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Born a Crime - English Lecture

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Oh, hi. How are you? What's been going

on? You having a good day?

>> Keeping busy, lots of things to think

about, bit stressed over sex and things

like that. Okay. Well, I'm glad you

came. You know, it's a pretty hard time

of year to be able to turn up to these

kind of events. Um, and it's great to

see so many of you here. um because I

know that a lot of you are under that

kind of stress of sachs. There are a lot

of sacks at the moment and I talked to a

lot of you privately as a student

manager and and we're a lot of you are

worried right now and that's good. Um

which is why today's session is designed

to be really productive and really

positive and really driven to give you

something that's going to be useful on

Tuesday. Okay, so that's our purpose

today. Now, as always with these sessions,

sessions,

um the basic rules of respect apply. Um

you are here, as painful as sometimes it

might be for you, to listen to us, and

we are not here to listen to you. So,

it's a bit of a one-way relationship

today. Um so, I do ask that you are

super respectful of every panel member

today. It's totally appropriate to put

your hand up and ask a question. it's

completely reasonable to stay back

afterwards to ask some follow-up

questions, and a few of us will stick

around to do that. Um, but when the

panel is talking, it is being recorded.

We've got some new mics here, which I'm

guessing are more sensitive, so they're

going to pick up more ambient sound if

you're whispering and talking,

especially if you're right next to a

microphone that's got a sorry, camera

that's got a big microphone on it. Um,

so please just try to be respectful of

that. Um, there will be times during the

session where I'll stick a timer on,

you'll start planning out a topic

together, and you'll be able to talk to

each other. they're great, they're fun,

the energy gets really high, and then I

got to bring it back down again. And so,

please just help me do that. And if you

hit a point during this lecture where

you're like, actually, I need to go for

some reason. If you think you're going

to leave early, I'd ask you to move now

to that side of the room so that you can

leave quietly without being disruptive.

Um, but if you do find yourself in a

place where you're like, actually, this

isn't working for me right now. I find

myself just talking to people around me

instead. Um, I would urge you to

reconsider staying under those

circumstances because it will be

disruptive to the people around you. Um,

and like I said, we're all a little bit

stressed or you're a little bit stressed

at the moment and that's a time when we

can kind of lose sight of that. And so,

let's try to maintain that that high

level of respect and kind of kindness to

each other. Um, cuz it'll probably work

out better for everybody. Um, with that

said, let's get started. Welcome to the

Born a Crime action-packed topic

unpacking lecture. Woo.

Woo.

So, I thought we might need a boost. So,

what I went with this year for the last

lecture of the year is the last lecture

in our series, I think. Um, is something

to try a little bit fun. So, I know that

um Born a Crime is a text that's driven

a lot by pop culture references. So, I

thought, hell, my favorite pop culture

references are movies from the ' 80s

about action. So, we're doing action

movies today. It's every action star

that I love from my childhood. And we're

going to enjoy them together as we

answer some complex topics on Born a Crime.

Crime.

So, um we're not going to do like an

introducing the panel today. I'm going

to let you introduce yourselves as you

talk later on because we actually have a

lot of teachers with us today. We've got

nine teachers um who are presenting

today, which is quite a few voices. Um

which is really important to remember. A

really big part of these sessions is

that you get to hear from someone other

than your teacher. So, when you hear

things today and you go, "Ah, that's not

what my teacher said." Um that doesn't

mean that what you heard today was

better. It doesn't mean that what you

heard today was worse. It just means

that what you heard today was different.

And different is usually good um because

it gives you a chance to have new

perspectives and new concepts especially

when it comes to argument ideas or

examples because we are fallible and

this book is 300 pages long and I can't

speak for every teach in the room but I

haven't done every page with my class

and you probably haven't either but

we've probably done some different

things along the way so it's good to

hear about those things in this kind of

a setting. Um so it's going to be a

really good experience if we work well

together. Let's give a big round of

applause to our first panel.

the victims as it were. Um, and before

we start, we do have some general tips

that we wanted to share with you

alongside some amazing sequences of my

favorite action movies. Points at home,

if you can name them. Um, there are a

few things that we think generally are

worth thinking about. Um, we think it's

really important when you're working

with a topic, if it's not a question,

maybe turning into a question be really

helpful to help you figure out how you

might take it. Also, doing some

rephrasing can be really useful. looking

having your dictionary with you, which

you should all bring to this sack, so

you can look up potential words that

relate to the topic that you're dealing

with that might help you see some

different ideas. Um, you have to have a

contention in your essay. You have to

have an overall answer to the question.

If it says, "Do you agree?" and you

don't tell us whether you agree or not,

that is a fundamental issue. If it says

discuss, and you don't talk about more

than one perspective, that's a

fundamental issue. Um, and if it says

how and you don't talk about the ways

that the author has actually constructed

the text, that is a fundamental issue.

And so you do need to be thinking about

how you're actually going to answer

those particular questions.

