chess" implies that the Xhosa engaged in a long-term,
intellectually calculated strategy for trying to regain power, rather than engaging in more impulsive and
violent acts of resistance. The metaphor expresses how the Xhosa people understood that victory is
gained through a series of moves that build on one another. The metaphor also has an extra dimension
since chess was traditionally considered a European game, so describing the Xhosa political strategy as
"playing chess" implies that they learned from the political strategies of their oppressors and are using it
against them.
"Like the gazelle runs from the lions, I ran." (pg. 16) (Simile)
Noah uses this simile to describe how he runs after leaping out of a moving car when he and his mother
are threatened by the men driving the minibus. The simile reflects the dramatic tension of the moment
and the terror Noah is feeling. Even though he is too young to understand exactly why the situation was
precarious, he knows that his mother would not have made them take this risk unless it was truly
necessary. By comparing himself to an animal feeling from predators, Noah highlights the danger of the
situation. It also reflects the one advantage he has: like the lions, the men driving the bus are much bigger
and stronger, but Noah is faster, and as long as he can outrun them, he will be okay.
"Imagine being thrown out of an airplane" (pg. 31) (Metaphor)
In this metaphor, Noah vividly conveys how he felt when he learned that many other mixed-race children
born during apartheid fled from South Africa and grew up abroad. He compares the experience to
needing to survive being thrown out of an airplane, only to later learn that someone could have simply
used a parachute. The comparison is one of only a few moments in the memoir where Noah makes it
clear how much he suffered growing up under apartheid: by comparing this experience to falling out of
an airplane and breaking bones, Noah makes it clear that it was traumatic and painful, and that he
wonders if it would have been easier and safer to simply have grown up abroad.
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"I became a chameleon" (pg. 56) (Metaphor)
Noah uses this metaphor to describe how he uses language and an ambivalent racial identity to move
fluidly between different groups. A chameleon is an animal that can literally change its color to blend in
with its surroundings. The metaphor adds nuance to what Noah is expressing because, in a society where
race and the color of someone's skin are used as a rigid way to define them, Noah can metaphorically
change his color by adapting his language, mannerisms, or the way he speaks. The metaphor helps to
highlight that race is an arbitrary category that is not as fixed and immutable as people often believe. The
metaphor is also apt because the main reason chameleons change their color is to disguise themselves
from predators. Likewise, Noah changes the way he is racially interpreted in order to keep himself safe.
"It was an ocean of black, like someone had opened a tap and all
the black had come pouring out" (pg. 57) (Simile)
Noah uses this simile to describe what he observes on his first day at the H.A. Jack public primary
school. Because Noah was placed in gifted classes, he had seen primarily white and a few Indian students
in his classes and wondered where all the black students were. At lunch time, he sees that a vast number
of black students are actually enrolled, but they just attend different classes. The simile of a tap being
turned on and water pouring out describes the abruptness and volume of the black students becoming
visible. The simile also describes the relief Noah feels when he sees other students with whom he
identifies. Someone who has turned on a tap would usually be happy and reassured when water came
pouring out, and Noah feels the same way when he realizes there are many black students at the school.
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Born a Crime Irony
The incident with Hitler at the dance (dramatic irony)
While Noah is working as a DJ, he often brings his friend Hitler to show off dance moves and increase
the energy of the crowd. Other members of Noah's group will cheer Hitler on by calling out his name.
Because all of this normal when they perform in Black neighborhoods, Noah is confused as to why
teachers and school officials at a Jewish school become very upset when he and his group cheer for
Hitler. This situation is a good example of dramatic irony: Noah understands the situation to be about
racial discrimination, thinking the teachers are offended by traditional African dance moves, whereas the
reader knows that the teachers are offended by the reference to the man responsible for the Holocaust.
Dramatic irony is created by the reader knowing more than Noah does at this point: because he has not
received a very good education about the Holocaust, and because Hitler is a fairly normal name for Black
South African men, he does not know that cheering for Hitler would be deeply offensive to Jewish
people.
Patricia's pregnancy with Isaac (situational irony)
As Abel becomes more abusive towards Patricia, Noah hopes she will leave him. He suspects that she is
staying with him because of his younger brother Andrew, and he hopes that when Andrew gets older,
Patricia will no longer be bound to him. However, in an episode of situational irony, Patricia finds out
that she is pregnant again, even though she is in her forties and has had her tubes tied. Patricia's
pregnancy and her decision to have the child represents a plot twist in which the action deviates from the
expectations held by the reader. The reader, along with Trevor, has been expecting that Patricia will
become more independent and fed up with Abel, eventually leaving him. When Patricia instead ends up
having another child with Abel and binding herself closer to him, the reality contrasts sharply with what
the reader had been expecting.
Noah's missed opportunity with Zaheera (situational irony)
When Noah is in middle school, he develops a crush on a girl named Zaheera. He does not think she
would return his feelings, so he delays telling her and works hard to build a friendship with her. He
believes that only years later will he be able to tell Zaheera his feelings. However, Noah is shocked to
find out that Zaheera has abruptly moved away with her family and that she had a crush on him all along.
