https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh by Hunter Dolci en-us 2020-08-28 22:11:17 UTC 2020-09-07 16:43:46 UTC hello@padlet.com hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706243720 As a autobiography, Born a Crime focuses on the life of Trevor Noah, and his emotional journey as he goes through life. His first real heartbreak came after his dog, Fufi, ran away. After seeing that Fufi was happy with another boy, Trevor stated that, "No one had ever betrayed me more than Fufi"(Noah 100). While Trevor had been betrayed by other people in his life, he had put his full faith in Fufi, so when she betrayed him, she hurt him more than anyone had in his life. This moment helped to teach Trevor about trust and the dangers of it, for his heartbreak showed him how horrible misplaced trust can be. Trevor's happiest moment came during his encounter with his father after achieving success as a comedian. After not knowing if his father even cared about him anymore, Trevor discovered that his dad had been keeping track of all of his appearances in magazines, making him state that, "I felt a flood of emotions rushing through me. It was everything I could do not to start crying" (Noah 109). After wondering for so long about his mysterious father, having this figure in his life care about him so much broke Trevor in a good way. While he was on the verge of tears, these were tears of rapture. This moment helped to reforge his bond with his father and to heal from the years of silence. Trevor's lowest point came during his call with his brother after Abel's rampage. During the call, his brother told him that his mother had been shot in the head, which caused him to have, "... cried tears like [he] had never cried before" (Noah 274).This moment in Trevor's life serves as his moment of true despair. After spending so long with his mother, she had been shot in the head, which in most cases means death. In the presence of death, Trevor broke and could only cry in pain. This moment set the pace for the rest of his experience in the hospital and served as a moment of clarity as to how futile his previous hardships had been.]]> 2020-08-28 22:42:16 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706243720 hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706243863 While Trevor's life was filled with obstacle after obstacle, the main obstacles he had to ascend were the racism and apathy born under Apartheid. Racism was found in all aspects of life, including schooling. After discovering that all his friends were in B classes while he was in A classes. After asking to be moved to B classes with his friends, Trevor's teacher told him, "You don't want to be friends with those kids." (Noah 59). His teacher's true motivations come out in this quote, where we see her viewing all of the black students as vile and bad influences for Trevor. Despite knowing that Trevor desires to be with his friends, the racism born under Apartheid stops her from evaluating the situation objectively. Trevor overcame this by joining the class regardless and going on to become a successful person, proving the teacher's views wrong. Another major challenge Trevor deals with in his life is apathy. This is seen after Trevor is let out of prison, where his mother tells him that, "The world doesn't love you" (Noah 243). While his mother was always looking out for him, the world could not care less as to what happened to Trevor. The world doesn't love him, and if something bad happens to him, nobody will trouble themselves with helping him without expecting compensation. Trevor does in fact overcome the apathy of the world by focusing on those who do love him, like his mother and family, allowing him to have constant access to people who are willing to listen to him and care for him.

]]> 2020-08-28 22:42:27 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706243863 hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706244796 While Trevor has many relationships with many different individuals, his most important relationships were doubtlessly with his mother, Fufi, and Abel. Trevor's relationship with his mom was one where she taught him how to live and supported him more than anyone else. During a passage about how his mom's main objective was to free his mind, Trevor stated that, "My mom...taught me how to think" (Noah 68). His mother cared for him emotionally as well as physically. Rather than teaching him what to think, she taught him how to think. His mother served as his ultimate guardian and helped him become the logical man he is today. While his mother gave him infinite affection, Trevor gave his dog, Fufi, infinite affection as well. While speaking about his past with animals, Trevor stated that, "Fufi was the love of my life." (Noah 97). Trevor saw Fufi as his dearly beloved, one who could do no wrong. During his younger years, Trevor had nobody else that could fill the role Fufi did. Lastly, one of Trevor's most important relationships was with his stepfather, Abel. After Abel's first assault on him, Trevor stated that, "If Abel was in a room, I was out of the room. If he was in one corner, I was in the other corner." (Noah 264). Abel served as Trevor's main adversary. Due to his violent nature, every interaction with Abel was one filled with stress, constantly fearing a wrathful attack with no warning. This made Trevor's life far more stressful. Furthermore, Abel would go on to shoot Trevor's mother, eternally cementing Abel as someone who held only malice in their heart.