Um, another point that we wanted to note

here is that there are lots of different

ways of answering questions. You're

going to see lots of different

approaches today. Whether it's the

causes, consequences, exceptions

approach or the societal personal

interpersonal approach or the part one,

part two, part three of the book

approach, um, or the initially as

progresses ultimately approach or the

childhood, middleage, adulthood to some

extent approach. whatever approach you

choose, they are all valid and they all

work and they all have something in them

that is useful and you can mix and match

them as much as you like. Um because

that's kind of what makes this kind of

interesting and fun. And so even though

you might hear particular structures

today from particular teachers, that

doesn't mean it's the only way to do it.

Doesn't even necessarily mean it's the

best way for you to do it. Um there are

lots of ways to do this. And a big part

of the next few weeks for you is

figuring out a way that's going to work

for you. Um and that's what we want you

kind of really being exposed to today.

Um, and the last point that I'll note

before we move on is don't just answer a

topic, interrogate it. Ask, well, what

if not? Or what's another way of

thinking about it? Or how can I

challenge this in some way? You know, if

if the topics, you know, Trevor Noah

says racism is bad, which let's be

honest, is not a topic we're going to

give you. That's probably a little bit

too simplistic. Um, but it's really easy

for us to go, okay, well, can I argue

that there's some aspects of it that

were beneficial in some way or there was

some way of thinking about it that had

some aspect to it that might be

interestingly different. Maybe not

beneficial, that might be the wrong

word. Um,

>> yeah, we're definitely recording it. Um,

but something that shows a slightly

different take on it.

>> Maybe for something to fight back

against or to teach you how better to

think about not being racist. There you

go. That's a benefit. Um, all right,

let's do it. We're going to jump right

in with our first topic today. Our first

topic brought to you by Mel Gibson in

Braveheart. She was a rebel, refusing to

conform to ideas about what black people

did and didn't do. The willingness of

people to rebel against authority and

expectation drive Noah's memoir,

Disgust. Now, as always, I'm going to

give you a period of time that is

relatively random. Today, we're going to

go with 84 seconds. You have 84 seconds,

everyone in the room, to think about how

you might go about handling this topic.

>> If I have this [Music]

internalized racism.

You're so

>> 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Before my panel starts, I will note that

like many topics you'll see today, this

one has a quote in it. And if you get a

quote in your topic, you do have an

obligation to try and find a way to

incorporate that quote in some way in

your response. Good thing to remember.

Take it away, panel.

>> Okay. Hi everyone. My name is Miss

Anton. I'd like to thank Mr. Hunt and

the the team for inviting me along. I'm

really honored and pleased to be here

and I wish you all the very best as you

navigate the last couple of months. I'm

sure you're going to do very well.

reading that quote, she was a rebel

refusing to conform to ideas about what

black people did and didn't do. That's a

direct reference to Patricia, who I

really love in this memoir, in this um text.

text.

Patricia, as we know, is a very

religious woman and she was guided by

God in her everyday life and saw him as

This is highlighted in chapter six

loopholes where Noah um highlights this

and therefore she contradicted or

ignored the laws of the land.

So Noah was guided by his mother's

normal sorry moral compass and rebel we

first see in chapter 2 born a crime

where she refuses to work in a factory

and take orders from a white lady all day.

day.

So immediately we are positioned to view

Patricia as an independent strong woman.

She cleverly enrolls in a secretarial

course. And lucky for her, the

government has decided to change its

policies because they're being

criticized um globally for their

apartheid, the the racist regime that

that that they're basically um expecting

people to follow.

um she chooses to leave her Soetto home

and moves to Johannesburg where where it

is illegal for black people to live. So

there's another rebel act sorry of hers.

She illegally participates in the

underground parties which I loved

reading. Um and she was a regular at

Hillbrow Hillbrow Tower, sorry, where

there's a revolving revolving dance

floor on the top floor and she's booging

the night away. love it.

So Noah elucidates that his mother

rejected the expectations placed upon

her as a woman and also as a black

person. From there on, she chooses to

have a union with the white man that she

chooses to spend her time with, a Swiss

German expat, Robert, and she says to

him, "I want a child. I want a kid." And

she basically forces him to have a a

child with no expectations placed on him.

him.

She says she wanted, sorry, Noah says

she wanted something that would love her

unconditionally in return. Page 63.

That's in chapter 5. And he says, I was

a product of her search for belonging.

So you can write so much with this

quote. I love Patricia and I think she's

um she's the best and she was a great

example for Noah. She raises him as a

white child, sends him to the best

schools that she possibly could,

constantly breaking the law. Um and so

on. So look into her. She's a very

strong character obviously and a key a

key part. But no is a product of her.

All the best. Thank you.

>> Well, you've got a lot of examples

there, so I might just give you like my

prompt breakdown just to make it a

little um quicker for both of us to go.

Um so, the way I looked at this, I I I

really focused maybe a little too much

on the drives Noah's memoir part of it.

Um, so I kind of thought quickly about

what drives um, somebody to rebel and

what that does. So I kind of came up

with an idea that this this I guess

desire or willingness to rebel um, is is

really a source of potential liberation

in the text. And that's kind of what

Patricia is pushing. There's an

individuality that can be established by

by rebellion. And she teaches that to

him. And rebellion doesn't have to be

just, you know, acts of against

authority or whatever, but other things.

