The book Born a Crime by the famous comedian and political commentator Trevor Noah recollects his life experiences and struggles. The main plot of this book is Noah’s autobiography combined with his thoughts on his life. Noah writes about his upbringing during the Apartheid in South Africa, being a mixed-race child. At that time, his existence was considered a ‘crime’ during these years of extreme racial segregation. By reflecting on these experiences, Noah also questions the moral foundations of the concepts of politics, crime, and law. However, he does not only provide a description of his struggles but teaches the audience a lesson in success and resilience. Despite these unfavorable circumstances, he managed to become a successful entertainer known around the globe. Therefore, this story of Noah becomes the tale of resilience and self-preservation in the face of competing demands and adverse factors.
Every story of resilience and success starts with a struggle. In the case of Noah, his major challenge was his own existence during the Apartheid. Noah (2016) writes, “Because a mixed person embodies that rebuke to the logic of the system, race mixing becomes a crime worse than treason” (p. 21). Thus, he explains how his perception of crime and law has been different since his early childhood. It is often assumed that morality is connected to the basics of law. However, in the life of Noah, he realizes that people can make laws that are immoral at their core, as no moral law can outlaw the existence of an innocent child. Therefore, the crime and punishment become morally unjust but, at the same time, lawfully permissible, making it a definition of competing demand. This conflict makes self-preservation a core necessity in Noah’s life. In some way, the realization of the immorality of the segregation law becomes part of his self-preservation strategy. Noah does not label himself a criminal and surrender to the racist regime but strives to survive or, in other words, self-preserve.
Moreover, self-preservation is also reflected in different aspects of Noah’s life. The realization of the immorality of segregation does not hinder Noah but drives his free-thinking, which leads to the development of his career as a comedian. It allows him to know how to express people’s discontent with the current politics and the overall state of the world. Noah (2016) writes, “I don’t regret anything I’ve ever done in life, any choice that I’ve made. But I’m consumed with regret for the things I didn’t do, the choices I didn’t make, the things I didn’t say” (p. 143). It would be easy for Noah to submit to the fears, considering his traumatic childhood experiences. However, he chooses the risk of failure to be part of his life instead of inactivity. It shows his levels of resilience, and, in a way, it is a part of his self-preservation strategy. In a world full of competing demands, like in the case of segregation, Noah chooses self-preservation by taking the risk of speaking up. He realizes that being outspoken is crucial to change the world so that his existence will not ever again become a ‘crime’.
Overall, Noah’s book Born a Crime provides a valuable resource for not only studying the perspective of a survivor of the Apartheid but also tells the story of resilience and self-preservation. His unique journey starts with the dilemma of conflicting demands between his own existence and segregation law. Noah chooses self-preservation, which leads him not to surrender to fear but to develop necessary critical thinking skills and outspokenness. In a way, his life mission and career have roots in self-preservation to convince the world to eliminate competing demands that stem from the immorality of racism.
Reference
Noah, T. (2016). Born a crime: Stories from a South African childhood. Doubleday Canada.