Born a Crime Literary Analysis Essay Example

Nelson Mandela once said, “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the action of human beings.” This quote rings true in Trevor Noah’s memoir Born a Crime.  Throughout this memoir Trevor Noah recounts life during apartheid where he and his family lived in poverty.  Noah acknowledges the difficulties of growing up during the unrest during and after apartheid while keeping the memoir humorous. In his memoir Born a Crime Trevor Noah uses pathos and parallel structure in his anecdote about the mulberry tree to convey the central idea of oppression and poverty.

Trevor Noah uses pathos to convey the central idea of oppression and poverty. For example in chapter nine “The Mulberry Tree” of Born a Crime, Noah says, “He’d made me feel fear, and to get my revenge I’d unleashed my own hell on his world. But I knew I’d done a terrible thing”(125).  This is pathos because Trevor Noah uses his words to form an emotional connection with the readers by showing how he empathized with a kid who had been bullying him. Even though this kid was mean to Trevor Noah he still felt sorry for this kid because both were going through the same hell surrounding apartheid. Pathos is an effective literary device because it helps the readers form a connection with the characters and readers are more likely to remember the words and lessons. Pathos shows the readers and makes them empathize with those who have been through terrible experiences, like apartheid. This is why using pathos helps convey the central idea of oppression and poverty. 

Trevor Noah also uses parallel structure to convey oppression and poverty. For example in Born a Crime Chapter 9 “The Mulberry Tree”, Trevor Noah states, “He was a kid. I was a kid. He was crying. I was crying” (125). This is parallel structure because Noah uses this repeating structure to show that the bully and him are not actually that different. Both grew up with oppression under apartheid and are both struggling to adapt to the end of apartheid and introduction of different cultures and races.  Parallelism is an effective literary device because it emphasizes the similarities between the two boys. Both of them are kids and both are crying so parallel structure relates the two in a simple effective way. This is how parallel structure helps convey the central idea of oppression and poverty.

Throughout Born a Crime, Trevor Noah uses pathos and parellel structure to illustrate the poverty and oppression experienced throughout his childhood in apartheid.  With his humorous insight Noah offers readers a glimpse into his life where he developes empathy for others who have been through and suffered from apartheid because everyone is recovering in different ways.  Trevor Noah uses his memoir to shed light onto how overcoming oppression and poverty can be accomplished through the action and empathy of others.