The Rollercoaster Life of Trevor Noah During Apartheid

Trevor Noah states “People love to say, ‘Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.’ What they don’t say is, ‘And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.’ That’s the part of the analogy that’s missing.” This means that the ones who have the opportunity will be the ones who will be able to use their talents. Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime" describes Trevor’s life stories growing up as a “colored” boy during an Apartheid-era South Africa. Through his engaging life anecdotes and informal dialogues, Trevor conveys a strong message encouraging his readers to overcome their own struggles with humor and positivity.

As a citizen of South Africa during the Apartheid, Trevor Noah’s youth was shaped by racial discrimination. Born from a black Xhosa mother, and a white Swiss father, Trevor Noah was “born a crime” as a mixed/colored young boy in South Africa during a time when interracial marriage was illegal. Setting the book’s background in the small, majority black townships of Soweto and Alexandra, Trevor Noah focuses on describing his personal life as a colored boy and his relationships with important figures such as his mother and his friends. The constant danger Trevor and his family faces as a colored family illustrates his personal development and how he views the people of the apartheid. Building up his personal stories in chronological order, Trevor ties his growth into a young man with the gradual shift in South African politics and society, describing how the society around him has changed alongside his personal growth. He has issues with his racial identity and who he is as a citizen under apartheid, as well as discussing his realization about the greater world outside of Apartheid-ridden South Africa. The informal language used in the book consists of an engaging dialogue of the characters highlighted by strong words like cursing, which helps to create a realistic and honest atmosphere in the story. The process of him getting to know who he is during his journey of personal enrichment as a colored man living in South Africa also helps to establish the theme ‘Pain and suffering hardens you, so be positive about it and move on.’ How Trevor Noah shows resilience after each hard event is truly inspirational to read about, which makes this theme seem more significant in real-life experiences. It gives the readers a small glimpse of his life and the lives of citizens in apartheid, illustrating his confusion as a boy who grows up to be a person who inspires others while traveling around the world.

As a person of a different generation living in an ethnically homogeneous society, “Born a Crime” has personally helped me to broaden my perspective on parts of the world I never experienced. The book provides deep insight towards events that I cannot even imagine how it would feel like to be a part of. Trevor Noah’s honest and humorous approach on explaining his chaotic early life is a factor that helps the readers to also appreciate their lives with humor, and be honest about who they are as an individual. I would recommend this biography to ones who are struggling to understand themselves, or even just people in a completely different situation. It is a well-written piece of literature that would be able to help people gain a deeper understanding of communities around the world that are the opposite from theirs, and gain a meaningful lesson on how to transition our pain and suffering into life lessons through decent humor and positivity.