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SUMMARY

church life

mom: beats+chases T, clever (calls T"thief" when running), stubborn, brave/faithful

mini-bus incident: pushed out of car for safety

QUOTE #1

"We had a very Tom and Jerry relationship, me and my mom. She was the strict disciplinarian; I was naughty as shit" (11).

What do we learn about Noah?

Noah knows he was often breaking the rules and he seems to accept that his mother needed to be strict in order to keep him in line. As a reader, I like him more for his honest self-assessment. The reference to an American cartoon suggests Noah watched a lot of tv growing up and provides terrific imagery for this readers. Lastly, Noah's choice to use the word "shit" solidifies his ongoing choice to use casual diction in his storytelling.

QUOTE #2

"[W]e stood there, this little boy and his mom, our arms covered in blood and dirt, laughing together through the pain in the light of a petrol station on the side of the road in the middle of the night" (17).

Why does Noah choose to end chapter one with this picture of he and his mom?

This first chapter is super engaging -- we learn a lot but it's also full of action and the story is literarlly incredible. Despite the stressors in South Africa, the danger of Noah being in public as a mixed race child and his mom being in public as a woman travelling alone, it's clear that Noah and his mom are very close and use humor to frame some of their most dangerous moments toge

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Summary

tn goes into more detail about the legality of mixed children in sa

the then goes into more detail about how stubborn his mom is

he ends the chapter by recounting a time he almost got him and his dad killed by shouting that he was his dad

quote 1

"it was a roll of the dice, my mother never knew whom to trust"

how does this quote help us understand the situation of Trevor and his mother

the quote describes how they risk their lives every day and that the only people they can trust are themselves

quote 2

"why? why didn't we just leave? why didn't we just go to Switzerland? "because I am not swiss this is my country why should I leave." "

what do we learn about Trevor's mother here.

here we learn just how stubborn his mother is. she is able to leave but chooses not to leave despite her risking her life every day.

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SUMMARY

He tells us about how he grew up  with really only women, and how all the men in his life were bad.

He talks about Prayer groups that he went to his child and how He loved  to go to them

he talks about how people live in Soweto, and A lot of the architecture of that area

finally he tells us about a story about him taking a dump and it turning into this whole demon casting away ceremony

QUOTE #1

“I felt like I was helping people.”

How does this quote make it better to understand Trevor and his childhood?

My thought on this quote was that It is showing even as a young boy he wanted to help his  people and how his people were hurting constantly.

QUOTE #2

“The commotion didn’t stop there because when there’s a demon around, the whole community  has to join together to drive it out.”

What does this quote tell us about his community?

I think it shows how everyone had to rely on each other, especially the religious women.

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Summary

1. Being the "white kid

2. The Importance of language

3. Life at school

Quote #1

"Dad was the white chocolate, mom was the dark chocolate, and I was the milk chocolate. But we were all just chocolate"(54).

What can we understand about Noah's comprehension of apartheid as a kid from this quote?

Here Noah reflects on how he perceived race as a child. Being recognized as the white kid was confusing to him because he didn't understand what that meant. We learn during this chapter how much trickier his life gets being a colored kid in school and how important his ethnic identity was when he wasn't sure what race he classified as.

Quote #2

"She used language to cross boundaries, handle situations, navigate the world" (55).

Why is language so important for the identity of a south African?

We learn in the chapter that language is part of this system of "perfect racism." Language is a trait that makes someone different from another person precisely what the creators of Apartheid wanted, for the different tribes to be separated. Speaking the same language as someone gives two people an immediate connection. We can see in this chapter how beneficial knowing multiple languages is for Trevor.

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SUMMARY

Mom's challenging childhood

How she sought independence

Trevor's childhood was rich with experience

QUOTE 1:

"I was a product of her search for belonging." (63)

What does this quote tell us about Trevor's mom's motivations?

This tells us that Trevor's mom saw having a child not just as a personal decision, but as a way to create and further her sense of identity in a society that tried to marginalize her. Her decision to have Trevor and how she raised him were all acts of rebellion and agency.

QUOTE 2:

"My mom did what school didn't. She taught me how to think." (68)

How does this quote reflect her approach to raising Trevor?

