Trevor Noah
Born A Crime

SOUTH AFRICA, THE 'RAINBOW' NATION: LANGUAGES & DIVERSITY
The Republic of South Africa has 11 official languages (+ South African sign language): Afrikaans, English as well as Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, Zulu.

The most common language spoken as a first language by South Africans is Zulu (23 percent), followed by Xhosa (16 percent), and Afrikaans (14 percent). English is the fourth most common first language in the country (9.6%), but is understood in most urban areas and is the dominant language in government and the media.

The majority of South Africans speak a language from one of the two principal branches of the Bantu languages that are represented in South Africa: the Sotho–Tswana branch (which includes Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho and Tswana languages officially), or the Nguni branch (which includes Zulu, Xhosa, Swati and Ndebele languages officially). For each of the two groups, the languages within that group are for the most part intelligible to a native speaker of any other language within that group(source)


Trevor Noah wrote the story of his youth in Born A Crime: we started with reading about his ability to speak several languages, a skillful way to have more opportunities and dodge racism Indeed, if you become a chameleon, people will have a different perspective on who you are and whether you belong. Language brings people together and allow you to cross bridges:

[…] If you’re black in South Africa, speaking English is the one thing that can give you a leg up. English is the language of money. English comprehension is equated with intelligence. If you’re looking for a job, English is the difference between getting the job or staying unemployed. If you’re standing in the dock, English is the difference between getting off with a fine or going to prison.”  

“We were in a shop once, and the shopkeeper, right in front of us, turned to his security guard and said […] Follow those blacks in case they steal something.’ My mother turned around and said, […] ‘Why don’t you follow these blacks so you can help them find what they’re looking for?’ ‘Ag jammer!’ he said, apologizing in Afrikaans. Then — and this was the funniest thing — he didn’t apologize for aiming his racism at us. ‘Oh I’m so sorry,’ he said. ‘I thought you were like the other blacks. You know how they love to steal'.



As Nelson Mandela once said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart” (Nelson Mandela).  

Introduction: the cover and genre of BORN A CRIME

A. CHARACTERIZATION

Chapters 1-8 focus on Trevor's family and his formative years

chapter 1. RUN

"Run" is a story full of tension and comedy, which allows the narrator to introduce the main protagonist of his story (his mother, himself, his baby brother Andrew, their character, the political and social situation of the time, and even the final climax of the story (namely that his stepfather shot his mom in the head), packed with a lot of humor thanks to direct allusions to their daily interactions : a 'Tom and Jerry relationship."

"My childhood involved church, or some form of church, at least four nights a week. Tuesday night was the prayer meeting. Wednesday night was Bible study. Thursday night was Youth church. Friday and Saturday we had off. (Time to sin!) Then on Sunday we went to church. Three churches, to be precise. The reason we went to three churches was because my mom said each church gave her something different. The first church offered jubilant praise of the Lord. The second church offered deep analysis of the scripture, which my mom loved. The third church offered passion and catharsis; it was a place where you truly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit inside you. Completely by coincidence, as we moved back and forth between these churches, I noticed that each one had its own distinct racial makeup: Jubilant church was mixed church. Analytical church was white church. And passionate, cathartic church, that was black church."

--> What does Trevor and his mom's going to different churches say about his mother?

--> Describe his mother in four adjectives.

--> What about Trevor? How old is he? Is he a good, obedient child?

--> what is a hiding?

--> Where did Trevor go to school at the time of the chapter RUN, and what was he good at, along with his mother? Why?

--> What happened at the end of the apartheid regime? Why is it called 'the Bloodless Revolution'?

"I was five years old, nearly six, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. I remember seeing it on TV and everyone being happy. I didn’t know why we were happy, just that we were. I was aware of the fact that there was a thing called apartheid and it was ending and that was a big deal, but I didn’t understand the intricacies of it. What I do remember, what I will never forget, is the violence that followed. The triumph of democracy over apartheid is sometimes called the Bloodless Revolution. It is called that because very little white blood was spilled. Black blood ran in the streets. As the apartheid regime fell, we knew that the black man was now going to rule. The question was, which black man? "

-->  Why was the minibus business "basically organized crime"?

--> What are supposed to be the differences between Zulus and Xhosas? What about their women? What consequences does it have for Trevor's mom?



iwisa (zulu war club)

Chapters 2-4: BORN A CRIME and CHAMELEON 

--> how did Trevor's parents meet?

--> How did his father react when Trevor's mother gave birth?

--> why does the narrator say, "I wasn't a lonely kid - I was good at being alone. [...] I lived inside my head. I still live inside my head. To this day you can leave me alone for hours and i'm perfectly happy entertaining myself. I have to remember to be with people."

--> Why did Trevor's mom refuse to leave South Africa?

--> Why is Trevor's uncle called Dinky? 

--> What was Trevor's grandmother's job before she retired? What were the available jobs for black men and women during apartheid?

--> Did the other kids in Soweto live with their fathers? Explain.

--> Why were Trevor's prayers more powerful, according to his grandma?

--> What did Trevor gingerly hide that made eveybody believe there was a demon in the house?

--> According to Trevor, what defines someone even more than their color?

--> How and when did Trevor realize he was black?


Chapters 5-6. THE SECOND GIRL and LOOPHOLES



Chapter 7 - FUFI


Chapter 8. ROBERT


Chapter 9. THE MULBERRY TREE

Trevor is “mixed but not colored - colored by complexion but not by culture. Because of that I was seen as a colored person who didn’t want to be colored.”

https://www.thoughtco.com/racial-classification-under-apartheid-43430 


Chapter  10-14. A young man’s long, awkward, occasionally tragic, and frequently humiliating education in affairs of the heart.
Part one to three: Valentine’s Day / The Crush / Outsider / The Dance

Trevor started grade 8 in Sandringham high school, a model C school, similar to charter schools in America – a mix of government and private schools.


Chapter 15-16. LIFE AS A YOUNG ADULT. HITLER & THE CHEESE BOYS


Chapter 17-18. HARDSHIPS: THE WORLD DOESN'T LOVE YOU & MY MOTHER'S LIFE



ROLE PLAY. WITH A FEW CLASSMATES, CHOOSE A PASSAGE AND TRANSFORM IT INTO A LITTLE SCENE 

YOU WILL ACT OUT IN FRONT OF YOUR CLASSMATES. 

YOU CAN ALSO CHOOSE TO BECOME A STAND UP COMEDIAN AND PERFORM INDIVIDUALLY!


Continue reading the first chapters: what do we learn about Trevor and his mother in the following chapters, FUFI, and ROBERT? Keep a reading log (write down what you learn about him, his mother, his family, South Africa and  the apartheid regime, before and after it started crumbling down) ; then continue learning about his teenage years -- until page 243 (until the end of The World Doesn't Love You)