So, I kind of I split that idea up into

three things. And one of them was sort

of this initial resistance of

classification against authority. All

right? So, you know, the text opens with

the the immorality act and that he's

he's illegal and they go through the

childhood where, you know, they're

they're um classified as mixed, colored,

black, you know, all these things. Those

are at the outset and and the resistance

of those ter the resistance of those uh

classifications are set up at the

beginning of the text and how the mother

also resisted those classifications as

much as she could throughout. Then I

looked at it like um the con confines of

one's environment. Okay. So, you might

be in these types of conditions, you

know, poor, um, no access to leave

areas, but she had a car, she moved, she

took him to different churches, you

know, so not letting the environment

drive their behavior or their decisions

or their um, you know, their their sort

of aspirations, right? So, those sort of

the first two ways I kind of thought of

it, but this this idea to liberate

oneself and not to let things hold them

down. And then finally, I kind of split

it up into um you know, the expectations

imposed upon you from the life that

you're supposed to have, don't be

limited by those. And I think that's a

central message that the the mother kind

of instilled in him. So it says

characters, which is a little bit of a

throw, the willingness of people. It's

really his mother in him and I guess his

dad to a degree, too. I mean, he did,

you know, go against that. Um, my my one

hang up with that is I'd have to design

the question around his his mother and

her, you know, sort of the way she did

all this and then how he did it as well

and how that informed him going forward.

Getting other people in the text, I

think, is a little trickier, but um, I'm

not saying it's impossible. All right,

I'll shut up now. Mr. Florence, you can go.

[Applause]

Um so I've sort of taken a little bit of

a similar approach and put together a

bastardized version of what both Miss

Anton and Mr. Papilicus have spoken

about. Um one thing that I've been

talking about with my class is that it

doesn't work for every single topic but

for a lot of these topics if you can go

in sort of being prepared to for your

first body paragraph just to be a bit of

an outline of here is the situation in

relation to the topic. And so for this

one it is here is South Africa in

relation to the topic. So that early on

he establishes that South Africa both

apartheid and post-aparttheide um was

this society where rebellion was

necessary uh to survive to function to

get food to get a job etc. people needed

to uh rebel um so I think if it doesn't

work for every topic but this is a bit

more broad ad uh advice for you. If you

can be ready with something like that,

um it might help you in the sack or the

exam. But that's going to be my first

body paragraph is that um essentially

wide authorities have established this

world and this system um where

restrictions are in place and um as Miss

Anton noted, Trevor's existence in

itself is an act of rebellion. Um so you

can talk about things on a very large

scale there. Um, and then what that

allows you to do is uh later on in the

essay talk about this notion that the

story of South Africa is sort of

reflected in the story of Trevor. He

tells both stories. They're intertwined

closely. Um, I would then probably move

on in the second party body paragraph to

move on to look largely at Patricia and

the way that she goes through those

social expectations. Um, so I actually

as soon as I read this quote, I was

trying to find it and I was like, "Mr.

Hunt, that's a typo. that quote's not

correct. It's not. It is correct. But

what I found is that there is a quote

that is almost identical um from a

different part of the section. Both are

talking about um Patricia on it's page 74.

74.

>> No, it's not the cat. I don't know what

the cat is. Um

>> the cat.

>> It's um page 73. My mom raised me as if

there were no limitations on where I

could go or what I could do. Sorry. She

refused to be bound by ridiculous ideas

of what black people couldn't or

shouldn't do. Like it's almost

identical, but it's from a different

section, but it clearly is um part of

this ongoing not motif, but narrative of

um her breaking these laws all the time.

Um so I'm going to be talking about that

this idea of she has that great quote.

It's on 74 as well. Um that even if he

knows the world, uh even sorry, if

that's all he sees, it will be enough.

He needs to know that the world is not

the ghetto. um she wants to show him

things of white people um as he puts it.

Um so talk about that social

expectation. If I'm trying to really

show off to an assessor, I'm going to

note that there's a bit of irony here

regarding Patricia that she is a rebel.

She is um socially disobedient, but at

the exact same time, she is incredibly

adherent to rules of Christianity. Um

she's really devout. Um she's constantly

arguing with Trevor about rules and how

we need to be following the rules of God

and Jesus, etc. yet when it comes to

other rules, rules that she views as

injust and wrong, um she is very willing

to go against them. And that's going to

be my final point that um ultimately

Trevor No is effectively saying that um

ultimately it's it's good and it's

healthy to question injustice and to

question things that aren't fair and to

question what's legally wrong or morally

wrong. um he's saying that it's a good

thing and he lives that and um we've

I've been encouraging my class where you

can to come back to his his main

messages to his western audience and I

think that's one thing that he's trying

to do is to encourage his western

audience um to question those things to

challenge injustice uh whether that be

something huge and big like apartheid

all the way down to not being able to

have communion um and that these are

yeah good things for an individual to do

that's it >> amazing

>> amazing [Applause]

