Below is a link to “Chameleon,” a chapter from Trevor Noah’s autobiography Born a Crime.
Please read and respond to the prompt in the comments section below:
What is the main idea, or driving claim, that Trevor Noah is trying to convey in this chapter? Do you think he is effective? Please point to one specific example from the text that shows why he has succeeded (or failed) in making his point. You don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining the example; just refer to it briefly, and explain why you think it works, or doesn’t work.
Trevor Noah’s main point in this chapter of Born A Crime is that for him, growing up, he did was neither here nor there. The white kids did not make him feel like he belonged, and the black people would treat him like royalty. He was bothered. He wanted to be part of his family, fully embraced in it, and wanted them to see him like he saw everyone else. At the end of the chapter, Trevor Noah describes how he did in fact belong with his older members of his family, like his grandmother, who did not hit him when he hurt his cousins ear because he was white. Eventually, he felt as though he belonged with them. Trevor Noah seems to be trying to get the point across that like him, we should all view skin color as simply “colors…like white and black and brown were like types of chocolate…[not having] anything to do with ‘race’” (54, Noah).
In Trevors Noahs, “Chameleon”, he is explaining what his life was like in South Africa as a mixed kid. The most interesting part to me was how his race affected his family. You would think that his family could careless about his race but that wasn’t the case because everyone treated him differently except for his mother. His grandmother would beat his cousins and not him. Aside from the physical abuse that causes, you have to also think about what kind of message that sends to his cousins especially at such a young age. More than likely they interpreted as them being inferior to a white person and they were quickly able to see that white people weren’t punished for their actions. This affects how they will view and feel about any white people they come in contact with and I can’t imagine that interaction being any good.
Trevor Noah attempts to convey the idea that speaking someone’s native language is a way to combat racism and uses a childhood anecdote about almost being mugged by a group of boys who speak Zulu. But Mr. Noah speaks to them in their language and says “They looked shocked for a moment, and then they started laughing”. Mr. Noah is able to convey in this one instance that language helped him avoid being targeted based on his “race”. I believe that it works as it makes sense that if you speak someone’s native tongue, with no accent, that they would accept you as one of them.
Trevor Noah talked about his struggles of growing up in a segregated society. He did this by touching on the topic of racism in a lighthearted way. Noah was successful in conveying his point to readers because he gave examples of situations he encountered due to the color of his skin. Noah explained that he had trouble finding where he belonged socially. He reflected on the time he was standing in the middle of a school yard and did not know whether to play with the white or black students. At the end of the chapter, he wrote about how he finally found where he belonged. He felt like he did fit in with the white children, but he chose to associate himself with the black students.He grew up in a family of black people and felt like he identified more with them.
In “Chameleon”, famed comedian Trevor Noah main point was that as a mixed race kid, he faced trouble while growing up (in his usual humorous way of course). If it wasn’t for his humor, he would not have been able to convey his point. For example, “As a kid, I understood that people were different colors but in my head… we were all just chocolate” put a smile to my face, when he didn’t understand the concept of race as a little kid. The way Trevor Noah words his life always puts a smile to my face. 🙂
In the chapter “Chameleon” Trevor Noah reveals his struggles with his identity growing up in apartheid South Africa. As a mixed race child Trevor was treated like a celebrity in his village with made up of black people yet he couldn’t blend in with white people either. He learned to speak multiple languages and used this skill to become a chameleon. Although he didn’t associate himself as either black or white he used language to “change [the] perception of [his] color” (Noah 56). The idea of being a chameleon to blend in with whoever he was around was conveyed through his experience in school. He tried to fit in with the white kids but found himself more comfortable with black kids because they embraced him for being Trevor not for being a part of their tribe. A chameleon changes colors to blend in with their environment but they always turn back into their original color. So, although Trevor Noah was a chameleon he chose to be black because he was raised in a black environment with black culture and a black family despite his father being white.
