https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy en-us 2022-08-30 03:10:40 UTC 2025-10-30 16:56:00 UTC hello@padlet.com sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275632263 An emotionally devastating moment for Trevor is when he reflects on the first time his stepfather, Abel, beat him. While Abel would occasionally be friendly with Trevor and have an alright bond with him, his sense of anger combined with his alcoholism would cause Abel to become angered easily and when he heard about Trevor forging his mom’s signature, he quickly became upset. When Trevor speaks about Abel, he notes, "In all the time I received beatings from my mom, I was never scared of her ... But I understood that it was discipline and it was being done for a purpose. The first time Abel hit me I felt something I had never felt before. I felt terror," (262). Trevor was no stranger to beatings as he would sometimes be disobedient but was never violent to others, so when his mother would beat him for actions, it would never be from a place of hatred. Abel was different as he would put all his strength on a younger Trevor to make sure he learned his lesson, creating an emotionally devastating moment that afterward made Trevor avoid Abel at all costs.]]> 2022-08-30 03:11:17 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275632263 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275634729 An emotional moment for Trevor is when he gets a call that his mother has been shot and is in the hospital. Once Trevor found this out, he drove to the hospital to encounter his mom in critical condition, as she was shot in the face. After finding out that it was his stepfather, Abel, who shot her, he calls him, and Abel answers to tell Trevor, "Yes. And if I could find you, I would kill you as well," (277). Abel's announcement stunned Trevor as Abel reveals that he was out for blood, as Abel believed that after Patricia, Trevor's mom, divorced and left him, she ruined his life. To get revenge, he wanted to kill her, and if Trevor was there, he too would've been killed. As chilling as the phone call made Trevor, it also enraged him, making him furious at someone who was once a part of his family, creating an emotional moment that Trevor would never forget.]]> 2022-08-30 03:13:50 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275634729 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275635873 When Trevor left Maryvale to go to H.A. Jack Primary, a government school, he realized that he was not fitting in as the different ethnicity of kids during recess would be around their same race. With his knowledge of multiple languages, he would be friendly with both the white and black kids, but an obstacle would arise as the two groups were in two different classes, so had to decide which group he wanted to be with. Trevor then made his decision and stated, "I moved to the B classes with the black kids. I decided I'd rather be held back with people I liked than move ahead with people I didn't know," (59). As Trevor was more close to the black kids, he chose to switch classes, even if it meant being held back. This obstacle would be the first time Trevor had to pick what ethnicity he wanted to be, but he overcame this obstacle as he chose black because he was around more black people, like his mom and grandma, giving him a sense of comfort in his choice.]]> 2022-08-30 03:15:05 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275635873 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275636312 In South Africa, racial classification separates and segregates the people living there, from their rights to their privileges. Racial injustice in the land is something few can bypass, but Trevor would discover a trick to avoid this, by speaking multiple languages. He talks about this when he expresses, "That, and so many other smaller incidents in my life, made me realize that language, even more than color, defines who you are to people," (56). Learning multiple languages allows him to fit in with different people. This creates trust in others as they don’t view him as an outsider, even with a different look, but offers them a sense of certainty, which gives the obstacle of racial classification a solution in the practice of comprehending multiple languages.]]> 2022-08-30 03:15:29 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275636312 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275636709 The relationship between Trevor and his dog, Fufi, left a mark on his life when Fufi ran away, Trevor would locate her in another house, and when he asked for her back, the family declined, as they had then claimed her. After repeatedly requesting for Fufi back, they kept rejecting him until Trevor's mom paid them for her, and they got her back. When Trevor got her back, he was still upset over the whole situation as he remarks, "I believed that Fufi was my dog, but of course, that wasn't true. Fufi was a dog. I was a boy. ... That experience shaped what I've felt about relationships for the rest of my life. You do not own the thing that you love," (100). Fufi impacted Trevor by acknowledging that she wasn’t cheating on him by living with another family but was living her life to the fullest. Fufi’s betrayal played significance in Trevor's life as it made him reconsider how he doesn’t own anything he loves, instead shares his love with them by being around them.]]