Two final thoughts for me is just kind

of curious examples that might spark a

different idea. The two examples I'm

thinking of with this topic uh the

letters that Noah and Patricia passed to

each other when they were arguing as

like she was trying to instill certain

expectations in him and he rebels

against those pretty regularly and his

whole childhood is driven by I refused

to accept the kind of rules that my

mother was imposing on me as she was

refusing to accept the rules that were

imposed on her by society. And sorry on

that. Someone pointed out today that she

starts every single one of those letters

with a Bible verse. Yes,

>> that is her law. That is what she is not

willing to rebel against, but everything

else she is, whereas Trevor's almost converse,

converse,

>> which kind of illustrates that it's not

they're always they're all they're not

always willing to rebel against

authority. Sometimes they are

conforming, which allows for that kind

of different thought. The other one I

was thinking about was Robert's

restaurant. It's like a curious example

of an attempt to kind of rebel by doing

something different and authority

crushing you. And so there might be a

conversation around things like well

it's not just the willingness of people

to rebel um that drives memoir but also

the fact that it doesn't always work and

that sometimes it's unsuccessful and

>> Yeah, I know I'm not on the panel right

now but um just bouncing off what other

people have said. You were saying sorry

Mr. P has said maybe it's hard to

sometimes find examples beyond Patricia

and Trevor here. Um, and yes, that is

definitely difficult. I would also be

thinking about the education system. He

says that my mother taught me something

the school didn't teach teach, which is

how to think. And he fights back about

which class he gets put into, right? He

doesn't want to be in class B. So, I

would talk about the school system maybe

as one of the ways that they are

rebelling and that he makes a choice

about where he can go, who's smart,

who's not smart. But the other thing is

is that they um just from the sample um

from last year the in so having the the

like literally like the black market

right because there were certain things

that they were and were not allowed to

do and that is them rebelling against

authority by setting up their own

systems. So they're like we will survive

by doing this because you're not in

you're not enabling us or facilitating

us. So there are other ways like there

just may be people who are not named.

>> Yeah, that entrepreneurship start

everybody. I think it's time to change

places. Big round of applause for our

first panel.

>> Uh who was on the second panel? If you

know you're in the second panel, get on

up. Um Miss Hosking, Miss Dr. Dick.

>> I I am not Miss Spahu. I am in place of

Miss Spe. So this is convenient.

>> Go for it.

>> Look at all these.

Fantastic start. If you didn't take like

a page worth of notes, then you missed a trick.

trick.

>> I definitely heard at least six examples

that I'd kind of forgotten existed in

>> I'm pretty sure that it's um it's

Commando, I think. I think is it Commando?

Commando?

>> It's Schwarzenegger. And um the guy

think of the one who was in

me.

>> All right, here we go. Everybody ready?

We're getting distracted by the films. Um

>> it's Predator.

>> Oh, it is Predator. It's the guy from Predator.

Predator.

It's Predator. Okay.

>> Over the top.

>> 3 2 1. Here we go. Our next topic

brought to us by Charlie's Angels. Uh is

which is really the 70s rather than the

80s. So I guess I lied. Uh women like to

be noticed. Don't just see me when you

need something. The experiences and

hardships of women are the heart of Noah

story of South Africa. Do you agree?

Emphasis on the phrase South Africa. Um

so this is a do you agree? So you got to

actually answer the question. Do you

agree? And as always with the good, do

you agree? The answer is usually to some

extent, but not completely. Um, and so

that's probably where you want to go as

a starting point. Uh, let's see. Let's

go with a 77 seconds. Your time starts now.

Heat. Heat. [Music]

Yeah. Heat.

All right, folks. I think we are ready

This is a more complicated topic than it

seems. Don't get fooled.

>> Um, this one's tough.

>> Oh, no.

>> So, uh, get ready to take some notes.

>> It is.

>> Jump on in.

>> Do you want to jump? I'll start, >> please.

>> please.

>> Great. Hi, everybody. I'm Mrs. Husking.

Lovely to see you all here. Your eager

faces just ready to learn more. It's so

wonderful. Um, so those in my class

today, hey, we we actually looked at

this one in class, but it was like a 7

minute quick run. Um, my initial thought

was what I had in class today

essentially. And I just kind of quickly

typed up some stuff in my notes. Um,

essentially my answer is, do you agree?

Absolutely. There is very little room, I

think, to disagree with something that

says women are the heart of the story

because Patricia and the the girls he

sort of likes and then loses and

ultimately even his, you know, his

grandmother, the women are the only real

visible people in Trevor's life. The men

are nowhere to be seen. They're either

violent or useless. So

she said she said,

>> um, so I find it's really important year

12, don't feel like you have to have an

exception just for the sake of it.

Sometimes it's really easy. And my easy

way out is to see a topic and go, "Yeah,

yeah, yeah, however." Right? Cuz it's

easy. It's beautiful. It's an extra.

It's another paragraph. So quick to do.