In the chapter “Chameleon” from the book “Born a Crime” Trevor Noah discloses the privileges and his struggles of growing up as a mixed-race boy in apartheid South Africa. His multiracial background though gave him the advantages others weren’t as so entitled to, also led to a consequential identity crisis later on in his childhood. Spending most of his early life as the neighborhood celebrity, Noah eventually realized just how much his skin made him an outsider in his own home. He went out of his way to learn the different languages of his culture to show that belonged to the community. He notes that though he was figuratively a chameleon he only planned on changing the perception others had of him. Noah went on to use his skills in school where he realized that he mostly identified with the “people around [him] and the people around him were [black.]” (pg.59). Through this chapter, he successfully conveyed that his mixed-race gave him the opportunity to choose his own identity yet he still chose the familiarity of being black over the advantages of any other race.
Trevor Noah was born as a mixed child as his father is white while his mother is black. Growing up was a unique experience for him because as he grew up in a black household he would witness his cousins being punished for crimes he too committed but, was never punished as he was seen and treated as white. The main idea Trevor was trying to convey in this chapter is the language you speak defines you more than the color you are. In school Trevor experienced a moment where “They were confused at first. Because of my skin color, they thought I was a colored person, but speaking the same languages meant that I belonged to their tribe” (pg 58). This shows that Trevor succeeded in making his point as what made the other kids accept him even though he was light skinned was his ability to speak their languages. Being able to speak their native languages defined Trevor in their eyes as being one of them. I believe that Trevor Noah’s driving claim works because through his life experiences in the chapter he points out again and again how speaking someone’s language has made them more accepting towards him even though he was seen as a white child around blacks.
The main idea that Trevor Noah is trying to convey in this chapter is the idea that one can change peoples perception of them through the languages they speak. Noah refers to how his mother used various tongues to navigate the world and handle situations, as well as giving examples of times when he did the same. One was when he talked about over hearing a group of Zulu guys talking about robing him, when he confronted them in their language they felt no need to attack him because by speaking as them he was like them. He gives other examples showing the same situations, these help convey his main idea to the audience well.
The main point that Trevor Noah is trying to convey in the chapter “Chameleon” is the idea that as a mixed child growing up in apartheid era South Africa, he was never viewed as the same by most other people initially due to the color of his skin but through the use of language he was able to bridge the gap between them and find his way. Despite my disdain for Noah’s late night show, I find the way this was written to be a very insightful look into his life and the reality during this time period. I think we was truly able to showcase his point when he recalled the group of Zulu guys attempting to rob him as well as with the conversation he had with his counselor on the last page. At first he learned the languages out of necessity, but as he got older the languages became part of his identity and led him to realize the situation of his country and pick a side.
The idea that Trevor Noah is portraying in this sense is that the belief of racism causes differences among others people with different ethnicities and background. Especially coming from a time in South Africa to where segregation was far worst than what the United States had. He wrote another novel “Born a Crime” which talks about how he (Trevor Noah) is considered illegal in South Africa simply because his father was white and his mother is black, and that’s the purpose on why he is considered a camilieon because he is from two races. But the important factor from this book is how Trevor states that “Racism is stupid” because it teaches us the differences about each other. He also states that “Language brings with it an Identity and Culture…A shared language says we are the same. A language barrier says We are different.” The idea that Noah is presenting is that racism tricks us easily because someone is incapable of doing the things that we can do but we should also understand that we are also incapable of doing the things that they naturally do, such as speaking their foreign language. To sum up humanity, we are all the same, we are all incapable and capable of certain things that we adapt too. Rather than criticizing someone for doing something different we should get along with it or understand it because the world contains many elements in humanity that every individual hasn’t discovered yet. In other words, Trevor Noah did a great job explaining how racism can easily get to us because of how different they are, especially using the Mexican Scientist as an example to show that he is a genius in science but people with different backgrounds won’t see him like that because of the language that he speaks naturally. It’s more like don’t judge a person by its looks.