This discovery represents a moment of situational irony because the plot twist of Zaheera having liked
Noah all along contrasts with the audience's expectations that she only likes him as a friend. The
audience has bought into Noah's assumption that he is not the type of boy to whom girls would be
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attracted and that he should delay telling her all along. Despite setting up a certain set of expectations
(that Zaheera does not return Noah's feelings), the plot then reveals an outcome that contrasts with those
expectations (she does, in fact, have romantic feelings for him, and was hoping he would take action).
Noah being asked to pray to banish the demon (dramatic irony)
When Noah is a small child, he defecates on a newspaper inside the house rather than going to the
outhouse. His mother and grandmother find the newspaper and decide that a demon must have entered
the house. Alarmed, they start to pray for protection from the demon and encourage Noah to pray along
with them. They particularly want Noah's prayers because they believe that his light skin and perfect
English give his prayers extra power. Noah does not tell them that he is the one who caused the whole
situation. This gap in understanding creates a situation of dramatic irony: Noah and the readers know that
he is the one who defecated in the house, but his mother and grandmother have no idea that this is what
happened. Their insistence that Noah could be the one to help them adds extra irony to the situation
because it highlights that they fail to understand something which is clear to the reader.
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Born a Crime Imagery
Alexandra
Noah vividly evokes imagery to describe Alexandra, an impoverished suburb of Johannesburg. He
describes the sounds, sights, and smells of the town in order to highlight the strong impression the place
makes on him. While Noah has lived in several different places, he has never been anywhere like this,
and by visiting Alexandra, he establishes a new connection to another aspect of the black South African
experience. He will spend several years of life mainly in Alexandra, and the imagery he uses to describe
it shows that he still feels a strong connection to the place.
Noah's preparations for prom
Once Noah has a date lined up for prom, he becomes very focused on making sure every detail of the
night will be perfect. He gives a detailed description of getting his hair styled and choosing the right
clothes. This imagery gives readers a lens into Noah's desire to win approval and love from a girl. It also
allows for period-specific detail, such as when Noah describes wanting a long leather coat because of the
popularity of the movie The Matrix. Finally, the imagery allows for an interesting insight into
masculinity. More traditionally, it would be a young woman who is depicted fixating on her physical
appearance; this imagery shows that a young man can be equally concerned about trying to look good.
Noah's poverty in the car repair shop
After Patricia helps Abel to buy his own car repair shop, the business starts to struggle. The family starts
spending more and more time there, eventually moving in. Noah has to work very hard to help out, and
the family also lives in poverty and uncomfortable conditions. Noah vividly evokes the discomfort of
eating awful food, sleeping in a cramped car, having only cold water, and being surrounded by the smells
of oil and gas. He uses imagery here to give readers a strong impression of what this experience was like
and to show how vividly he can still recall these days. Noah describes this period as the most unhappy
time of his life, and he uses strong imagery to convey what it was like.
Noah's weeping when his mother is shot
After hearing that his mother has been shot, Noah initially assumes her injuries must be minor. On the
way to the hospital, he learns that she has, in fact, been shot in the head, and he starts crying
uncontrollably. Noah uses imagery to convey the intensity of the grief he feels at this moment. He is
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convinced that his mother is either dead or dying, and this provokes a level of pain he has never felt
before. Although he will probably never be able to entirely capture the emotional intensity of the moment
for readers, Noah's use of imagery allows the reader to grasp some sense of what he was feeling in this
moment.
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Born a Crime Apartheid in South Africa
Apartheid was a system of legalized racial discriminated that was upheld in South Africa in the second
half of the twentieth century. The apartheid gave formal and legal recognition to the idea that whites
were superior to the black, colored, and Asian populations of South Africa. Various types of formal and
informal discrimination had been in play in South Africa ever since the arrival of Dutch and British
colonists. In the 1948 general election, the National Party came to power and began implementing laws
to solidify control of the country by the minority white population.
Under apartheid, all people were classified into one of four categories: white, black, colored, or Indian.
The last two categories included a number of subcategories. Classification into a category was often
quite arbitrary (based, for example, on visual examination of physical features), and individuals who did
not readily fit into any one category would be arbitrarily assigned to one (for example, Chinese people
were classified as black, while Japanese people were classified as white). Individuals could be promoted
or demoted to higher-ranking status at the will of government officials. One's racial classification
determined what neighborhood one could live in, what services one could access, and what legal rights
one had.
After the National Party came to power, they began passing laws such as the 1949 Prohibition of Mixed
Marriages Law, followed by the 1950 Immorality Amendment, which made it illegal for someone
belonging to a certain racial classification to have sex with someone from another classification. Between
the 1960s and the 1980s, millions of South Africans were displaced from their homes and moved to
different regions in order to impose geographic segregation according to race. This segregation, as well
as segregated education systems, had important socio-economic consequences that further
disenfranchised the non-white population.