> 2022-08-30 03:15:53 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275636709 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275636988 The relationship between Trevor and his mom, Patricia, is a close one as both were with each other all the time, especially during Trevor’s childhood. With Patricia being a single mother and Trevor being an only child that was born a crime under the Apartheid, they were constantly with each other. Patricia’s thought process can be seen as Trevor says, "My mom's attitude was I chose you, kid. I brought you into this world, and I'm going to give you everything I never had," (71). Patricia wanted to give the world to Trevor, to give him the knowledge that the world was his oyster and his ideas and thoughts mattered. The significance of their relationship was how it shaped Trevor into how he is today, with her role in his life impacting his life to this day.]]> 2022-08-30 03:16:11 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275636988 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275637276 The relationship between Trevor and his dad, Robert, is unique as growing up with interracial parents during the Apartheid was illegal, so attempting to stay in his son's life while trying to hide their relationship from the public was tough. Although Trevor and Robert would see each other on the weekends, after Trevor’s mom, Patricia started going out with Trevor’s stepdad, Abel, he would begin seeing his dad less and less, to the point where they stopped seeing each other. After ten years of Robert’s estrangement, Patricia persuaded Trevor to go visit his dad, and when he meets up with his dad, he realized that his dad still cared for him as witnessed when Trevor states, "But he'd been with me the whole time. He'd always been proud of me. Circumstance had pulled us apart, but he was never not my father," (110). Before their meetup, Trevor questioned if his father still thought about him and if he was proud of him, but this was answered when Robert presented a photo album of all the accomplishments Trevor had achieved, from articles in the newspaper to photos in magazines. Trevor reacted by having a flood of emotions rush over him, as this moment filled in the ten-year gap between them instantly, providing them a closer relationship.]]> 2022-08-30 03:16:26 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275637276 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275637624 Throughout the book, Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah, an extensive portion of the text has the theme of racism. Racism causes a majority of the issues in South Africa, as the Apartheid was a system of segregation between different races, and caused the dilemma of not going outside, as it was illegal to have a mixed child during this time, or with the languages of the people, if someone spoke a different language, they were seen differently. Racism plays an immense part in South African life, and Trevor notes this as he expresses, "In any society built on institutionalized racism, race-mixing doesn't merely challenge the system as unjust, it reveals the system as unsustainable and incoherent," (21). As Trevor puts it, a racist system cannot function as there are many different races in a country, and when a certain race is treated unfairly because of their race, it causes problems for the country as a whole. The theme of racism makes the reader think about how immoral racism is from Trevor’s life story.]]> 2022-08-30 03:16:47 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275637624 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638086 Throughout Trevor Noah’s book, Born a Crime, an extensive amount of it's the theme of belonging. Even though Trevor understood multiple languages to fit in, he never truly belonged, like in high school where he was never in one friend group to hang out with. He was consistently treated differently because he was mixed, as seen with his family, when he and his cousins did something immoral, his grandparents would beat the cousins while leaving Trevor alone, and when questioned why, they would say, "I’m scared I’m going to break him. I don’t want to kill a white person. I’m so afraid. I’m not going to touch him,” (52). Trevor was perceived as a white guy, and with the Apartheid ruling in South Africa, his own family worried about his well-being more than the rest of the family. His own family treating him different is how him not truly belonging played as a theme throughout the novel.]]> 2022-08-30 03:17:05 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638086 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638351 The author utilizes his craft in the story when speaking about Abel in the future. From talking about how Abel’s incident with the kids around the mulberry tree where he acted out of character when getting revenge for Trevor goes over the top by beating up some kids, to wanting Patricia, Trevor’s mom, to act like a traditional wife, when she’s a free-spirited person who mocks the traditional system, the author foreshadows Abel’s future throughout the book. The foreshadowing for Abel can be noticed when Patricia informs Trevor that she’s getting married to Abel, and Trevor responds, "There's just something not right about him. I don't trust him. I don't think he's a good person," (249). Trevor's intuition about Abel wasn’t only his intuition, but also a foreshadowing of how Abel was. By utilizing the foreshadowing for Abel, the story can become more suspenseful, and the reader can see the tensions early on before any actual event occurs.]]