Abuse

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah looks at the theme of abuse. Throughout the memoir, Trevor reflects on the different types of abuse he has witnessed. First, he talks about the institutionalized abuse enforced by apartheid, and gives the example of law enforcement officers ruining people’s privacy:

There were whole police squads whose only job was to go around peeking through windows—clearly an assignment for only the finest law enforcement officers. And if an interracial couple got caught, God help them. The police would kick down the door, drag the people out, beat them, arrest them. (Chapter 2, p. 28)

The memoir also looks at police abuse, which is closely connected to racism. In the episode where Trevor and his friends from Alexandra are arrested, he recalls that they were never formally processed and that bail was actually a form of bribery (Chapter 16,p. 219).

The book also looks at domestic abuse, which is illustrated by the relationship between Abel and Patricia. Because of his alcoholism, Abel is often violent with Patricia and hits her...