Born a crime

Born a crime is a compelling, inspiring, and comically sublime story of a man coming of age during the twilight of apartheid. The author is described as a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. The story also features the mother who brought up the young boy. In the story, the mother is described as a fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious woman. Among the many challenges that his family faces during his childhood, Trevor Noah’s childhood was affected by both poverty and classism challenges, which challenged and facilitated his understanding of himself as he grew up.

In the book born a crime, Trevor’s family is seen to have gone through a series of problems. His unlikely path from apartheid begun at his birth after being born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison (Trevor, 2016). Under apartheid, a black woman was supposed to work in a factory or as a maid. His mother, however, did not want to work in a factory due to her inability to cook excellent meals and also could not work as a maid. She instead opted to take a secretarial course, which was not a job for the black people. This meant that the family was poverty-stricken now that they didn’t have a substantial job, which could make them raise enough money to take care of all their needs.

In terms of class, Trevor’s mother did not have the best class status. They were all living in Soweto, which used to be a slum and its inhabitants were the low-class people. Trevor’s mother, however, was not happy in the slum, and at some time, she ran away to live in downtown Johannesburg. It was an illegal place for black people (Trevor, 2016). The occupants were the white people of the low class as well but not as low as the black people. In Johannesburg, she could raise some money to pay for her rent in apartments whose occupants were mainly the prostitutes and other low-class people.

Having brought up in a poverty-stricken and a low-class family, the two factors, in a way or another, played a role in challenging and facilitating his understanding of himself as he grew up. The challenge was that there were so many limitations for the black people due to apartheid and could not access the very best like the other children (Trevor, 2016). He was forced to stay inside the house so that the police could not notice him. The benefit to this was that it strengthened him to become what he wanted to be, especially when the issue of apartheid was falling apart.

In conclusion, the book born a crime gives the story Trevor Noah who is the author. His childhood in South Africa where he was brought up when racism was in the mind of every white person. His family background is described to have been through a circle of poverty, and they belonged to the low-class group. Having been born to white and black parents, it was itself a crime that led to him spend his better life of childhood locked in the house. The situations he went through contributed to the understanding of himself as he grew up.

References

Trevor, N. (2016). Born a crime. New York: Spiegel & Graj.