> 2022-08-30 03:17:21 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638351 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638611 During the section of Trevor transferring schools in the sixth grade, when recess arrived, many of the students played in separate groups, mostly playing with the same ethnicity as themselves. This caused a problem for Trevor as he's mixed, so he had to decide what race he wanted to be associated with. This dilemma was the first time he had to pick what race he wanted to be with and made him realize, as Trevor voices, "Maryvale was an oasis that kept me from the truth, a comfortable place where I could avoid making a tough decision. But the real world doesn't go away. Racism exists. People are getting hurt, and just because it's not happening to you doesn't mean it's not happening," (56-57). Going from a pleasant time in class, talking about school, to switching his tone to speak about racism around the world is the author’s strategy of using diction. The author chooses to speak about his belief on racism around the world, using his experience of choosing what group to be with in grade school.]]> 2022-08-30 03:17:36 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638611 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638855 In the section on Trevor’s life after high school in the hood, he describes it as strangely comforting, as he talks about the hood being a low-stress, comfortable life. Excluding the fact that he’s living in a more impoverished region of South Africa, he goes on about the hood maintaining a wonderful community that shares its wealth to take care of one another, and everyone knowing everyone. He describes this comfort as something to be cautious about as he mentions, "Comfort can be dangerous. Comfort provides a floor but also a ceiling," (219). Trevor’s thinking about living in the hood is that the hood never leaves him behind, but also never lets him leave. This metaphorical gravitational pull the hood has on him is what makes this passage of his time in the hood something beautiful, as he later gathers that he doesn’t belong in the hood and decides to leave to pursue a successful career rather than living a life of hustling.]]> 2022-08-30 03:17:51 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275638855 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275639091 In the portion on Patricia, Trevor's mom, her life, she illustrates it as a struggle, from having divorced parents and having a lot of family living with her, to living in a poverty-stricken area, her childhood was rough. After running away for some time and having Trevor, she tells him this, not to gain pity from him, but rather for him to not take things for granted. She then states to him, "Learn from your past and be better because of your past. ... but don't cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you, but don't hold on to it," (66). Her mentioning this is for him to take an example from her, as she never let the deprivations of her youth make of something to complain about, nor to have history repeat itself with Trevor. Her passage on her past making her a stronger, more sensible person is what makes the quote beautiful.]]> 2022-08-30 03:18:04 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275639091 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275639351 Due to the Apartheid, a system of segregation in South Africa, having a mixed child was prohibited, causing Trevor to be born a crime. As Trevor was seen as a crime, his early childhood was him being by himself besides for his mom, grandma, and a few of his cousins, however, this wouldn’t bother him. As Trevor speaks about his early childhood, he remarks, "I wasn't a lonely kid - I was good at being alone," (30). Rather than being with other children his age, Trevor lived in his head to entertain himself and was satisfied with it. I believe this is a beautiful passage as it's something I can relate to because as an only child, I was mostly around my parents and few friends and family, so as a child, I was using my head to entertain myself.]]> 2022-08-30 03:18:20 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275639351 sllauger24 https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275639540 In Stephen King’s book, On Writing, a substantial part of writing an enjoyable memoir is to experiment and be persistent. Not giving up and experimenting with his work is something King has done, as seen in his early work, as publishing agencies wouldn’t accept his writing, but he kept writing and got to where he is today. Trevor Noah’s, Born a Crime, is no different as Trevor can be noted accomplishing the same when he remarks, "We spend so much time being afraid of failure, afraid of rejection. But regret is the thing we should fear most. Failure is an answer. Rejection is an answer. Regret is an eternal question you will never have the answer to," (143). Trevor's passage presents to the reader that Trevor has grown past worrying about failure and rejection, as those things provide an answer, but regret is something that will haunt him with solely questions. King's persistence made him an excellent author and is the same in Noah's book.]]> 2022-08-30 03:18:32 UTC https://padlet.com/sllauger24/k457of22i50f3pxy/wish/2275639540