Born a Crime

by Trevor Noah

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Born a Crime Questions and Answers

What would be the major conflict in Born a Crime?

In Born a Crime, what role does humor play in Trevor’s upbringing? How did that role affect his career choices? 

“My mother showed me what was possible,” Noah writes (p. 73). Noah’s mother offers him advice and lessons throughout his life. Which lessons seemed to benefit Noah most? Which ones did not? Collectively, what does his mother’s advice help the reader understand about their relationship? How did this advice impact his identity and sense of self?

How did Trevor and his mother use language to cross legal and social boundaries and navigate challenging situations?

According to Born a Crime, why did Trevor's mom marry Abel when she said she wouldn't consider marrying Trevor's father?

How does Trevor's mom sacrifice her life for him in Born a Crime?

What role did the church play in Noah’s upbringing in Born A Crime?  

Explain the significance of the chapter title “Colorblind” from Born a Crime by Trevor Noah.

Why was religion so important to Noah’s mother in Born a Crime?

In Born A Crime, why did Frances Noah refuse to beat Trevor when he misbehaved growing up?

How does Trevor Noah use the contrast between tone and subject to both create humor and convey importance in Born a Crime?

According to Trevor Noah in Born a Crime, how did apartheid come about?

Trevor Noah opens Born a Crime with the Immorality Act of 1927, which banned sexual intercourse between unmarried white people and Black people. What was your initial response to this passage?

What is the central idea of Born a Crime?

At many different points in Born a Crime, Trevor Noah describes the complications of his racial identity. Write an essay analyzing the role that race played in challenging and facilitating the author's understanding of himself as he grew up.

In Born A Crime, who was the most consistent male figure in Noah’s life growing up?

At multiple points throughout Born a Crime, Noah injects historical information about apartheid and South Africa between anecdotes, giving his experiences context. What is the importance of reading personal stories about injustices and big moments in history?

How does the following quote from Born a Crime illustrate the concept of prejudice? "My mom raised me as if there were no limitations on where I could go or what I could do. When I look back I realize she raised me like a white kid—not white culturally, but in the sense of believing that the world was my oyster, that I should speak up for myself, that my ideas and thoughts and decisions mattered."

What is the historical context of Born a Crime?

What kind of music does Noah describe himself listening to in Born a Crime?

Discuss the idea(s) developed by the text creator in your chosen text about the interplay between how individuals perceive themselves and how others perceive them. I have to write a critical analytical essay on this prompt about the book Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Do you have any ideas?

How old was Patricia when she became pregnant with her third child in Born a Crime?

What are the themes in Born a Crime by Trevor Noah?

What parallels might be drawn from the way Noah describes his dog, Fufi, and how he describes himself in his youth in the book Born A Crime?

In Born a Crime, Noah gives evidence that the classification system in apartheid was not always cut and dry. Discuss how Japanese people were classified versus Chinese people and why being "colored" was in some ways worse than being Black.

Why do you think Trevor Noah finishes his book with this chapter?

Explain the disparity in unemployment following apartheid as described in Born a Crime.

Trevor compares apartheid with Catholic school in that both are authoritarian and ruthless. In what ways is this true in the book?

Why was the author difficult for his caretakers to handle when he was very little?

A notable relationship in Born a Crime is between young Trevor and his dog, Fufi. What parallels might be drawn between the way Noah describes his dog Fufi and how he describes himself in his childhood and youth?

What are facts about Born a Crime?

Why did Frances Noah refuse to beat the author whenever the author misbehaved growing up in Born a Crime?

How did South African schools founded by British missionaries differ from Bantu schools founded by Afrikaners, according to the author?

According to Born a Crime, what was the purpose of the classification of demographic groups in apartheid-era South Africa?

An important theme in Trevor Noah's autobiography Born a Crime is freedom. How do the stories he tells about his mother inform this discussion?

What gives the book value?