Over time, the obvious injustices of the apartheid regime gave rise to both international condemnation
and internal resistance. Governments of many countries and bodies like the United Nations condemned
apartheid and imposed sanctions on South Africa. The South African population engaged in more
resistance, leading to violent clashes with government forces. Beginning in the late 1980s, the National
Party began to negotiate with the African National Congress (ANC), the dominant anti-apartheid
political group, to end apartheid and move to the democratic system of majority rule. In 1994, fully
democratic elections took place, and the ANC was elected to power. They have been elected in every
South African election since then.
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Born a Crime Literary Elements
Genre
Memoir
Setting and Context
South Africa in the period from the late 1980s to roughly 2009, overlapping with the period leading up to
and following the fall of apartheid.
Narrator and Point of View
The memoir is narrated by Trevor Noah in the first-person, retrospective point of view. All events are
told from his perspective, and readers have access to his thoughts and emotions.
Tone and Mood
The tone is often one of dark humor; Noah highlights funny episodes from his childhood and
adolescence, but he also uses humor to show how dysfunctional and traumatic many of his experiences
were. At other times, the tone is quite meditative, reflective, and didactic, as Noah uses the form of the
celebrity memoir to draw attention to South African history, political injustice, and racial injustice.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Trevor Noah is the protagonist; his stepfather, Abel, is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict occurs as Abel tries to dominate and control Noah's mother, Patricia, while Noah
urges her to leave him and free herself from domestic abuse. A secondary conflict occurs as Noah tries to
find an identity and career path, despite occupying an ambiguous position in South African society and
having grown up in poverty amidst systemic racism.
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Climax
The climax occurs when Abel shoots Patricia, his ex-wife and Noah's mother.
Foreshadowing
Abel's violent tendencies are foreshadowed early in the memoir when Noah explains that secondhand
cars have always been a source of trouble for him: because of their car's tendency to break down, Noah
and his mother first met Abel. This connection suggests that Abel will not be a positive presence in their
lives. Later, there is more foreshadowing when Noah recalls that when his mother first shares her plan to
marry Abel, he tells her that he does not think it is a good idea.
Understatement
N/A.
Allusions
Noah often alludes to political and historical events related to the history of South Africa; he also alludes
to elements of popular culture such as hit music and forms of technology like video games and CD
writers in order to give readers a vivid sense of the specific time period he is describing.
Imagery
See the separate "Imagery" section of this ClassicNote.
Paradox
Noah often feels that his mother is treating him harshly, whereas her sternness actually prepares him to
be resilient and able to survive in a world where he will often be treated unfairly. An additional paradox
is that Noah's "in-between" identity makes him both alienated and outcast, but also highly versatile and
adaptable, able to move between different worlds and fit in with widely different individuals.
Parallelism
N/A.
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Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A.
Personification
N/A.
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Born a Crime Links
Teacher's Guide: Born a Crime
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/537515/born-a-crime-by-trevor-noah/9780399588174/
teachers-guide/
This resource recommends sample activities, key themes, and further resources related to Born a Crime.
Apartheid Museum
http://apartheidmuseum.org/
The official website for the Apartheid Museum, located in Johannesburg, including information about
their collection and exhibitions, as well as contextual information and links to suggested resources.
Conversation with Trevor Noah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQYvBG5wTWU
Video interview in which Trevor Noah discusses the process of writing his memoir and why he chose to
do so.
Trevor Noah Official Website
https://www.trevornoah.com
Website with information about Noah's biography, upcoming comedy shows, and many videos of his
performances.
Born a Crime Guide
https://guides.library.uncc.edu/c.php?g=826597&p=5901491
This resource guide, published by the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, offers information and
resources for a deeper understanding of the book, including links to videos, reviews, relevant articles,
and suggested online modules.
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Born a Crime Essay Questions
1. What role does language play in Trevor Noah's experience of growing up in South Africa?
Noah does not fit readily into any community or culture, and he often feels isolated and lonely as
a result. He learns that while people cannot control their skin color or appearance, they can make
an effort to learn different languages, and he comes to notice that “language, even more than
color, defines who you are to people” (p. 56). By speaking different languages, Noah is able to
gain acceptance with different groups who initially treat him like an outsider and mistrust or
even threaten him. While it cannot provide him with a deep sense of belonging, speaking
multiple languages allows him to build connections, be adaptable, and fit in with different
people. He notes that he gained this skill from watching his mother: “I learned to use language
like my mother did . . . It became a tool that served me my whole life” (p. 55).