But with this one, you're going to

really tangle yourself up into knots

trying to go, "Yeah, but no, it's it's

also about Oh, no. It's what? What if

anything else apart tide apart tide is

the framework aparthe tide is the

foundation however I'm going to caution

you because I genuinely think that part

of Noah's message is to show us how the

personal is political right and how

these huge systems of patriarchy and

apartheid and capitalism they seem

almost like um god-given or or sort of

you know um immovable and Yet they're

actually these ridiculous, absurd little

stupid systems that are very quickly

dismantled with the right kind of

pressure. So I would hesitate to say,

"Oh, but it's also about apartheid and

racism and oppression." Yes, but the

women and their hardships and

experiences are the are the the the lens

through which we see this horrific

society. Okay. Um he bookends the whole

thing with Patricia, the

acknowledgements and the the dedication.

literally almost the exact same phrase

he uses. Every preface kind of links

back to her or history. Um, every single

vignette, every single little story,

it's like, "Oh, my mom did this, then I

did that. My mom said this, then I did

that." It's all about her. Honestly, it

is. If you've listened to any

interviews, everything he talks about

on, you know, the Tonight Show or the

Daily Show or whatever show he was

hosting for a while, he brings it back

to his mom. So it's not just Patricia,

it's the fact that women are the most

disadvantaged in South Africa in terms

of black women. Patricia being a black

woman. I would also discuss the way that

um it's a big yes and it's a big

absolutely and it's a subversion of um

the stories that are usually the ones

told. It's the stories of, you know, the

politicians and the boycots and the

international reaction, but it's these

untold stories of black women

um the that are sort of really um

emphasized here. And then I've just got

some notes and then I'll finish up now.

Um and for me, when I think of examples,

I like to just go with motifs. Love a

good motif. Um love the secondhand car

thing. You know, I like to bring in

those letters that Mr. Hunt mentioned.

You've got to talk about the fact that

it's nonlinear. It's it jumps back and

forth constantly.

And I've also got here one last thing.

Um Oh, the motif of the three

girlfriends, the part one, part two,

part three. You know, the awkward

What's the Yeah, the chapter thing. Um

that little motif is really weird

because it's like, why are you talking

about your high school girlfriends? I

don't care. Tell me about South Africa.

You know, you're born a crime. Give me

the gritty stuff. Give me the real. I

think it's to humanize the fact that

everyone living under oppression is

still just like trying to find a

girlfriend. Like they're just trying to

find a boyfriend. Like they just want to

go out for dinner and get a rose and go

to the dance. It's to humanize someone

like Trevor and Patricia where we're

like, "Oh, those poor black people. Oh,

they're so oppressed." No. And yes,

they're just people. and we cannot begin

to stereotype them and and look at them

as as tokens of, you know, um saving

these poor South Africans. Um and then

lastly, it's a big yes. And um it's

about a radical subversion of the usual

stories being told and then I might, you

know, use a few motifs there, but I

don't know how you disagree. Give it a

go, Mazro.

>> I'll say I'll I'll tell you how we

disagree. Um, no. And this is great

because I actually sent Miss Hosking

like and like we're both super feminist.

We are. Okay. So, this is this is why

this is interesting. Um, there are lots

of bits to this question. Okay. And I

think that's what Mr. Hunt's saying like

that deceptiveness of it. Okay. There's

lots of bits and you've got to not get

distracted by one bit and let that take

you down a path where you don't consider

the other bits. Okay, there is a quote

that is important. There is a quote.

Where's the quote from? Who's it about?

What's the context? yada yada yada.

Okay. Um then there's the experiences

and hardships of women.

That part is something to be

considering. We've got the fact that

that is the heart of the story, but not

just the heart of the story of South

Africa. Okay? It's not just the heart of

his story as his memoir, but his story

about South Africa. So all of Plus,

yeah, do you agree? So there are so many

parts to consider. Um now I I was

listening, but because there were so

many parts, um I really needed to make a

couple of notes. Um the things that I

would say are

um the experiences and hardships of

women are the hardest story. Um look,

not all women, but certainly Patricia

and colored or black women, women of

color. Okay, the the quote is to do with

um sorry, these are very disjointed

notes. This is what happens when I don't

have a pen. The girl Trevor tries to

take out, but he can't speak her

language. I feel like that's from Is

that where that quote's from? Okay. Girls,

Girls,

>> women like to be noticed. Don't just see

me when you need. It is her, but it's in

the context of that chapter, I think.

Okay. So, this idea of she is pretty.

>> Folks, we're losing a little bit of focus.

focus.

>> She is pretty. He wants to take her out,

but he can't. He doesn't even realize

that she speaks another language. And I

think that's where Miss Hosking is also

talking about these girls, particularly

black girls in South Africa. You are

like in terms of the rung in that

society, you're at the bottom. Okay. Um

but but okay, the Africana police

officer when Patricia tries to report

like I want to report a crime my husband

you know who hit you my husband like

your husband and the Africana police

officer and you know he's an Africana

only because if you listen to it he does

an Africana accent. Uh he says what did

you say? Like what did you do? And the

implication from a white police officer

are suffering too. Okay? And it doesn't

say black women, women of color. It just

says women. However, is there enough for

us to talk about that? There is also the

idea of the exotic birds quote. It is

not encouraged for women to be

independent. So that is absolutely an

experience and a hardship of women being

a problem. Um there is also the mothers

and their pain losing their sons. They

talk about what they pray for and it's

like their sons coming home. All right.

