"The genius of apartheid was convincing people who were the overwhelming majority to turn on each other." ch 1, page 1

Connections:

Trevor grew up with a mother who was very religious and stern. My grandfather was a similar person. He took me to church with him every Sunday and would lecture me. When I would talk back, he would say I shouldn't allow my youth to be the reason for my ignorance. He often got mad at me and said the same phrase Trevor quoted his mother saying: "That's the devil talking."

"She had a level of fearlessness that you have to possess to take on something like she did. If you stop to consider the ramifications, you'll never do anything." Chapter 2, page 22

Connections:

Trevor speaks about the law that forbid sex between whites and non-whites (the Immorality Act of 1927). This law had high punishment for the act. This reminded me of the "law" that had similar rules but applied to the white colonies and the native Americans in colonial America. It reminded me of this because Trevor specifically said, "humans being humans and sex being sex, that prohibition never stopped anyone." There were still native women who showed up pregnant and still interracial couples.

"And I'd pray. I loved doing it. [...] I felt like I was helping people." Chapter 3, page 40

Connections:

Trevor has a blind grandmother who would only sit in the house all day and do nothing otherwise. While it wasn't a grandma, I had a grandpa who was partially blind in both eyes. He needed help with everything and was very sassy with his commands.

"That, [...], made me realize that language, even more so than color, defines who you are to people. I became a chameleon. My color didn't change, but I could change your perception of my color." Chapter 4, page 56

Connections:

Trevor Noah's talk of how language can determine who sees you as "belonging" is fascinating. It shows that racism can occur through language and language is linked to cultural identity. When I went to France, a waitress spoke to me in French as was smiling, when I couldn't answer back, she became almost rude to me, or at least didn't speak to me with that same eagerness.

"She came home with some knock-off brand, Abidas. 'Mom, these are fake,' I said. 'I don't see the difference.' 'Look at the logo. There are four stripes instead of three.' 'Lucky you,' she said. 'You got one extra.'" Chapter 5, page 72

"'Because,' she would say, 'even if he never leaves the ghetto, he will know that the ghetto is not the world.'" Chapter 5, page 74

Connections:

Trevor's mother raised him to be curious and intellectual. My mother shared similar wants. While we were not bound by the same things as Trevor and his mother, my mom made sure that I was knowledgeable and got outside often. I didn't have a phone until almost 8th grade. We made sure we went to a park or activity almost every weekend. When I was in elementary and middle school, my mom have me additional reading and work outside of what was given to me at school.

Rules of 3: "Black church was rough, I won’t lie. No air-conditioning. No lyrics up on Jumbotrons. And it lasted forever" Chapter 1, page 8

Parenthesis: "That carless Sunday we made our circuit of churches, ending up, as usual, at white church" Chapter 1, page 13

Parallelism: "He was forty-six. She was twenty four. He was quiet and reserved; she was wild and free." Chapter 2, page 25

Rhetorical question: "Is it possible for time to actually stop? If so, why does it stop at black church and not at white church?" Chapter 1, page 8

Polysyndeton: "The grannies were chanting and murmuring and swaying back and forth" Chapter 3, page 46

Anadiplosis: “Please. Please, can I go play with my cousins?” Chapter 2, page 29

Asyndeton: "Under apartheid, the government labeled everything

on your birth certificate: race, tribe, nationality." Chapter 2, page 27

Anaphora: "He sped off. He was driving fast, and he wasn’t stopping." Chapter 1, page 15

"The only authority my mother recognized was God's. God is love and the Bible is truth---everything else was up for debate. She taught me to challenge authority and question the system. The only way it backfired on her was that I constantly challenged her and questioned her." Chapter 6, page 88

Connections:

Like Trevor and his mother, me and my mom's relationship was like cat and mouse. We often got mad at each other and argued and squabbled often. Differently from Trevor and his mother, when we are every mad, we just don't speak to each other for days. Similarly to Trevor and his mother, we would just randomly go back to normal. After not speaking for days we'll just start making conversation like nothing happened.

"It was just another way she was a rebel, refusing to conform to ideas about what black people did and didn't do." Chapter 7, page 95

"'Because he's a piece of you,' she said, 'and if you don't find him you won't find yourself.'" Chapter 7, page 101

Connections:

Trevor loved his dog so much, and even described the dog to be "the love of [his] life." I feel similarly about my dog. I raised my dog, I take care of her, and sleep with her in my bed every night. She is my best friend.

"But he'd been with me the whole time. He'd always been proud of me. Circumstances had pulled us apart but he was never not my father." Chapter 8, page 110

Connections:

Trevor has an abusive alcoholic dad and his mother was scared of making him angry. He even said that his mom decided it was "safer for everyone involved not to test his anger." I shared a similar situation. Yay!

Alliteration: "thick as thieves" Chapter 13, page 153

Parallelism: "I was the terror in my family. He was the terror in his family." Chapter 13, page 153

Asyndeton: "an arcade, a cinema, restaurants, South Africa's version of Target, South Africa's version of the Gap." Chapter 13, page 154

Polysyndeton: "They chased and chased and we ran and ran, and it was awesome." Chapter 13, page 155

Anaphora: "I couldn't afford to do anything else, and I couldn't afford to get around any other way." Chapter 13, page 154

"It taught me that it is easier to be an insider as an outsider than to be an outsider as an insider." Chapter 9, page 118

Connections:

In chapter 9, Trevor describes differences between being "colored" racially and being "colored" ethically. This social construct most likely affected mixed people in the future. This further developed the racial issues that apartheid caused in South Africa.