2. How does Trevor Noah's relationship with his father evolve over time?
When Patricia first wants to conceive a child, she reassures Robert that he does not have to be
involved in the child's life at all. However, after Noah is born, Robert realizes he does want to
play a role in his son's life. Although he cannot openly own the relationship because it is
technically illegal for him to be the father of a mixed-race child, Robert makes an effort to
regularly spend time with his son, and the two have an affectionate relationship. However, as
Noah gets older, the two drift apart, and the presence of Abel in Noah's life also makes
maintaining a relationship more complicated. Robert eventually moves to another city, and the
two lose touch entirely. Patricia, however, insists that Noah track Robert down, explaining that
“‘he’s a piece of you [...] and if you don’t find him you won’t find yourself’” (p. 101). When he
is twenty-four, Noah reconnects with his father and is moved to find out that Robert knows all
about his career and has been taking an interest in him. He knows it will take time to rebuild
their relationship, but he is open to trying.
3. How is criminal activity depicted in the memoir?
Noah grows up in a world where violence is a regular occurence, and he is taught by his mother
not to let a fear of criminal activity prevent him from living his life. He does not, however, have
much direct exposure to petty crime until he starts spending time in a notoriously rough and
impoverished neighborhood called Alexandra. He realizes there that for people in poverty,
engaging in criminal activity can be morally ambiguous since they have few or no other options.
As Noah explains, "Crime does the one thing the government doesn’t do: crime cares. Crime is
grassroots. Crime looks for the young kids who need support and a lifting hand. Crime offers
internship programs and summer jobs and opportunities for advancement. Crime gets involved in
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the community. Crime doesn’t discriminate” (p. 209). Nonetheless, he eventually realizes that
hustling and petty crime are not going to get him anywhere in life and that things like theft are
hurtful to the victims.
4. What is Trevor Noah's view of his mother? Does it change over time? If so, how? If not,
what accounts for that constancy?
As a child, Noah is often frustrated by his mother's strict discipline and attempt to monitor his
behavior. However, he also loves when they have fun together, and he appreciates how she
makes everyday life adventurous. Even from a young age, Noah knows that his mother will
stand up for him when she believes in his perspective, and that she expects people to treat him
with respect. As he grows older, Noah appreciates his mother's strength and resilience, but he
also becomes frustrated as to why she chooses to stay with Abel even after Abel becomes
abusive. Eventually, Noah grows apart from his mother because he cannot relate to her decisions.
However, he always sees her as the center of his life and feels loving and protective towards her.
As he grows older, he comes to see that people are complex, and he develops more respect for
the way his mother has lived her life.
5. What role does domestic violence play in the memoir?
Noah gradually introduces the theme that his stepfather Abel physically abuses both him and his
mother. He sees this specific form of violence as part of a wider pattern of violence, exacerbated
by social factors. Abel's problems with alcohol and violence are exacerbated by the fact that he is
unsuccessful in his career and feels emasculated by the fact that Patricia is the breadwinner in
the family. His traditional ideology around gender roles also makes him angry when Patricia
refuses to listen to him or be submissive. While Noah clearly sees Abel as personally responsible
for the violence he commits, he also notes that the legal and police systems in South Africa
neither help nor support his mother. Patricia tries to report the violence, but the police refuse to
help her, and her own mother encourages her to stay with her abusive husband. All of this
context means that Patricia has few options for recourse.
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Born a Crime Quizzes
1. Trevor Noah's mother is descended from which African tribe?
A. Tsonga
B. Zulu
C. Tswana
D. Xhosa
2. What religion does his mother practice?
A. Christianity
B. Buddhism
C. Ancestral spiritual beliefs
D. Judaism
3. How old is Trevor when the incident of being thrown out of the car occurs?
A. Twelve
B. Seven
C. Four
D. Nine
4. To what does Trevor attribute the misfortune leading up to the incident of being thrown
out of a car?
A. The mood swings of women
B. A full moon
C. Secondhand cars and their tendency to break down
D. Bad weather
5. What is the approximate meaning of the phrase "Sun'qhela"?
A. I love you
B. Respect your elders
C. Just try me
D. You don't know anything
6. Which is true of Trevor's relationship with his mother?
A. The two of them lead separate lives and seldom interact
B. He never misbehaves and she considers him an ideal child
C. He has had to mature quickly so that he can take care of her
D. He is frequently disobedient and she is strict with him
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7. What is the name of Trevor's school?
A. Mariandale College
B. Holy Family College
C. St Mary's Academy
D. Maryvale College
8. Which is true of the political situation after the fall of apartheid as Trevor describes it?
A. Everyone puts aside their political differences to work towards a better future
B. Ongoing tensions lead to violent clashes between Black and White communities
C. Rivalry between different political parties leads to intense violence in Black
communities
D. There is no over violence but many microagressions and simmering tension
9. Which is NOT true of the minibus system Trevor and his mother make use of?
A. It operates outside of the legal transit system
B. It operates to serve the Black population
C. The drivers are primarily women
D. The schedule is unreliable and inconsistent
10. Which two colonial powers were involved in the history of South Africa?
A. The French, and then the British
B. The British, and then the Dutch
C. The Dutch, and then the French
D. The Dutch, and then the British
11. What is the first name of Trevor's mother?
A. Babiki
B. Patricia
C. Paulina
D. Koko
12. What is the name of Trevor's father?
A. Richard
B. Andrew
C. Abel
D. Robert
13. What is the ethnic background of Trevor's father?
A. Swiss German
B. French
C. British
D. Dutch
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14. Under apartheid, what designation is used for individuals of mixed-race background?
