The Consequences Of Poverty In Trevor Noah's Born A Crime

Wealth is a possession that many individuals inherit, yet Trevor Noah 's memoir, Born a Crime shows that he worked against all odds in order to gain his wealth. Beginning with his birth as an illegal child, he and his mother were at a disadvantage. As such, she had to hide him from society because if the police caught him, she would face imprisonment. Poverty did not help his situation. In fact, it made him put his plans of getting a university education on pause, and caused him to engage in criminal activities. When a child is constantly at risk and suffers from poverty their life becomes tough, but adding abuse to the situation makes it even tougher. His abuse, in particular, illustrates that danger could come in different forms, from a bus driver to a

Trevor Noah’s mother tried so hard to save him from reality, but it could never be enough as many dangerous people threatened his life. In the first chapter of this memoir, Trevor tells of how he had to jump out of a bus and run for his life with his mother; if the bus driver caught him, he may have died that day (). The environment that Trevor grew up in was unsafe specifically because many men in South Africa abused their power, one of these men was his stepfather Abel. Particularly, Abel used to beat Trevor and caused him and his mother physical and emotional pain. In addition, Abel spent all of his money on alcohol, and he shot Trevor’s mother. Although Trevor’s mother tried to report her abuse, the police remained patriarchal and did not arrest Abel or file her accusations. In South Africa “a woman is either raped or battered every four minutes.” () These women, are also victims of patriarchal society in South Africa as women are still suffering under men. Through this all, Trevor was able to move on with his life and pursue his career. His mother couldn’t help him overcome his traumatic experiences, yet because of his upbringing and optimistic attitude, he was able to move on, and even find humor in