"I felt like someone had taken a gun and shot holes in every part of me. But at the same time some part of me said, 'Well, this just makes sense.' Lorenzo was everything I wasn't. He was popular. He was white." Chapter 10, page 132-133

Connections:

Both me and Trevor had an experience of being humiliated on Valentine's day by the person who was supposed to be our valentines. Only for me, he was the one that asked me and then ditched me later just because he wanted to, while for Trevor, he asked out the girl and then the girl ditched him for someone else.

"I'd preform for them. I'd catch a bit of their conversation, learn more about their group, and then leave. I never overstayed my welcome. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't an outcast. I was everywhere with everybody, and at the same time I was all by myself." Chapter 11, page 141

Connections:

Trevor was a floater friend. Meaning that he had no best friends and didn't have a friend group, he just floated between groups and came and went. I was similar in 6th grade, I had no closest friends and just talked to whoever would talk to me. I was seen as funny by people, but that was because my only conversations with them were surface levels and only contained jokes.

"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. [...] You will never, never know, and it will haunt you for the rest of your days." Chapter 12, page 143

Connections:

In chapter 12, Trevor speaks about having acne so bad it was medically diagnosed. While I never experienced this myself, my best friend has dealt with it her whole life, so I heard about it from a first hand perspective. Trevor didn't have the money to buy medicine or special skincare. Even though my friend did and does, she still struggles as most things do nothing or run the risk of making it worse.

"These people has been so fucked by their construct of race that they could not see that the white person they were looking for was sitting right in front of them." Chapter 13, page 159

Connections:

This chapter speaks about Trevor and his best friend getting into legal trouble. While I cannot relate to getting into legal trouble and having to run from the cops, in this situation, Trevor did something bad and then was never punished for it as no one ever found out, which I have experienced. There have been many instances in my life where I have done something bad and either someone else was blamed or no one found out about it.

"I walked out to his garage, and as soon as I saw his eyes I knew: He was wasted. Fuck. When Abel was drunk he was a completely different person." chapter 14, page 174

"Which is how I'd been dating a girl for over a month---the girl I very much believed was my first girlfriend---without ever having had a single conversation with her." chapter 14, page 178

Connections:

Trevor was set up by his friend to go to a dance with someone, and it went terribly. I have also been set up to go to a dance with someone, and it also went terribly. Like Trevor, the guy I was set up with got lost while driving there, and it became, very awkward.

"People love to say, 'Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime.' What they don't say is, 'And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.'" chapter 14, page 190

"I often meet people in the West who insist that the Holocaust was the worst atrocity in human history, without question. Yes, it was horrific. But I

often wonder, with African atrocities like in the Congo, how horrific were they? The thing Africans don’t have that Jewish people do have is documentation. The Nazis kept meticulous records,

took pictures, made films. And that’s really what it comes down to. Holocaust victims count because Hitler counted them. Six million people killed. We can all look at that number and rightly be horrified. But when you read through the history of atrocities

against Africans, there are no numbers, only guesses. It’s harder to be horrified by a guess." Chapter 15, page 195

Connections:

I am astounded by the Hitler chapter. I can't comprehend that they were educated about Hitler but was unaware just how bad he was. I am shocked.

"For us, the ultimate upgrade was to throw on a slice of cheese. Cheese was always the thing because it was so expensive. Forget the gold standard—the hood operated on the cheese standard. Cheese on anything was money." chapter 16, page 207

"The hood made me realize that crime succeeds because crime does the one thing the government doesn’t do: crime cares. Crime is grassroots. Crime looks for the young kids who need support and a lifting hand. Crime offers internship programs and summer jobs and opportunities for advancement. Crime gets involved in the community. Crime doesn’t discriminate." Chapter 16, page 209

Connections:

Trevor speaks about thinking that there was good and bad, and the hood taught him that there is in between. I have met people that are considered "bad". Like they do drugs or vape or have gotten into a fight, but then they are one of the kindest and friendliest people you have ever met.

"But it doesn’t always work, because you’re giving the kid tough love when maybe he just needs love. You’re trying to teach him a lesson, and now that lesson is the rest of his life." Chapter 17, page 228

"Nelson Mandela once said, 'If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.'" Chapter 17, page 236

Connections:

Trevor's mother knows about his issue and supports him even though he made bad decisions. Even though I have never gotten in legal trouble, my mother supports me through everything and has prepared me for life.

"He’s that guy. He liked to be liked by the world, which made his abuse even harder to deal with. Because if you think someone is a monster and the whole world says he’s a saint, you begin to think that you’re the bad person. It must be my fault this is happening is the only conclusion you can draw, because why are you the only one receiving his wrath?" Chapter 18, page 249

"He only wants a woman who is free because his dream is to put her in a cage." chapter 18, page 253

"It was the most terrifying moment of my life. I had never been that scared before, ever. Because there was no purpose to it—that’s what made it so terrifying. It wasn’t discipline. Nothing about it was coming from a place of love. It didn’t feel like something that would end with me learning a lesson about forging my mom’s signature. It felt like something that would end when he wanted it to end, when his rage was spent. It felt like there was something inside him that wanted to destroy me." chapter 18, page 264

Connections:

Trevor had an abusive alcoholic father and mother who refused to leave for a long long time. I had similar circumstances, my mother refused to leave because of money and the social consequences. It was sad and made my life miserable, much like Trevor.