A. Unclassified
B. Mulatto
C. Colored
D. Hybrid
15. What unconventional employment does Trevor's mother take on?
A. Working as a secretary
B. Acting
C. Driving a bus
D. Nursing
16. Why is it illegal for Trevor's mother to move to Johannesburg?
A. She does not meet the minimum salary requirements
B. She does not meet the minimum education requirements
C. It is illegal for Blacks to live in white neighborhoods
D. It is illegal for unmarried women to live alone
17. How does Trevor's mother first meet his father?
A. They meet at a party hosted by a mutual friend
B. They meet at a dance club
C. They live in the same apartment building
D. They work together
18. How does Trevor's mother end up getting pregnant?
A. She convinces his father to help her have a child
B. She seduces and tricks his father
C. His father seduces and tricks her
D. His father rapes her
19. What common outcome for mixed families does Trevor not experience?
A. Going through a legal adoption process
B. Leaving South Africa for another country
C. Being sent to boarding school
D. Being genetically tested to legitimize his background
20. Which of the following is NOT true of Trevor's grandfather?
A. He is very charming and flirtatious
B. He lives with a second family
C. He is very hard-working and modest
D. He suffers from bipolar disorder
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21. What is the name of Trevor's grandmother?
A. Patricia
B. Felicity
C. Frances
D. Koko
22. Why do his family members believe Trevor's prayers have special power?
A. Because he has a cross-shaped birthmark
B. Because he prays in English
C. Because he is a first-born son
D. Because he was born under a lucky zodiac sign
23. Wich of the following is NOT true of Bantu schools?
A. They teach only basic and rudimentary knowledge
B. They were designed to foster a sense of pride in African heritage
C. They were established by the apartheid government
D. They served the Black population
24. How many siblings does Trevor's mother have?
A. None
B. Four
C. Twelve
D. Two
25. What is the meaning associated with Trevor's mother African name?
A. She who stands proud
B. She who walks free
C. She who shows no fear
D. She who gives back
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Quiz 1 Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
(D) Xhosa
(A) Christianity
(D) Nine
(C) Secondhand cars and their tendency to break down
(C) Just try me
(D) He is frequently disobedient and she is strict with him
(D) Maryvale College
(C) Rivalry between different political parties leads to intense violence in Black communities
(C) The drivers are primarily women
(D) The Dutch, and then the British
(B) Patricia
(D) Robert
(A) Swiss German
(C) Colored
(A) Working as a secretary
(C) It is illegal for Blacks to live in white neighborhoods
(C) They live in the same apartment building
(A) She convinces his father to help her have a child
(B) Leaving South Africa for another country
(C) He is very hard-working and modest
(C) Frances
(B) Because he prays in English
(B) They were designed to foster a sense of pride in African heritage
(D) Two
(D) She who gives back
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Born a Crime Quizzes
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Born a Crime Quizzes
1. Why does Trevor's mother choose his name?
A. Because of its Biblical connotations
B. Because it is free of any associations
C. Because it is the name of a teacher she looked up to
D. Because she thinks it will help him embody a white identity
2. Which book series does Trevor have to persuade his mother to let him read?
A. The Chronicles of Narnia
B. Anne of Green Gables
C. Harry Potter
D. The Hardy Boys
3. What are the streets in the Eden Park neighborhood named after?
A. Luxury cars
B. Local flowers
C. Biblical figures
D. Trees
4. What is the genre of the one radio station Trevor's mother always plays in the car?
A. Blues
B. Hip-hop
C. Sermons and hymns
D. Classical
5. What food does Trevor grow up eating our of necessity which he later encounters as a
luxury?
A. Lamb
B. Oysters
C. Bone marrow
D. Duck
6. How are Chinese people classified under apartheid rule?
A. As a separate category labelled Asian
B. As White
C. As Black
D. As Colored
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7. What untraditional form of communication do Trevor and his mother rely on?
A. Yelling from the balcony down to one another
B. Writing letters to each other
C. Asking neighbors to convey messages to each other
D. Texting while in the same room
8. What best characterizes Trevor's relationship to food as a child?
A. He is constantly hungry and will eat anything
B. He is too distracted with playing and reading to take time to eat
C. He will only eat in secret and hoards food away
D. He is very picky
9. How old is Trevor when his mother begins dating Abel?
A. Four
B. Twelve
C. Nine
D. Seven
10. What unusual pet(s) does Trevor's mother adopt for them?
A. A small monkey
B. A colony of termites
C. Black cats
D. Ferrets
11. What is the name of Trevor's childhood dog?
A. Fluffy
B. Fanny
C. Panther
D. Fufi
12. In what way is Trevor hurt by his experience with his dog?
A. The dog runs away
B. The dog is killed by angry neighbors
C. The dog shows affection and loyalty to another boy
D. The dog bites him when he tries to discipline it
13. As a child, which day do Trevor and his father typically spend together?
A. Friday
B. Wednesday
C. Sunday
D. Monday
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14. To where does Trevor's father eventually move?