So certainly there is this idea of it

being the heart and something that

drives it. But is it everything? No. My

however and I don't think this is

tokenistic. The hardships and

experiences of people in South Africa,

black people in general. Okay. So, think

about the Black Hulk and Trevor talks

about how if you can't speak English

that that can be the difference between

if you're in the dock, the difference

between you getting off with community

service and going to jail. And what

happens to the Black Hulk? No one speaks

his language. He can't speak English.

And this poor man is his experiences and

hardships in South Africa. He's going to

suffer. And Trevor is the only one.

Trevor gets out of jail because he has

English because he has well his mother

in his corner his mother gives him the

tools. So you can keep returning to the

idea of women but certainly and that's

just very minimal notes.

I would I would say yeah all all black

and colored people in South Africa are

experiencing hardship and suffering

because that in South Africa part is

really important. Okay. So that's where

we go with like the yes and or in a

little bit of yes but okay it's not just women.

women.

>> Can't believe I say that.

>> Okay, I'm going to waffle my way through this

this

>> I don't agree.

I don't agree >> because

>> because

functionally for me if we look at the

word heart we can take it to mean two

different things. We can mean the

emotional heart of the story which is

how Miss Hoskins come at it or we can

talk about the sort of the narrative

structural heart of the story which is

how I'm going to look at it. To me this

is fundamentally a story about South

Africa more than it's about Trevor Noah.

So if we discount Trevor No and his

mother to an extent, their experiences

being representative of the experiences

of those kinds of people in South

Africa, we then need to ask ourselves

how do those people get to that point

that they experience South Africa in

that particular way. And this is

something again I'm going to disagree

with Miss Hoskin said that these systems

are easily dismantled. They're not

easily dismantled. That's the whole

point of the memoir.

>> They can be

>> they can be but it takes years and years

and years to unravel them. And the main

point of born a crime to me is that it

one hand it's saying that racism is one

of the stupidest, most illogical,

dumbest things you can do. To dislike

someone just based on the color of their

skin or they look different to you is

idiotic. And humans naturally just

reject that theory.

But to create a system that upholds such

a stupid sort of thought requires an

unbelievable amount of bureaucracy and

complexity that ultimately is really

really really really hard to undo.

So because of that one of the key things

that apathide did was create hierarchies.

hierarchies.

Hierarchies amongst the tribes of

Africa, hierarchies amongst men and women.

women.

So for my mind the experiences and

hardships of women in Noah's story are

central but as a deference of apartheid

thought which elevated men above women

to create further distinctions between

people in society. So for my mind I'm

saying that this is important. It's it's

important structurally as well because

we end on Patricia's shooting at the

hand of a man. We can't overlook that.

But the story also starts

not necessarily um the chapter run

there's a there's a sort of like sexual

threat undertone to the bus ride, but it

really does come down to a difference of

tribal belonging, which is why they get

have to jump from the car.

>> One sec. One sec. Well, cuz otherwise

I'm going to lose my train of thought.

>> There may not be time for rebuttal.

>> Um so I'm going to focus on establishing

like what Mr. Florence said how this

apartheid creates hierarchal systems

that make life hard for women. But then

focus in the next paragraph like but we

can also take into account like the

experiences of Africans and colored people.

people.

>> Yeah. Like the black hole would be good.

And then I would finish strong by sort

of saying that ultimately apartheid creates

creates

um systems of difference and hierarchy

that make life hard for anyone who is

outside the standard. And that's where

I'd go with this.

>> Yeah, we know that already.

>> We probably disagree.

disagree.

>> I Dr. Dick and I normally agree on everything.

>> Hey, I was trying to help you out here,

man. Um, the quote is what framed my

response initially, which is this sense

of don't just uh see me when you need

something. And it's I think it's

Patricia trying to teach Trevor about

how to relate to to women. That really

framed my response. I still disagree

with both, but that's okay. Um, but all

three could get an outstanding if you

wrote an essay with these guidelines.

Absolutely. So, this is fantastic. I I

hate that you don't think I'm correct,

but I really love that you guys can see

this. And I think yeah, the quote for me

was like, don't just see me when you

need something. It's sort of women are

people crazy. And

>> we are um teaching Trevor how to see

people to humanize blah blah blah blah

blah. However, great points. Great points.

points.

>> I think we're going to need to move on

now. Um

two final thoughts while panel is

changing over. Uh two final thoughts

from me.

Those are pretty high level answers. So

I did want to offer a different probably

simpler answer to the question as an

alternative. Um which is if you took say

the personal interpersonal societal

response you could go well look on a

personal level it's actually about

Trevor's kind of perspective on his

environment on an interpersonal level

yes it's about how Patricia interacted

with her environment and the way she

treated people like people treated her

as it is about women. on a larger

societal perspective, it probably is

more probably about how the structures

of apartheid worked and weren't

dismounted, things like that. So, you do

have the option of doing like a few

different ideas there, I think. And the

other thing I wanted to note um is a lot

of it's about the strength of women and

the amazing things that they do in

response to the hardships they

experience as well, which I think is a

good thing to be thinking about, too.

