Born a Crime

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2016

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-14

Chapters 15-18

Key Figures

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Book Club Questions

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Food

Content warning: This section of the guide discusses racism and apartheid.

Food is symbolic of a person’s wealth, or lack thereof. This is best represented by the idea of the “cheese boys” (207). In Alexandra, basic food is cheap, but a person can make the basic food more delicious by adding extras. The extras cost money, and the most expensive extra is cheese. Therefore, if a person can afford cheese, they are wealthier than others. Noah says that in a place where people can’t afford nice cars or fancy clothing, a necessity like food, or a luxury food item like cheese, shows how much money someone has.

This idea is also seen when Noah lives at the garage with his mom and Abel. When the business is failing, they survive by eating Mopane worms, the cheapest food available in South Africa. Mopane worms will allow someone to survive, but the worm spines poke a person’s mouth and, according to Noah, don’t taste good.

The CD Writer

For Noah, the CD writer becomes symbolic of empowerment and Defiance of Oppression. Noah always had a natural predilection for business, but without his friend Daniel giving him the CD writer, he never would have had the means to create a successful business. Noah equates his friend Daniel’s gift with the metaphor of not just “teaching a man to fish,” but instead giving him a fishing rod. That is, it’s not enough to teach a person to fish without access to the necessary tools because he will never be able to implement the skills he needs to survive. Noah applies this idea to society at large. Talent alone will get people nowhere; they also need the resources to bring the talent to life. Having a CD writer allowed Noah to implement his skills, make money, and ultimately have a better life.

The Matric Dance

Noah constantly looks forward to the matric dance throughout the text, which is his school’s version of prom. It is a motif that represents coming of age amid sociopolitical turbulence. While the home lives of Noah and his friends are complex, and he and his friends suffer the effects of institutionalized racism, they look forward to a common event that shifts their focus to more personal issues, such as teen acne and asking someone on a date. Through this motif, Noah juxtaposes the legacies of apartheid with quotidian teenage events, suggesting that people still have more mundane personal concerns to deal with regardless of what is happening around them.

The dance is also a microcosm for interaction among people of different ethnicities. When Noah finally gets a date, she speaks a language that no one else speaks, and she can’t enjoy the dance. This highlights Language as a Cultural Tool as only people who can communicate with one another can fully interact in a positive way at the dance.