The main idea Trevor portrays in this chapter is how color and language affect ones view on racism. I believe Trevor is very effective in portraying this conclusion with us the reader by giving real life examples of how he “tricks” racism into his favor by speaking the same language and accent of those he talks to allowing him to form a connection to people despite racist thoughts that would otherwise sever those connections. This was best shown when Trevor explained that he “became a chameleon. My color didn’t change, but I could change your perception of my color…Maybe I didn’t look like you but if I spoke like you i was you.”. This works by showing an explanation of what exactly he dose by speaking the same language as the people with such racist points of view he can change them for him specifically by forging a connection with them via a common language/linguistic style.
Trevor Noah’s driving claim is that growing up as a mixed race child was difficult due to situations that life presented. There were times where he had to define whether he was black or white while dealing with a segregated society. He faced many differences and obstacles in defining who he was not only at home but in school and mentally. Trevor Noah conveys his message by primarily explaining how life was at home. Even his home life was influenced by his skin color. One example is when his grandmother fears to reprimand him and hit him because since he’s lighter there will be traces of her abuse. This works towards his main idea because it shows how an environment where you’re supposed to feel comfortable and safe isn’t available for him. This also contributes to his disobedience at a young age. Being lighter than his family allowed him to get away with his actions. This influenced his childhood in a way were he began to understand segregation and racism. He began to experience the differential treatment because of his skin color.
The main idea that Trevor Noah is trying to convey in this chapter is the role of skin color and language effected people’s perception of him. He explains how his lighter skin let him get away with more privilege in society and even in his own home growing up. He also touches upon language and how language can help unite people or separate them further. What helped him bridge the ‘race gap’ in his neighborhood was language, and he quickly learned, ‘language more than color defines who you are to people”. (56 Born A Crime) Being light skinned and speaking many languages he felt like a chameleon, able to adapt to his surroundings and blend in with almost anyone. I believe that he is effective in making his point, and I believe it does work because he can use this to enlighten and educate people on racism.
The main point in Trevor Noah’s exerpt is that language has the ability to “defeat” racism. He illustrates this when he speaks of being able to avoid violent situations from other tribes by speaking their language. I think this is an effective because it shows that language can bring people together and show that they’re not different.
In this chapter, Trever Noah’s main point is how color and race affects people’s lives in a segregated country. Trever Noah also talks about how language can affect the way people are treated. While reading this chapter, it was interesting to see how differently a mixed child was treated then a fully African American child was. “Because I don’t know how to hit a white child” (page 52), is an example of how differently lighter skin children were treated. As said in the text, it was normal to hit a black child however, when the topic of hitting a light skin child came up it was not known to well. Trever Noah is very effective because in his writing he gives a lot of life experiences which allows the reader to understand what was really going on. For example, in the chapter, Trever heard Zulu guys trying to rob him, as he confronted them he spoke in their language. The Zulu guys automatically did not attack because Trever was speaking their language.
Trevor Noah’s main idea in his chapter, “Chameleon”, is that in his childhood he had struggles trying to identify himself in the environments that he was around. Being that Trevor Noah grew up in a portion of the Apartheid era in South Africa, him being of mixed race and in a very diverse area such as South Africa led to him being judged in many ways. He is very effective in conveying his main idea especially with his use of explaining his many personal experiences but specifically his experience in his school H.A Jack. In this school he realizes that when given the choice to be with any group he felt most comfortable amongst the blacks. This is when he ultimately found his real identity as being black after a life of confusion.
In this chapter, Trevor Noah drives the idea that language is more important in a society than the color of ones skin, as it determines whether or not people feel comfortable with one-another. He gives examples from his own life, which happen to be extremely effective at conveying his point as he uses honesty and humor in his stories of how language allowed him to be apart of his culture in South Africa, despite the fact that he was of a lighter skin tone than anyone else in his community. An example of this is on page 55, in which he describes he was walking one night and a group of Zulu guys began to close in and him, and he could hear them talking about how they were gonna rob him because he was white. Rather than attempt to run away, he turned around and said “Yo, guys, why don’t we just mug some one together? I’m ready. Let’s do it.” This response, in the language they spoke and most likely grew up with, made them realize that Trevor is one of them, as they all spoke the language of the same tribe.