Born a Crime

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. 5 to 1 (Chapter 1)

2. 4 nights each week (Chapter 1)

3. Afrikaners (Chapter 2)

4. Swiss and German (Chapter 2)

5. Noah’s grandfather on his mother’s side, named Temperance Noah (Chapter 3)

6. A chameleon (Chapter 4)

7. A Bantu school (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. The Zulu were known for being warriors, while the Xhosa were known for being more intellectual/scholarly. Each group had different privileges conferred upon them by their white oppressors, thus keeping them from coming together as a unified front. Rather than banding together to fight their common enemy, each group blamed the other for a problem that neither group created. (Chapter 1)

2. Because, as they are coming home from church, Noah’s mother gets into a confrontation with their minibus driver. The minibus driver is Zulu, while Noah’s mother is Xhosa—two warring tribes in South Africa. The driver, essentially, calls Noah’s mother a “whore” and implies that he is going to rape her. So, Noah’s mother tells Noah and his baby brother that, when the minibus slows down, they are going to jump out in order to escape.