A. Nairobi
B. Berlin
C. Capetown
D. New York
15. How old is Trevor when his mother suggests that he contact his father?
A. Fifteen
B. Eighteen
C. Twenty-four
D. Twenty-one
16. What is the name of the school to which Trevor transfers after leaving Catholic school?
A. J.A. Williams
B. H.A. Jack
C. F.R. Scott
D. A.J. Wilson
17. What is the name of the girl Trevor invites to be his valentine?
A. Margery
B. Madison
C. Martina
D. Maylene
18. Why do other children suggest she is a good match for Trevor?
A. She likes to read the same books he does
B. She is also neither black nor white
C. They live in the same apartment building
D. He is friends with her brother
19. What is the name of the girl on whom Trevor has a crush in high school?
A. Johanna
B. Zoey
C. Patricia
D. Zaheera
20. To what group of children does Trevor find a connection once he moves to a
predominantly white suburb?
A. Foster children
B. The children of European ex-pats
C. The children of domestic workers
D. The children of highly educated professionals
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21. To what kind of chocolates is Trevor particularly drawn?
A. The sweetest possible kind
B. Those with caramel
C. Those filled with alcohol
D. Those with nuts
22. What is the name of the friend Trevor gets involved in shoplifting with?
A. Terence
B. Teddy
C. Theo
D. Travis
23. Why is Trevor never connected to the shoplifting incident?
A. His academic record is too strong for anyone to be suspicious
B. Video footage leads investigators to look for a white individual
C. His mother lies to protect him
D. His friend lies to protect him
24. How many official languages exist in South Africa?
A. Four
B. Eleven
C. Seven
D. Two
25. What difference does Trevor identify between the internet pornography he views as a
teenager and what is available later on in his life?
A. The early pornography loads much more slowly
B. The early pornography is more explicit
C. The later pornography is less explicit
D. The early pornography is more diverse
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Quiz 2 Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
(B) Because it is free of any associations
(A) The Chronicles of Narnia
(A) Luxury cars
(C) Sermons and hymns
(C) Bone marrow
(C) As Black
(B) Writing letters to each other
(A) He is constantly hungry and will eat anything
(D) Seven
(C) Black cats
(D) Fufi
(C) The dog shows affection and loyalty to another boy
(C) Sunday
(C) Capetown
(C) Twenty-four
(B) H.A. Jack
(D) Maylene
(B) She is also neither black nor white
(D) Zaheera
(C) The children of domestic workers
(C) Those filled with alcohol
(B) Teddy
(B) Video footage leads investigators to look for a white individual
(B) Eleven
(A) The early pornography loads much more slowly
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Born a Crime Quizzes
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Born a Crime Quizzes
1. Who introduces Trevor to the girl he takes to prom?
A. His mother
B. The girl's older sister
C. His friend Tim
D. His friend Teddy
2. What is the name of the girl Trevor takes to prom?
A. Babiki
B. Patricia
C. Johanna
D. Zaheera
3. What is notable about Trevor's prom date?
A. She is brilliant student
B. She is very athletic and competitive
C. She is strikingly beautiful
D. She is a class clown and natural comedian
4. What is Trevor able to persuade his stepfather to let him borrow for prom?
A. His Italian suit
B. A large sum of money
C. His expensive watch
D. His BMW
5. What color dress does Trevor's date wear to prom?
A. Yellow
B. Blue
C. Purple
D. Red
6. What surprising discovery does Trevor make about his date on prom night?
A. She doesn't speak English
B. She has a young child
C. She is only attracted to women
D. She thinks he is a celebrity
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7. Which one of the following is NOT a mishap that happens to Trevor on prom night?
A. His stepfather refuses to loan the item he promised
B. He gets into a fistfight
C. He gets lost trying to find the location
D. His date becomes unhappy with him
8. What piece of technology enables Trevor to set up a thriving business?
A. a pager
B. a CD writer
C. a voice recorder
D. a printer
9. What impact does the business have on Trevor's life?
A. He has access to steady money
B. He has access to mentorship and a network of influential contacts
C. He becomes very sought after by girls
D. He earns the respect of all the teachers, and a sizable scholarship
10. What life lesson does Trevor take from his business setup?
A. Relationships and charm are the biggest determinants of success
B. People need opportunities and resources as well as motivation and drive
C. People can always be successful if they truly put their mind to it
D. People are either destined to be successful or not, and nothing can change this
outcome
11. What role does Hitler play in Trevor's musical ventures?
A. He leads the crowds in dances
B. He handles the tech setup
C. He designs the posters promoting events
D. He uses social media to attract crowds to street parties
12. What is NOT part of Trevor's explanation for why Hitler's name is not shocking?
A. European names are chosen arbitrarily and casually by South Africans
B. Hitler is conflated with a popular South African folk hero
C. Other atrocities are more vivid in the South African mind than the Holocaust
D. South Africans are not well-educated about the Holocaust
13. What does Trevor assume as the reason Hitler's dance performance gets shut down?
A. Because Hitler is performing a sexualized dance move
B. Because Hitler has an Afro
C. Because Hitler brings a white girl on stage to dance with him
D. Because Hitler is Black
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14. Which of Trevor's friends introduces him to spending time in Alexandra?
