Born a Crime: The Significance of Family in Trevor Noah's Life

 In his book, Born A Crime, Trevor Noah describes encounters from his childhood in South Africa. Apartheid make hard for his situation on different pieces of his life because his parents are different races, so it causes a divide in the family and ultimately Trevor loses contact with his father. The apartheid soon ends yet racial groups struggle to integrate themselves still dividing off into their racial groups even withchance of incorporation. Since Trevor was raised by his mother Patricia, he identifies himself as black but he looks like a colored person since he is mixed. This causes by Trevor has many problems because he is always put with colored kids who either resent him for his whiteness or think of him aw below them for his blackness, as a coping mechanism Trevor learns as many south african dialects as possible as a way to connect himself with others. When Trevor was 8 years old his mother married an abusive alcoholic named Abel. This man troubled the family for years until he was eventually arrested for attempted murderer. Unfortunately for the Noah family, Abel wasn't imprisoned and walks free to this day. How did issues of race play out in Noah’s relationships and loved by his parents with those closest to him — his mother, father, grandparents? Family relates to their tough love by Trevor, such as grandparents, relationship with his father, loved by his mother, and relation Trevor Noah who he is today.

It's demonstrating the effects of the apartheid, even within there own family, as well as showing that white privilege in a another perspective and relationship with his grandparent. When staying with his maternal grandparents operating at a profit township of Soweto, he needs to hide his reality because of the Apartheid. Trevor's grandmother tell him as if he was white, despite Trevor being naughty and sharing the same blood she sees him as fragile, precious, making her feel as if it's not here place to touch him. At Trevor's young age he never challenged his family member's perception on race, stating that their views are false, instead he accepted it. Throughout the passage that another demonstration was used with his grandfather. His grandfather called me 'Mastah.' when he was in the car. He insisted that he sat in the back as if was chauffeur 'Mastah must always sit in the backseat.' (Pg.52) Trevor experienced different treatment from his family in many aspects. Connecting this to the way of life then the segregation and its benefits for the race that systematical put themselves above all. Trevor began to understand why would they push against a system made to empower you over others, despite it's negativity. The acceptance of double standards is what gave life to the apartheid for as long as it did.

Trevor recalls how at the young age of thirteen his father moved away to Cape Town and they then began to lose touch as a result of her mother’s new husband Abel not wanting her to connect with Robert. “I went from seeing my dad every Sunday to seeing him every other Sunday, maybe once a month, whenever my mom could sneak me over” (Noah, 107) To Trevor, Robert was a complete mystery as he still had so many questions about him and his life that he wanted answered. However, in his early twenties Trevor got quite busy with his career, and they completely lost touch. Later on, when Noah turned twenty-four the questions he had surrounding his father started to snowball and so he finally attempted to track his father down. Upon meeting his father after ten years, Noah came to realization that Robert in fact kept track of him this entire time and kept all of his accomplishments and everything he had ever done in his career in a scrapbook. At the moment Trevor felt as if his father had never left him and had been by his side the entire time, as if only a day had passed since he last seen him. “For years I’d had so many questions Is he thinking about me? Does he know what I’m doing? Is he proud of me? But he’d been with me the whole time He’d always been proud of me. Circumstance had pulled us apart, but he was never not my father” (Noah, 110). It does an excellent job showing up for Trevor’s relationship with his father. It’s shows that although Trevor and his father had been completely isolated from one another, Robert’s love for his son bridged any gap’s that had been created between them during their time away. It demonstrates the theme that love will always prevail, no matter the obstacle that may oppose it and it also helps build a positive impression on Robert's character and his love and existence in his son Trevor’s life.

Tough love between Trevor and his mother was a main theme throughout the novel, each negative Trevor did he expected some sort of punishment that would ultimately teach him something. Trevor's mother understood that the real world didn't want to protect and teach lessons, only punish and set back. For example, when Trevor's mother said. 'I need to do this before the police do it to you.' (p.227) This quote showed her unconditional love towards Trevor. She's trying to prepare him in every way for a life growing up as a black ethnicity, disciplining him before the law system gets to. The significance of the passage was clarify the true meaning of the theme love throughout his memoir. Every time he got in trouble it was tough love, lectures, punishment, and hiding, all for a purpose Trevor wasn't able comprehend at the time. Making Trevor a great man was her goal, though anytime he got in trouble at school or with the law it offended his mother to the greatest degree. She knew that she taught him better and it hurt her further more than any mischievous pranks he pulled.

Patricia also refused to accept the system of apartheid and worked around it to give her son a formal education just like a “White” man. She opened up his mind to a wider world of possibilities, she raised him as if he was white child help him realize what there is for him in the world beyond their impoverished apartheid life.

Apartheid finished on the way through Noah's childhood in 1994. While people could go to schools with all races, the inner circles inside each school stayed divided . For quite a bit of Noah's life, he thinks around his thought for people being segregated by the government, or of their own volition. Noah felt that it divided on the race and like he never fit in anyplace in view of his skin shading. Noah's mother is black, while his father is white; under politically-sanctioned racial segregation in South Africa, this express he would be lawfully delegated non-white. However, he finally understands that he is lawful viewed as 'colored,' he recognizes as being black. This advancement of his identity is an important sense that attaches each point and is seen through his communications with the people and places around him.