Lessons of Motherhood in Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Born A Crime is a humorous and serious memoir by Trevor Noah. The book begins in South Africa, where Noah is from, under apartheid, and continues throughout his childhood and adolescence, as South Africa rid itself of apartheid. Trevor and his mother go to church every Sunday THREE different churches. His mom is a profoundly religious lady and needs Noah to be religious too. She keeps him safe and teaches him how to be independent. She gives him the tools he needs for both survival and success. “My mom did what school didn’t. She taught me how to think.” Survival, no limitations, and perseverance; which are traits that were learned outside of school through life hood experiences. If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.

The Role of the Mother Through the Novel "Born a Crime"

A child’s first and the best teacher is their parent. Survival through it all, whether good or bad is how you’re going to make it. “He [the driver] raced along Oxford Road…She looked out the window at the passing road and then leaned over and whispered, ‘Trevor, when he slows down at the next intersection, I’m going to open the door and we’re going to jump.’ Trevor at the youthful age of nine tossed out of a moving vehicle, with his mom arrival directly near him not so much understanding the peril that just escaped. In this thing called life it’s generally trials and tribulations anyway you choose to flourish is how you will endure. It may not be impeccable however moms consistently have an approach to ensure you endure.

“My mom raised me as if there were no limitations on where I could go or what I could do.” Reach for the stars never settle. Wake up every morning and set a goal and GO FOR IT. My mother always said, “if you don’t believe in you, then who will.” Noah makes it unmistakable all through the book the amount he regards his mom; family is unquestionably essential to him, as is being grateful for what you have. This section begins by discussing his mom, and the tone in the remainder of the passage keeps on passing on that he is appreciative that his mom given these chances to him. The section keeps on clarifying his qualities: going to bat for what he puts stock in, interest, and fearlessness. While his interest is evident, his appreciation towards his family is self-evident.

The perseverance of a mother’s love. Despite the fact that Born A Crime makes for an intriguing read, however his disturbing portrayal of the injurious marriage of his mom, her unheard request for assistance, and the possible destiny that anticipated her demonstrate the deadly imperfection in man-centric social orders where ladies feel it simpler to endure household maltreatment than approach the law for assistance. His mom, a lady undaunted in her confidence, and her duty to her kids and marriage paying little mind to mishaps brought about by the political framework and household discontent. What resounded extraordinarily with me was his mom’s frame of mind towards life. It takes incredible solidarity to face a framework, and she did that on numerous fronts. She wouldn’t move toward becoming what Apartheid anticipated that her should progress toward becoming, she wouldn’t bow down to society, she wouldn’t abandon her youngsters, she was unemotional in her confidence like a couple of individuals can be, and the vast majority of all, she is an exacting overcomer of a harsh marriage. “I saw, more than anything, that relationships are not sustained by violence but by love. Love is a creative act. When you love someone, you create a new world for them. My mother did that for me, and with the progress I made and the things I learned, I came back and created a new world for them.” From her, Trevor learns to love, forgiveness, and perseverance.

When we license our kids to fall flat, we tend to instruct them to continue despite an issue or deferral in progress. My mother taught me to stay making attempts even if it takes days months or years to succeed. Supplicate and put my faith in God. Asking, trusting, and offering thanks toward him is the thing that will get me through everything. It wasn’t until I started my own family, I began to value all she has taught me that school didn’t. 

Works Cited

1. Noah, T. (2016). Born a crime: Stories from a South African childhood. Spiegel & Grau.
2. Apartheid Museum. (n.d.). About the Museum. Retrieved from http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/about
3. Butler, A. (2017). Humor, seriousness, and Trevor Noah's Born a Crime. Journal of Popular Culture, 50(5), 1053-1073. doi:10.1111/jpcu.12571
4. Kachru, U. (2018). Born a crime: Stories from a South African childhood. Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, 41(1-2), 166-169.
5. Kelley, A. (2017). Noah, Trevor. In J. Elledge (Ed.), The African American national biography (Vol. 10, pp. 65-67). Oxford University Press.
6. Lhamon, W. T. (2017). Redface in the rainbow nation: Trevor Noah and Born a Crime. African American Review, 50(1), 39-52. doi:10.1353/afa.2017.0004
7. McGrath, K. (2018). The coming of age narrative and the search for identity in Trevor Noah's Born a Crime. Ariel: A Review of International English Literature, 49(1-2), 35-60. doi:10.1353/ari.2018.0002
8. Ross, L. (2019). "We tell our stories to live": Trevor Noah's Born a Crime as autoethnography. Research in African Literatures, 50(2), 91-109. doi:10.2979/reseafrilite.50.2.05
9. South African History Online. (n.d.). Apartheid legislation in South Africa. Retrieved from https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/apartheid-legislation-south-africa
10. Smith, S. (2018). Trevor Noah's Born a Crime: Tales from a South African childhood as literature of resistance. The English Academy Review, 35(1), 58-75. doi:10.1080/10131752.2018.1455768