A. Hitler
B. Tim
C. Sizwe
D. Terry
15. Which of the following is NOT part of Trevor's description of Alexandra?
A. It is noisy
B. It is known for tiny but meticulous gardens and yards
C. It lacks room to sprawl and expand
D. It is densely populated
16. How old is Trevor when he moves out of his mother's home?
A. Seventeen
B. Twenty three
C. Twenty one
D. Nineteen
17. Which of the following is a key reason Trevor stops living at home?
A. He is not getting along with his mother
B. He is not getting along with his brother
C. He wants to move in with his girlfriend
D. He is not getting along with his stepfather
18. What does Trevor hope to study at university?
A. Business
B. Drama
C. Computer programming
D. Literature
19. How old is Alicia Audley when her father remarries?
A. He lacks prerequisite courses
B. He cannot afford tuition
C. He needs to improve his grades
D. He cannot afford his own laptop
20. To which key clientele does Trevor have access by virtue of doing business in Alexandra?
A. Well-off professionals
B. Minibus drivers
C. High school students
D. European Ex-pats
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21. What food item is considered a mark of privilege in Alexandra?
A. Goat meat
B. Coconuts
C. Fresh lime
D. Cheese
22. What type of food does Trevor refer to as a smiley?
A. A cheese sandwich
B. A hard boiled egg
C. A goat's head
D. Bread stuffed with various toppings
23. Which of the following is NOT something Trevor identifies about hustling?
A. It makes it easy to get trapped in a dead-end cycle
B. It builds networks to influential people
C. It doesn't develop skills recognized as legitimate by universities and businesses
D. It requires lots of energy and time for little profit
24. Why is Trevor unable to act quickly when the police shut down a party he is DJ'ing?
A. He wants to stall in order to be able to bill for more money
B. He is unfamiliar with how to operate the equipment
C. He wants to stall to give his friends time to get away
D. His computer programs take a long time to close
25. How do the police respond to the delay in shutting down the party?
A. They let Trevor off with a warning
B. They get a written warrant
C. They fire tear gas into the crowd
D. They separate the crowd into white and black groups
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Quiz 3 Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
(C) His friend Tim
(A) Babiki
(C) She is strikingly beautiful
(D) His BMW
(D) Red
(A) She doesn't speak English
(B) He gets into a fistfight
(B) a CD writer
(A) He has access to steady money
(B) People need opportunities and resources as well as motivation and drive
(A) He leads the crowds in dances
(B) Hitler is conflated with a popular South African folk hero
(A) Because Hitler is performing a sexualized dance move
(C) Sizwe
(B) It is known for tiny but meticulous gardens and yards
(A) Seventeen
(D) He is not getting along with his stepfather
(C) Computer programming
(B) He cannot afford tuition
(B) Minibus drivers
(D) Cheese
(C) A goat's head
(B) It builds networks to influential people
(D) His computer programs take a long time to close
(C) They fire tear gas into the crowd
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Born a Crime Quizzes
1. What happens after Trevor's party is shut down by the police?
A. He loses his music collection and the business collapses
B. He realizes he needs to expand to a wider audience
C. He gains a lot of credibility and becomes even more popular
D. He's offered a spot in a prestigious music program
2. What item makes Trevor feel badly about his criminal activities?
A. An envelope of cash taken from an elderly woman
B. A wallet containing baby pictures
C. A digital camera
D. A wedding band
3. How long does Trevor spend in jail?
A. One month
B. Two months
C. One night
D. One week
4. Who pays for Trevor's lawyer and bail money?
A. His former English teacher
B. His mother
C. His stepfather
D. His friend Tim
5. What hapens after Trevor's mother persuades Abel to stop smoking pot?
A. He drinks more
B. He becomes very religious
C. He becomes more devoted to his business
D. He starts smoking expensive cigars and cigarettes
6. What is Trevor's reaction when his mother tells him she is getting married?
A. He is jealous and bitter
B. He mistrusts the idea
C. He is cautiously optimistic about what life with a stepfather will be like
D. He is delighted
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7. When does Trevor first see Abel hit his mother?
