Trevor Noah's Born A Crime

Charlotte Thiltgen

Mr. Ludwig

English 10

16 May 2023

Born a Crime Growing up during and after apartheid was difficult for Trevor and his mom, Patricia. During the story, Born a Crime, the themes of love and mental toughness were displayed. Trevor Noah’s mom taught him psychological perseverance by the way she showed him love and affection. The first theme highlighted in Born a Crime was love. Trevor’s perception of love was different from the average kid because of his mom. In the beginning of the book, Trevor told the story about getting thrown out of the minibus. Patricia threw Trevor out of the car when they were being threatened by the minibus driver. The minibus driver said he was going to kill them because she was mouthing off to him.

As a young child, Trevor’s dog, Fufi, spent its days at another child’s house. By the time Trevor realized the dog was sharing its time with another family, it was too late and Patricia had to buy Fufi back. Even after they got the dog back, Trevor felt as if he had been cheated on. “Fufi was my first heartbreak. No one has ever betrayed me more than Fufi. It was a valuable lesson to me” (Noah 100). That experience made him realize you don’t own the things you love, which prepared him for reality. Another instance where he had to overcome the difficulties of apartheid was during school. He would get punished more severely than the other children because he was colored. Trevor says, “Whenever the principal would hit me, it was like he was afraid to do it too hard. One day I was getting a hiding and I thought, "Man, if only my mom hit me like this,” and I started laughing” (Noah 85). Because of the way his mom prepared him for life during the racial segregation in South Africa, he thought the school’s discipline was nothing compared to what he experienced at

Patricia was frustrated about Trevor being upset about Fufi “cheating” on him and said, “So? Why would that hurt you? It didn’t cost you anything. Fufi’s here. She still loves you. She’s still your dog. So get over it” (Noah 100). She wanted him to understand they’re more difficult things in life for him to save his tears for. Even after getting beat up and bullied at the mulberry tree, she just laughed it off. “My mom thought everything was funny. There was no subject too dark or too painful for her to tackle with humor… “‘You’re not hurt. You’re hurt emotionally. But you’re not hurt.’” (Noah 123). Trevor was distraught after coming home covered in berry juice, but once his mom found out that’s all it was rather than blood, she just laughed. Despite the fact that it could be agitating to Trevor, tough love was the reason he was able to cope with and overcome his life