But thank you very much, the three of

I think this will be our last topic for

today before some kind of Q&A and

So I might have to pick from my

selection. How does topic three actually look?

Uh the role of faith. We could do the

role of faith or we could do our

environment shapes our identity.

I'll let the panel decide. You'd like to

know our environment shapes identity or

the role of faith,

>> All right, I'm picking the how question.

So, if God is with me, who can be

against me? How does Trevor Noah How

does Noah explore the role of faith in

the lives of South African people?

Bearing in mind that it does not say

religious faith. It just says faith. All

right, I'm going to give you a quicky

time limit here. You've got 60 seconds.

[Music]

Heat. Heat.

3 2 1 Chuck Norris says, "Let's talk."

No special move for Chuck Norris. Just

the existence of Chuck Norris really.

He is in himself everything and always.

Um Oh,

I have the mic as well. Who would like

to start? >> Mr.

>> Mr.

Thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> Thanks. First thing I want to say is

obviously we only had 60 seconds and

this is a really challenging prompt. I

think that a lot of people if we're

honest in here would avoid and do the

other one. But um it's a how question.

You know it's about faith. Um I would

just to break this down into three

parts. I would look at faith in three

different ways. I would look at um

religious faith and that would be most obviously

obviously

um explored through Patricia through how

she teaches Trevor Noah, you know, in

his life. Um

I would for me so I would look at this

idea of of her teachings to him uh and

how that establishes his childhood. I'd

probably do it to be honest in like

order of the text. I then look at

Trevanoa himself deciding to abandon

that faith. And not only does he abandon

religious faith, but at some points in

the text, he actually abandons faith of

even a brighter future. I mean, let's

look at his journey into the ghetto. Um,

and he pretty much rejects society,

doesn't he? He rebelss. He becomes a

petty criminal. And really at that

point, he doesn't have faith in any kind

of system. he only is living um and

being trapped in this uh system. Um in

that paragraph, I'd also be able to

explore other kind of underclass

elements in the text. So I might look at

the Hulk or other characters who are on

the peripheries that they they don't

have faith in a system that works for

them. So I've gone faith, I've gone lack

of faith, and then eventually I'm going

to go for like faith in a brighter

future or faith in change. Now that

would be I would have to cover the idea

of Patricia and her miraculous survival

um and how even this doctor um

says it's a miracle. So there's this

idea that there is faith in something um

in something greater and for for Trevor

Noah he never becomes religious and yet

he does have some kind of salvation.

He's able to support his mother out of

that. Um, I would try and come up with,

if I had a bit more time to plan,

probably some other um, examples of how

Trevor takes, you know, his very

negative situation and turns it

positive. Um, that's pretty that's

easily anywhere the structure I'd go

with. I'm going to pass the mic now.

>> Just before Miss starts, I wanted to

note a that was awesome under 60 seconds

time. Well done. But also B I think

there's a lesson in that um which is all

of us very easily hamstring ourselves or

lock ourselves into ideas through the

way we choose to interpret words and the

word like faith particularly in a book

that has a very heavy focus on

Christianity. It's very easy to go, ah,

I have to talk about religion. It's not

what the topic actually said. And

there's so much freedom in going, how

can I interpret the word faith? How can

I think about that word? Which is also

true for the other parts of these texts,

the other topics we've looked at today.

Um, because when you do step outside

that word and you think about what it

can mean from different perspectives,

you get a much richer and broader

conversation about the text than you

would get if you just talked about

Christianity or perhaps cultural tribal

perspectives in South Africa or

something like that. really really

important and very valuable lesson.

Thank you Mr. Babage. Big round of applause.

applause.

And same take us away.

>> Yeah. So my stomach sank when this topic

came on the board because like I hate

talking about religion. Um and I don't

want to write born a crime essays on

religion. But then as Mr. Hunt just

said, I thought, oh, hang on a minute.

It all comes down to how I'm going to

interpret the topic. And so the key word

in the prompt here, how does Noah

explore the role of faith? So role of

faith is the is the key thing there. And

I interpreted the role of faith as like

the role of hope. Yeah. Like faith in

you know that there's a better future,

hope for the future. So that's kind of

how I started off and then that made me

feel a little bit better about this

topic that I had to plan in 60 seconds.

Um, my go-to when I'm under pressure,

when I've got a room full of all of you

staring at me and only 60 seconds on the

clock, my fall back is causes,

consequences. Um, this is a how

question. So, it's not going to be

causes, consequences, exceptions because

I'm not going to challenge the topic.

It's a direct question. So, I'm going to

go like a causes, consequences extension.

extension.

So, cause my cause paragraph, as Mr.

Florence kind of said before is always

starting by looking at the society

looking at the system apartheid

post-aparttheide and why there was this

environment that people had to rebel

against or that was hard for women or in

this case where maybe people don't have

faith or where people's faith is shaken.

