Born a Crime Video Summary

Trevor Noah Born a Crime is a memoir of growing up in South Africa at the end of apartheid,

born

to a black mother and a white father in a time when interracial sex was illegal, young Trevor was literally

born

a

crime

. Noah begins his book with this historical context explaining how apartheid was based on creating artificial divisions between groups of people so that the white colonial elite could maintain their power at the beginning of the memoir Noah tells a funny anecdote from his childhood, his Mother Patricia Noah was a deeply religious woman and took power from her son. to three different religious services on Sundays, one black, one white and one mixed.

One Sunday with their car broken down, they took a minibus to get home but the driver threatened and insulted them, fearing for their safety. Patricia opened the door, pushed Trevor and then left. was. He and his little brother while the minibus was still moving, they ran to a nearby gas station and called the police. We soon learn that Noah's mother was born into a black South African family that belonged to the Cosa tribe, she was determined and independent and, as a young woman she moved alone to Johannesburg there she met Robert, a Swiss German expatriate and the man who would be Trevor's father, Patricia and Robert had to hide their relationship.

Patricia disguised herself as a maid when she visited Robert so that no one would be suspicious. Trevor was born as a light-skinned mixed-race child. He spent much of his early years isolated and in hiding to protect his parents from arrest. When he and his mother went out to Jubair Park in Johannesburg, a caretaker walked with Trevor while Patricia followed. Patricia and Robert remained friends and Trevor visited his father every week. Trevor also spent a lot of time at his grandmother's house in the black neighborhood of Soweto, where he grew up mainly among women, although he was happy, playing along to the sounds of gunshots, screams and firing tear gas into the crowd.

Trevor was a rambunctious child and his mother often disciplined him strictly, but they also had a very loving relationship. Patricia encouraged Trevor to be a curious, independent thinker who reflected critically, asked a lot of questions, and thought for himself. She enrolled him in a private Catholic school where Trevor often got in trouble for defying rules and questioning authority. When Trevor was around six years old, his mother began dating a charismatic mechanic named Abel who lived above a family's garage. white. Patricia and Trevor sometimes stayed with him one day when Trevor was seven he and another little boy were playing together with a magnifying glass and matches burning words on two pieces of wood they suddenly set fire to a mattress, soon the fire spread and consumed the entire house young Trevor was not punished but the white family kicked Abel out, he moved in with Trevor and his mother, finally Patricia and Abel decided to get married.

Trevor did not trust his new stepfather and the birth of his half-brother Andrew further complicated the family dynamic, meanwhile Trevor felt deeply isolated and was often the target. one day bullying a group of older boys through blackberries when Trevor told Abel that he realized he could manipulate Abel's anger to get revenge. Sure enough, Abel caught one of the children and whipped him with a tree branch when he saw the violence. Trevor first experienced pleasure and then horror Trevor was expelled from Catholic school and transferred to a public school at the end of the sixth grade. Well, he was more comfortable with black students.

He didn't fit in well with any specific group, his mother's family and other Soweto residents. He also treated him differently because of his perfect English and his light skin. Living in the primarily black neighborhood of Eden Park, he was considered either too black or too white. Trevor honed his language skills and could easily code-switch while learning to move fluently between communities. Abel had experienced serious financial problems after trying to open his own auto repair shop. Patricia provided him with money to help him, but Abel's problems with alcohol made him irresponsible and the business failed. Abel began physically abusing Patricia Trevor and her pets to reduce his losses.

Abel sold the purchase and they moved to a primarily white neighborhood called Highlands North. Patricia legally divorced Abel, but continued to live with him, supporting the family with her income while he drank more and more. As Trevor grew older, he started his own businesses. and finally sold pirated and mixed products. When he finished high school, CD expanded his business and began DJing at parties. He spent more time in Alexandra, an impoverished neighborhood dominated by petty

crime

. Tensions between Trevor and Abel led to Trevor moving into his own apartment. The relationship between Patricia and Abel deteriorated and Trevor left.

Devastated when he discovered that Patricia was pregnant again, he spent less time with his mother and his younger siblings after this, while his career as a DJ took off. The climax of the memoir occurs when Trevor, as a young man, received a call from his brother Andrew. Abel had shot Trevor. His mother first shot him in the leg and then the gun misfired several times and finally shot him in the head in the hospital. Doctors were hesitant to treat Patricia because she didn't have health insurance, but Trevor promised to miraculously pay her bills for her injuries.

It turned out to be minor, no one could explain why the gun misfired, but Patricia believed that God intervened on her behalf. Abel only received probation and never served a prison sentence. Trevor Noah ends his memoir by reflecting on the deep love and unbreakable bond he shares with his mother.