What Role Does Trevor Noah's Race Play In Born A Crime

In Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime, readers are introduced to the comedian’s childhood and overall life in South Africa. This is done through a series of different chapters, each focusing on a different part of his past. However, in many chapters, Noah brings up a common theme: His race. As a mixed kid in South Africa growing up during Apartheid (and its aftermath), Noah had many issues regarding space; namely where he belongs, where he is allowed, and where he cannot go. These issues raise the question: What role does Trevor Noah’s race play in terms of physical space?

As Noah moves through different schools and systems - both diverse and not - the rising issue of his mixed background becomes more and more apparent. As a younger child at Maryvale,

It changes depending on what is the safest for him in that moment, attesting to his chameleon status. Chameleons do not always blend in, though, and that reflects on Noah as well – specifically in the chapter The Mulberry Tree. He mentions that though Eden Park was full of colored kids, they were all extremely different from him. The children who should understand and connect with Noah the most are the kids that he sticks out to. On page 117, Noah says, “The animosity I felt from colored people I encountered growing up was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to deal with.” He is disliked for keeping his ties to black culture, while also being shamed for accepting his whiteness. The people who should relate to his struggle are, in fact, the people being the meanest to him. Many kids his age resorted to bullying him, and at some points robbing him, all while Noah was waiting with his head in the clouds. As one of the

By far the most notable incident is the one that took place at the mulberry tree. Noah begins taking fruit from the tree, minding his own business around the older colored teens, when they knock berries out of his hands and then quickly escalate to tossing berries and insults at him. This is one of the first incidents to make him run home crying – for once, he is shown that he is not wanted somewhere. For most of his life until that specific point, he had survived by flip- flopping groups and fitting in almost perfectly. Noah’s chameleon disguise didn’t work with these teenagers, and he is not used to this feeling of complete