A. After Abel sets the house on fire
B. After Abel finds out she is pregnant with Andrew
C. When she tries to defend Trevor against her husband
D. After Abel forbids her to go to church
8. How does Trevor's mother try to support Abel's career?
A. She quits her job so her career doesn't affect his professional reputation
B. She helps him finance buying a business
C. She lies and covers for him to his boss
D. She pays for him to go back to school
9. Which of the following is NOT an impact of Abel's business gradually failing?
A. Trevor's grades decline
B. Trevor has to drop out of school
C. Trevor has to work to help out with the business
D. Trevor has to sleep in the cars
10. How does Trevor's mother try to help Abel with his business?
A. She quits her job and starts helping him run the business
B. She agrees to not have any more children
C. She drops out of the college program she has been studying in
D. She starts asking other men for loans to support him
11. Which is true of the relationship between Trevor's mother and his brother?
A. She is much more strict with Andrew
B. She treats both her sons exactly the same
C. She dislikes Andrew because he reminds her of Abel
D. She is less strict with Andrew than Trevor
12. Why does Trevor's mother divorce Abel?
A. She wants to protect Trevor
B. She wants to marry someone else
C. She is angry with his infidelity
D. She worries about his impact on her credit and finances
13. How old is Trevor's mother when she becomes pregnant with her third son?
A. 39
B. 44
C. 51
D. 47
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14. How does Trevor react to news of a second brother?
A. He is angry and disappointed
B. He hopes the baby will imporve his mother's relationship with Abel
C. He is jealous she will love the new baby more than him
D. He is relieved his mother was able to get pregnant
15. What does Trevor's mother name her third son?
A. Andrew
B. Abraham
C. Timothy
D. Isaac
16. On what day of the week is Trevor's mother shot?
A. Saturday
B. Tuesday
C. Friday
D. Sunday
17. Who first tells Trevor his mother has been shot?
A. His friend Tim
B. His grandmother
C. Abel
D. Andrew
18. What complication delays Trevor's mother receiving treatment?
A. Police need Trevor's permission to treat her
B. Police want to question her about the shooting
C. She doesn't have health insurance
D. Police need Abel's permission to treat her
19. Who ends up paying for the medical treatment received by Trevor's mother?
A. Abel
B. Andrew
C. Trevor
D. Her savings
20. Where is Trevor's mother shot?
A. In the head and chest
B. In the buttock and head
C. In the arm and leg
D. In the abdomen
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21. How long does Trevor's mother spend in the hospital?
A. Seven weeks
B. Two months
C. Four weeks
D. Four days
22. What does Abel do immediately after shooting his ex-wife?
A. Turn himself in
B. Go the airport and attempt to flee the country
C. Attempt to hang himself
D. Drive around explaining his plan to kill himself
23. What is Abel's ultimate fate?
A. He never serves jail time and is currently a free man
B. He goes to prison and dies there
C. He flees to Switzerland and is able to avoid jail time
D. He is sentenced to life in prison
24. Which circumstance about the shooting remains inexplicable?
A. Why the gun misfired four times
B. How Abel was able to aim correctly
C. Why Trevor's mother lived even with the bullet having penetrated her brain
D. How the bullets were able to penetrate the car
25. To what does Trevor's mother attribute her miraculous survival?
A. Her love for her children
B. Her stubborness
C. Jesus
D. That she still has work to do in the world
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Quiz 4 Answer Key
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
(A) He loses his music collection and the business collapses
(C) A digital camera
(D) One week
(B) His mother
(A) He drinks more
(B) He mistrusts the idea
(A) After Abel sets the house on fire
(B) She helps him finance buying a business
(B) Trevor has to drop out of school
(A) She quits her job and starts helping him run the business
(D) She is less strict with Andrew than Trevor
(D) She worries about his impact on her credit and finances
(B) 44
(A) He is angry and disappointed
(D) Isaac
(D) Sunday
(D) Andrew
(C) She doesn't have health insurance
(C) Trevor
(B) In the buttock and head
(D) Four days
(D) Drive around explaining his plan to kill himself
(A) He never serves jail time and is currently a free man
(A) Why the gun misfired four times
(C) Jesus
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Born a Crime Quizzes
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Born a Crime Bibliography
Danielle Barkley, author of ClassicNote. Completed on April 15, 2019, copyright held by
GradeSaver.
Updated and revised by Aaron Suduiko April 18, 2019. Copyright held by GradeSaver.
Trevor Noah. Born a Crime. London: John Murray, 2016.
Deborah Posel. "Race as Common Sense: Racial Classification in Twentieth-Century South
Africa." African Studies Review 44.2 (2001): 87-113.
Sandra Mayer and Julia Novak, “Life Writing and Celbrity: Exploring Intersections.” Life
Writing 16.2 149-155, (2019).
David Attwell and Derek Attridge. "Introduction." The Cambridge Companion to South African
Literature. Cambridge UP: Cambridge, 2012.
Leon de Kock, "South Africa in the Global Imaginary: An Introduction." Poetics Today (2001):
22.2, 263-298
Amardeep Singh. "Mimicry and Hybridity in Plain English." 05/08/2009. 04/14/2019.
<https://www.lehigh.edu/~amsp/2009/05/mimicry-and-hybridity-in-plain-english.html>.
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