]]> 2020-08-28 22:43:49 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706244796 hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706244891 While Born a Crime is a story that deals with the impacts of apartheid and racism, the story at it's core deals with the theme of strength from family and faith. One quote that shows the power of family occurs after Trevor and his mother jumped out of the moving bus while he was a child. After running for what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a gas station where Trevor described them as, "...this little boy and his mom, our arms and legs covered in blood and dirt, laughing together through the pain..." (Noah 17). Despite the immense pain and distress they were going under at the moment, they were together which made the pain but an afterthought. Though the love they had for each other, Trevor and his mother were able to survive and come to a peaceful resolution, coming away safe from a potentially lethal encounter. An instance of strength through faith is seen during his mother's encounter with the gun-wielding Abel. As Abel pointed his gun to her temple, "...She started to pray, and that's when the gun misfired" (Noah 284). During this scene where her life would have likely come to an abrupt end, his mother began to pray and the unthinkable happened. Multiple misfires from a gun know for rarely misfiring. Due to her strong sense of faith, Trevor's mother evaded death and made a miracle come true. The last occurrence of strength through family and faith comes after Trevor's mother is recovering from being shot. Trevor asks who her insurance is, to which she responds with Jesus. Trevor jokes that Jesus didn't pay the hospital bill, and his mother affirms that, "You're right. He didn't. But He blessed me with the son who did." (Noah 285). As Trevor's mother looks back, it becomes evident that the reason she survived was by the assistance of faith and her son. Without either of them, she would have been shot and would have never been able to pay of the hospitable bill.
My main takeaway from the story is the value of family and the strength that come from it. While I may not be a religious person, the strength that Trevor gains from his mother and vice versa is potent enough to make miracles occur and save lives.]]> 2020-08-28 22:43:56 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706244891 hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706245005 Throughout Born a Crime, Trevor uses many techniques to tell his story effectively, including foreshadowing and a comedic writing style. Use of foreshadowing can be seen at the start of the story, where during a passage where Trevor explains his malice towards second-hand cars, he explains that if not for their old car,  "...we never would have looked for the mechanic who became the husband who...put a bullet in the back of my mother's head" (Noah 9). Trevor hints towards the climax of the story in this small passage in order to interest the reader and convince them to reader further. Being shot in the head is far from a pleasant experience, thus hinting at something so gruesome serves as a great hook. Furthermore, the passage is followed by a witty line about always taking a new lease, which lends to Trevor's comedic writing style. This witty writing is also seen in his passage about a friend named Hitler. Rather than explaining that Hitler was not a very odd name in South Africa, Trevor begins by stating, "Hitler was a great friend of mine, and good Lord could that guy dance" (Noah 193). Most readers will automatically imagine Adolf Hitler during this section. This leads to the reader imagining infamous tyrant Adolf Hitler dancing and being an overall swell guy which contrasts heavily to their preconceived notions. This results in humor, which entices the reader to pay closer attention and question why the friend is named Hitler. This also helps to develop the cultural divide that comes from being raised in South Africa, for it is not hard to see a reader question if Trevor even knows who Hitler was. ]]> 2020-08-28 22:44:07 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706245005 hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706245086 Due to Trevor's position as a comedian, it can be surprising when in his book he writes a line that speaks to the reader on a deeper level. The first quote that truly felt beautiful came during Trevor's story in which he was almost mugged, but after speaking to the thieves in their language they bonded with him. After successfully conversing with the men, Trevor states, "My color didn't change, but I could change your perception of my color" (Noah 56). This quote helps to teach the reader about how Trevor would communicate with people of other races. While his color made him stand apart, by changing his mannerisms and speaking in different languages, his color no longer became a factor, for he could communicate with people in a way that was natural to them. Another quote that was of stellar quality was spoken by his mother. During one of their conversations, she stated, "Learn from your past and be better because of your past" (Noah 66) This quote is a more elegant way to express the message of learning from past mistakes. Trevor becomes a better person by evaluating his previous failures and successes, taking his past experiences and turning them into lessons. The lesson the passage gives is an important one, but the way it is worded helps to make the reader examine it more closely and derive true meaning from the phrase. Another quote by Trevor appears before his encounter with the kids at the mulberry tree. After explaining his experience with other colored people, he states, "...it is easier to be an insider as an outsider than an outsider as an insider"(Noah 118) This quote by Trevor speaks volumes for many groups of people who have had to deal with being left-out or people who have entered foreign groups. While one may have originally been an outsider, once they enter the group, they become an insider, but while one my be an insider in a sense, if they are left-out, they are predominantly an outsider. While becoming an insider may be difficult, it is easier to try and succeed than to be forced into solitude. This phrase also uses chiasmus in a similar fashion to JFK's inaugural address.
After Trevor begins making money via his CD buisness, he realizes the true value of money, stating that, "The richer you are the more choices you have. That is the freedom of money." (Noah 188) This quote is an interesting view on humanity's greedy nature. While most media portrays greed as a desire to horde money, Trevor explains the desire to obtain wealth as the desire to become free. With money, anything is possible, thus freedom is comparable to wealth.
Lastly, during one of Trevor's exchanges with the airport worker who looked like a black Mr. Burns, Trevor received a camera with pictures of a family. This broke Trevor, realizing that in previous exchanges, "We don't see their face. We don't see them as people"(Noah 221) This quote strikes strongly due to Trevor's realization that the people that he had been obtaining items from were not just random entities but humans just like him. Anonymity allows guilt to be discarded and people with ill will to act out their desires, for while you steal from something you don't view as human, you never think to empathize for them.

I consider beautiful writing to be statements that can send a message without directly stating it. If a writer can express their thoughts without beating the reader over the head, that is something to be appreciated.

]]> 2020-08-28 22:44:14 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706245086 hedwardsdolci22 https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706245180 Born a Crime is an amazing memoir that uses the advice of Stephen King to truly surpass other stories. The main piece of advice that Trevor followed was King's advice of writing for oneself. This is seen in passages like the one where Trevor recalls his ethereal experience of defecating on the floor. As he releases his inner demons onto the ground below, he remarks "It's a powerful experience, shitting. There's something magical about it, profound even" (Noah 43). Things like defecation are rather taboo topics, but rather than shying away from it, Trevor speaks in length about his love of emptying his bowels. Trevor writes for himself, playing to what he finds funny and interesting, even if society would deem it odd or possibly even edgy. ]]> 2020-08-28 22:44:22 UTC https://padlet.com/hedwardsdolci22/odlcieq6wchzn3fh/wish/706245180