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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The children of Soweto would yell out "indoda yomlungu!" whenever they passed the author. What does this phrase mean?

2. Who was the only member of the author's family who was willing to use corporal punishment on him?

3. How did Patricia handle "major disputes" (84) with the author?

4. What did Robert show the author after the author tracked him down in Cape Town?

5. What made the author "realize [he] was black" (59)?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the young Trevor Noah explain the comparative length of black church services compared to white church services?

2. Why did the author have trouble learning more about Robert after their reunion?

3. How did South African schools founded by British missionaries differ from Bantu schools founded by Afrikaners, according to the author?

4. How was it possible for Robert to open an integrated restaurant during apartheid?

5. What does the author say he has in common with the other children in Soweto during the story "Trevor, Pray"?

6. How does the author describe the relationship between racism and language in the foreword to "Chameleon"?

7. Why did Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah name her son "Trevor"?

8. What did the author realize about his racial identity after he started attending H. A. Jack Primary?

9. Why does Trevor Noah say that he was "born a crime" (26)?

10. Why does Trevor Noah say the township of Soweto only has two roads leading in and out?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At many different points throughout the collection "Born a Crime," Trevor Noah describes the complications of his racial identity. Write an essay analyzing the role that race played in challenging and facilitating the author's understanding of himself as he grew up.

Essay Topic 2

In several passages within the collection "Born a Crime," Trevor Noah describes the colonial history of South Africa. Write an essay analyzing the role that South Africa's colonial history played in creating the social and economic conditions of the author's childhood, and how these conditions ultimately shaped his identity.

Essay Topic 3

In several passages within the collection "Born a Crime," Trevor Noah describes the role that American media played in his life growing up. Write an essay analyzing the author's use of allusions to American media and what they reveal about the author's perspective towards the events of his life.

(see the answer keys)

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