This quote reflects her determination to empower her son through critical thinking, especially in a society actively trying to suppress Black minds. Trevor's mom realized that schools were designed to limit education, so she encouraged Trevor to question and analyze the world around him, allowing him to recognize the oppressive nature of his environment.

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Ch 6 Summary

Trevor is hyperactive, impulsive and a prankster: brings a knife to school, burns down a house, drinks grape jiuce and Eucharist, etc

T. understands his mom's discipline is from a place of love

T. and mom write letters back and forth

Ch 7 Summary

Fufi viists another house regularly; mom buys him back

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Summary

Trevor talks about his memories with his father, and then how he find his father secretly after meet again.

Quote 1:

“Too many men grow up without their fathers, so they spend their lives with a false impression of who their father is and what a father should be(101).”

*How does this quote tell us about Trevor’s mom’s thought of teaching him how to be a father?

I think It’s because Trevor’s mom doesn’t have a responsible dad, so she wants Trevor to be a more responsible father. Also she wants Trevor to know how to love his child and how to be a good father. She wants to break the cycle of behavior because she didn’t feel she’s wanted when she’s young.

Quote 2:

“When a parent is absent, you’re left in the lurch of not knowing, and it’s so easy to fill that space with negative thoughts(108).”

*How does this quote tell us about how Trevor thinks living without a parent?

On page 101, Trevor asked why he needs to find his father since they haven’t seen each other for over ten years, and he thought that they won’t see each other anymore.

I think that because of this 10 year gap, some wrong thoughts get inside Trevor’s mind, just like this quote. He thought that his father left them and doesn’t love him anymore, and his father might not even remember him and know about him.

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summary

1. Trevor talks about how he never really fit in wherever he was and how people of another race can be accepted by a race if they completely surround themselves with their culture, unlike what Trevor did.

2. he then talks about the role of colored people under apartheid and how they got better rights compared to blacks, but not as good as whites, and they would try hard to become white.

3. he then talks about how he could never make friends with the colored kids and would assume the best out of their reasons for talking to him, so he got bullied a lot.

Quote #1

1. "I was the anomaly wherever we lived." (117)

2. How does this show how Trevor was treated as a child?

3. This quote shows that wherever he and his mom would go, he would be standing off to the side and could never really make friends with anyone because he was either too white, too black, or not colored enough.

Quote #2

1. "All you had to do was denounce your people, denounce your history, and leave your darker-skinned friends and family behind." (119)

2. How does this show that people would do anything to be classified as white?

3. People were willing to forget anything black that had to do with their lives, like their ancestors, any friends who were black, or maybe even any children who might have turned out black just so they could be seen as white and get better treatment.

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Summary

T's mom gives a ton of advice but little of it was practical for a boy

T accepts being rejected as a girl's valentine - he seems to have internalized the heirarchy

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Summary

・Noah talks about his experience as an 　 "outsider," neither black nor white, never fully belonging to any group.

・Speaking multiple languages ​​gives him a way to connect with different cultures and people.

・Even while facing the harsh realities of society, he uses humor to build relationships with people and overcome difficulties.

quote1

As the outsider, you can retreat into a shell, br anonymous, be invisible. Or by opening up.

Why did Trevor choose to open up instead of staying in his shell?

It's deeply rooted in his upbringing, his environment, and his own personality. Because he was born to a black and white parent and lived as an outsider from a young age, so he wanted to overcome that sence of loneliness.

quote2

I leaned that even though I didin't belong to one group, I could be a part of any group that was laughing.

How did laughing helo Trever find a place in his world?

He was able to temporarilly join the group by sharing a laugh. He was no longer a permanent member of one close friendship group, but instead was a temporary presence in a variety of groups.

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Summary

regret is worst when you don't do something

T misses an opp'ty to date a good friend

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Summary

Trevor didn’t have close friends until he met Teddy at school. They started stealing candy together. One day, the police caught them, but they couldn’t prove Trevor was with Teddy. Trevor feels like he’s invisible sometimes.

Quote #1:

"In reality I was a nerdy kid with almost no friends, but in my mind I was an important and dangerous man who needed to know where every camera was and where all the exit points were" (155).

What did this tell us about Trevor's personality?

This quote shows that Trevor has a big imagination and sees himself differently from how others see him. It also shows that he is observant and likes to feel important or special, even though he actually feels a bit lonely.

