Trevor Noah, Born a Crime – The Meaning in a Nutshell

Dr Mark’s The Meaning in a Nutshell

Trevor Noah, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (2016)

Trevor Noah is a South African born mixed-race (half black, half white) entertainer who became a successful comedian and television host in the United States and was embraced by the entertainment establishment. His memoir, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (2016), presents stories from his unusual childhood and youth growing up in South Africa during the last years of apartheid and the early years of black majority rule.

While much of the material seems as if it was originally written for Trevor Noah’s comedy routines (so it is crafted to be entertaining) it is also meant to be perceived as revealing social history that provides the foundation of the author’s political analysis that blames apartheid for South Africa’s problems both before and after black majority rule. The memoir, by a man who is mixed-race but identifies as black, draws on his identity as a source of authority to talk about racism in an authentic way that is validated by lived experience.

Trevor Noah and his mother had to navigate a society characterised by racism, patriarchy, violent crime, and poverty. The memoir therefore conveys values that reflect anti-racism, feminism, pacifism, and concerns about socio-economic inequality.

The memoir is anti-racist in its critique of apartheid as irrational and unjust, and as casting a long dark shadow over a post-apartheid South Africa, which remained plagued by major issues associated with racism, such as inequality and discrimination. The memoir also reflects feminist values in its attack on patriarchy and domestic violence, which not only corrupts Trevor Noah’s home after his mother’s marriage to Abel, but appears to be so prevalent in society that it is almost inescapable. The memoir is also pacifist in the way that Trevor Noah presents himself as a non-violent boy and young man in a violent society. However, the author partly undermines this position by romanticising his proximity to gang violence to make himself seem cool, to be living somewhat like the American rappers from tough neighbourhoods whom he finds impressive. The author’s frequent discussion of socio-economic inequality conveys sympathy for those who turn to petty crime to make ends meet, or who take advantage of the trade in stolen goods to purchase merchandise cheaply they could not otherwise afford to buy. The author even refers to crime as a form of social welfare for youths who have no other hope of advancement. The author sees criminals as made, not born, and sees crime as mostly the consequence of poverty.

The memoir can be read as a rags-to-riches story of the early life of an eventual immigrant to America who became a successful television personality in his adopted country, hosting the satirical news program The Daily Show from 2014 to 2022. Despite his crimes and misdemeanours as a wayward youth, Trevor Noah wants his readers to see him as someone who was fundamentally good despite his many misdeeds, as a man who eventually found success by giving expression to his talents and by following his mother’s dictum that he could be anything he wanted to be. Racism and poverty were not going to keep him down.

The memoir is also a tribute to his strong-willed, devoutly religious and at times brave mother who raised a mixed-race child often under difficult circumstances. Trevor Noah presents her as representing a feminist ideal as a strong independent woman, a woman who chose to be a single mother and who would not let apartheid prevent her from producing and raising a mixed-race child. Later in the memoir, she is presented as a woman who would not let her spirit be broken by a patriarchal, alcoholic and violent husband who tried to kill her. Trevor Noah is saying thank you to his mother for all the sacrifices she made to raise him well. Trevor Noah’s devotion to her when she was in hospital suffering from gunshot wounds from her estranged husband, and his later success in the entertainment industry, are meant to be perceived as evidence of her ultimate success in raising a good son. Trevor Noah implies that despite his misbehaviour as a child and youth, who had run-ins with the law, he turned out to be a fine human being.

It should be noted that the memoir was ghostwritten by Tanner Colby, a colleague of Trevor Noah who also wrote for The Daily Show. Consequently, it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine how much of the writing is by Trevor Noah and how much is by Tanner Colby. While the content would come from Trevor Noah, the writing style and artistic choices would probably represent a combination of their talents. It should be kept in mind that the memoir was written and published at the height of Trevor Noah’s fame when he would have been very busy anchoring a nightly television program. This could mean that more of the burden of writing was passed on to Tanner Colby than would have been the case had the memoir been written at another time.

Student resources by Dr Mark Lopez

The purpose of the concise notes of Dr Mark’s The Meaning in a Nutshell is to provide much needed help to students seeking to unlock the meaning of the texts with which they have to deal. (More elaborate notes are provided in lessons as part of my private tutoring business.)

Subject: Born a Crime meaning, Born a Crime themes, Born a Crime analysis, Born a Crime notes