Humor

The incidents Noah narrates in the first few chapters highlight how he uses funny or dramatic moments to give a personal insight into the realities of life in South Africa. Although apartheid was set up to allow white colonial powers to dominate and oppress the non-white population, much of the day-to-day tension and violence Noah experiences results from tensions between different non-white groups. The memoir's first episode shows him, his mother, and his baby brother being endangered not by white men, but by Black men who belong to a different tribe. One of the particularly toxic consequences of colonialism and apartheid was the way it led to power struggles between groups who were simultaneously being oppressed by the white ruling elites. Since apartheid ends when Noah is quite a young child, his early life is more impacted by the indirect fallout of violence and power struggles between different Black African groups than direct conflict with white individuals. Noah first explains this reality to readers, and then gives a vivid dramatic episode in which his mother throws him out of a moving car. The episode makes a factual reality more vivid and memorable. It also shows how Noah and his mother find humor in challenging and dangerous situations. The incident is one in which they could all have been killed; Noah doesn't shy away from admitting that reality, but he also doesn't dwell on it.