Quote # 2:

"At certain point, I felt so invisible I almost want to take credit. I want to jump up and point at the TV and say, "Are you people blind?! That's me!""(159).

What makes Trevor feel so invisible?

Because he is between two worlds (Black and White) and he doesn’t fit into any group. When he is with Black people, they see him as White, and when he is with White people, they see him as Black. That makes him feel invisible and like he doesn’t fully belong anywhere.

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1. At the start of the chapter, Trever explains that his mother didn't wanna live in the hood because she didn't like who Trevoer was hanging out with and she felt that Trever would get arrested

2. Trever explains how he used to steal Able's car and would make it legal and then drive it. He also explained that he got pulled over because of his race in South Africa and the cops would just come out and say that. He says that he is more scared of his parents than the cops.

3. Then, Trevor gets arrested and then can't go to trial right away because the police advised him not to.

4. While Trevor was in prison he would live up to the "colored person" stereotype. A violent criminal.

5. At the end of the chapter, he meets new friends that he calls Hulk because he was massive. Then he helped him talk to the officers because he spoke a lot of different languages. Then he was released from prison and he was playing it off that he was just at a friend's house but his mother knew and then yelled at him.

Quote 1

" You must be careful who you surround yourself with because where you are can determine who you are" Pg 228

What does this show about Trevor's mother's parenting styles?

This shows that the mother cares about how Trevor is as a person. She doesn't care about the place that he grew up in she still believes that he can be the best human he can be. Also, she believes that personality is everything.

Quote 2

" Immagen a white guy in America, just dark gangster to pass for Latino, walking around jail doing bad Mexican gangster dialogue from the movies." Pg 234

What does this show about the South African culture?

This shows that if you are a colored person in prison there are some perks. You can make other people scared of you. You can lean into the stereotype of being dangerous.

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Bullet list - Narrow down to 3 to 4 points for class

A lot happened in this chapter, so I might not get everything down on my bullet points.

1. A person named Andrew is scared of black people, so Trevor partners with Andrew to finish deals in CD business

2. Andrew quits the business and gives Trevor CD writer for always being loyal to him

3. Trevor starts DJ gig as a job after high school with a dance crew to dance to music, the star attraction being Hitler, Trevor's friend

4. His group the Black and White Boys gets invited to the Jewish King David School and they perform and start chanting “GO HITLER”, which upsets a teacher who kicks them off the stage

List of Quote - CHOOSE ONE

“Life was good, and none of it would have happened without Andrew. Without him, I would never have mastered the world of music piracy and lived a life of endless McDonald’s. What he did, on a small scale, showed me how important it is to empower the dispossessed and the disenfranchised in the wake of oppression” (190).

Question Ideas: How does this help our understanding of the amount of opportunity black people had in South Africa?

Answer: This helps us understand how without a starting block, black people were never able to obtain opportunity. The odds were stacked against them because of discrimination towards them and their lack of education. This shows us as readers how far small gestures can go for people, and how important it is to give back to your community that gave you your opportunities so they can also have more freedom.

Can bring conversation to quote on the same page.

“People always lecture the poor: ‘Take responsibility for yourself! Make something of yourself!’ But with what raw materials are the poor to make something of themselves?”

Can then lead discussion to how our world is flawed and why this is.

“For the first time in my life I had money, and it was the most liberating thing in the world. The first thing I learned about having money was that it gives you choices. People don’t want to be rich. They want to be able to choose. The richer you are, the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money” (188).

How does this put into perspective how poverty influences the choices and freedom one has?

Answer: This passage shows us that without the foundation of enough money, one's choices are very limited in life. If one can only afford to choose between necessities to stay alive, they have no money to invest into supporting themselves. With money one can invest into boosting their own productivity, education, appearance, and future generations. Increasing one's productivity means one can get more done with their time,  increasing the quality and quantity of one's work. Investing in one's own education opens up the potential for more and better jobs. One is likely to receive a more important job if one has the proper qualifications for it from school. Money can also make you appear better and more sophisticated, giving one a higher chance of getting a job one applied for or a promotion. When one dies, their money is often inherited by their children, setting them up for success in life. The more one climbs the corporate ladder, the more choice and freedom one has.