BORN A CRIME

Read three chapters

You will be working with three chapters from Trevor Noah’s book Born a Crime. Each of the three chapters will give you an idea of how it was to grow up in South Africa during apartheid and how peple treated each other.

Chapter one

Click on the link below. Read or listen and follow along in the text.

https://esl-bits.eu/ESL.English.Learning.Audiobooks/TrevorNoah/indice.html

For chapter one you should answer the following questions:

  1. At the beginning of the chapter, how does Trevor explain the main idea behind apartheid?

  2. What differences does Trevor describe between the Zulu and Xhosa people?

  3. Why was church such an important part of Trevor’s childhood?

  4. Why did Trevor and his mother need to travel by minibus on this Sunday?

  5. What happens when Trevor and his mother jump out of the moving vehicle?

  6. How did apartheid use tribal differences to keep people separated and in conflict?

  7. How does the argument between the minibus driver and Trevor’s mother show the effects of apartheid?

  8. Why does Trevor include both personal memories and historical facts in this chapter?

  9. How do Trevor’s childhood experiences help you understand what life was like under apartheid?

  10. Do you think fear changes how people treat others? Use an example from the text.

  11. What message do you think Trevor wants the reader to understand about division and power?

Chapter two

  1. Why does Trevor Noah say he was “born a crime”? (beginning)

  2. What were Trevor’s parents’ races? (beginning)

  3. Why was it illegal for Trevor’s mother to live in downtown Johannesburg? (middle)

  4. Why could Trevor not walk freely with his parents in public? (middle)

  5. How did apartheid laws affect Trevor’s family and daily life? (middle)

  6. Why can Trevor’s mother be described as brave or rebellious? Give examples from the text. (middle)

  7. How did growing up in hiding affect Trevor’s childhood? (end)

  8. Trevor says he was proof of his parents’ criminality instead of their love. How do you understand this idea? (end)

  9. Trevor later learns that many mixed families left South Africa. Do you think his mother made the right choice by staying? Why or why not? (end)

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