Born a Crime Book Analysis - As explained in Born a Crime

Grossmont Cuyamaca Born a Crime Book Analysis

Write a 2.5-4 page paper on one of the prompts below. Your paper must make use of at least six specific examples from at least three different chapters. This is a book analysis paper. Do not include information from outside sources.

1.) As explained in Born a Crime, how did apartheid function in South Africa. Your essay should deal in detail with specifics such as racial categorization, language, labor, etc. What was so unique about Trevor Noah's family situation?

2.) By the time Trevor Noah was high school age, the apartheid system was over, but its legacies lingered. His mother told him "You cannot blame anyone else for what you do. You cannot blame your past for who you are. You are responsible for you. You make your own choices." But Noah then writes: "We were victims, me an my mom, Andrew and Isaac. Victims of apartheid. Victims of abuse." (271) How did the legacy of apartheid impact Trevor Noah's life growing up in South Africa? What disadvantages did he face?

3.) Patricia Noah (Trevor's mom) faced both sexism and racism as she tried to carve out an independent existence in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. What challenges did she face to be independent from her family, economically independent, and achieve freedom of mobility in a society that was the opposite of free. How successful was she?

Citing Sources

This is a one source book analysis paper. Outside sources are not necessary. Your paper must make use of at least six specific examples from at least three different chapters. Page number citations are required for both direct quotes and paraphrasing.

Example 1: Noah visited his father to reconnect with him. "As soon as I arrived I started peppering him with questions. 'Where are your from? Where did you go to school? Why did you do this? How did you that?' He started getting visibly irritated." (110)

Example 2: Noah visited his father to reconnect with him, but his dad became irritated when he asked question after question. (110)

In example 1, I set up the quote about the visit and then I use a direct quote from the book followed by a page number reference. Note also how use a double quote ("' '") because there is a quote within a quote. In example 2 I set up the visit and then paraphrase the quote. Even though I am not directly quoting, I still include a page number reference because I am referring to a specific idea from a specific place in the book.