So what's the initial

problem is the problem is always this

apartheid post-aparttheide South African

society that really provided hardships

for people and therefore tested their

faith. Um so then the consequence the

sort of initial consequence is similar

to what Mr. Babage said that people kind

of lose their faith they lose their hope

for the future. And I was also really

thinking about um like the Cheese Boys

chapter and Trevor Noah when he finishes

school and he's just kind of sitting

around and hustling and not really doing

anything. Um talks about that sort of

neverending cycle, the hamster wheel

where you're just going around and

around and never really getting

anywhere. Um and then my sort of um

extension is would be something built

around Patricia where I would use the

quote um that her faith in religion and

her her strength in general um and her

hope for a better future where you know

Trev like why she names him Trevor. She

wants him to be beholden to know fate.

She wants him to know that there's a

world outside the ghetto. So her faith

that there is something more um is you

know that what what would then be the

focus of that final paragraph um that

the role of faith is what helps

you to succeed and help you to overcome

the difficulties of apartheite I think

is sort of somewhere where my contention

would be. It's also a how question. So I

would really try to focus on what are

some of those construction elements in

each paragraph. Um so maybe things like

the book ending both of you know chapter

one and the final chapter really focus

on awful violent incidents. Um there's

like that looming threat of Abel all who

sort of slowly revealed all throughout

the text which is sort of in that first

body paragraph about what was the

problem? Why was life so hard that

people didn't have faith? Um, I would

look at some of the um the imagery and

the figurative language like the hamster

wheel or the black tax or um you know

some of the things that he says in that

even the cheese boy little thing um in

that second body paragraph. And then I

would look at um the you know the book

ending as well of um anecdotes about his

mom. the d the book is dedicated to her.

You know, Abel has this looming

presence, but she's really at the heart

of the novel novel memoir. Um, and you

know, the way that it's kind of

structured around her teaching to Trevor

is probably how I would deal with the

how issue.

>> Um, or all right, lucky last. Um, look,

a lot of the things that I probably

would also say have probably been said.

Um, but if I was thinking about it when

I read that quote, my immediate thought

was where from the text does it take

place? And I've had Mr. Papalus confirm

that it's the the last part of the book

where um she's in the hospital bed and

she's talking to Trevor. Um, and the

line that follows after that is the

joke, you know, about him being the best

looking in the family and God gave me

the son, sorry, who was able to pay for

the hospital bills. Um so in terms of a

how question I definitely think I mean

you have to talk about humor at some

point in this text and I think um his

humorous stories and humorous anecdotes

and the way he talks about his

relationship with his mom um is how for

me when I'm thinking about this text is

how she like has instilled a sense of

faith in him that he can escape the

rigid I guess um structure of apartheid

and how he can kind of um get out of the

the poverty cycle and the black attacks.

Um, and humor in that sense really

toughened him up to be able to do that.

Um, she has faith in her son to live the

life she wanted for him and and how she

raised him. Um, that's probably the last

thing I talk about. Um, I'm going back

to the first thing which I probably

should have started with, so apologies.

Um I think in terms of how again the

prefaces here could be important in

terms of the the lives of South African

people, we get a lot of context about

that through um the prefaces and then

almost immediately in the anecdotes or

vignettes that he provides. He shows how

hard it is to have faith in a system

that is so flawed as a black or colored

person in apartheid and post-apartid

South Africa. So, I definitely think you

could talk about um yeah, the prefaces

and how they kind of contrast those

ideas. And that's pretty much all I

really had. >> Sorry.

>> Sorry.

>> Just for a contrast, I'll play personal

interpersonal societal again and I'll go

all right. What is the role of faith in

personal life? I think Noah has a

tremendous amount of faith in himself um

and self-belief. if he thinks he can

overcome problems that otherwise, you

know, would probably stop people. Um,

and sometimes it's for the better and

sometimes it's for the worse. But he has

a lot of faith in himself. Um, when I

think about kind of the way that people

interact in the book and the kind of

faith they have, often it is in in women

in this story. It's it's the faith that

we have in women to be able to help us

through challenging times because the

men in this story are not helpful. Um,

and and per except perhaps

theoretically, Robert. Um and in terms

of like a larger societal conversation

then you can have that big religious

conversation or cultural conversation

about some of the cultural principles

and values that kind of underpin the

text. However, we are about to wrap up.

Um in this slideshow there are some more

topics available. In fact there are a

lot more topics available. Um but I like

to leave the last part of this session

for about 5 minutes of just kind of some

general big picture questions and then

we'll wrap up. Um, so if you do have a

particularly general pressing question,

I'm going to get you to answer it and

ask it in a second. But before you do,

we got to do a couple of thank yous, I

think, just so the teacher can go home

if they want to as well. Um, so big

thank you for every single teacher on

Thank you so much for giving up your

time. It is Wednesday. If you're

anything like me, you're very tired of a

large pile of mark if you're here

anyway. So, thank you very much for

being here. It is not possible without

you. Secondly, to our wonderful AV team

who come in early and stay late and set

this whole thing up for us and make sure

the people who couldn't be here today

will still get to experience it. Big

Thirdly, as much as I do enjoy the sound

of my own voice, it is a lot better to

have all of you here to hear it. So,

thank you for coming today and taking

the time out of your busy schedule to

have a go at taking on something harder

and to learn a little bit more. Well

done you. And of course, finally, we

couldn't be here without the wonderful

Trevor Noah, who gave us a fantastic

book to talk about today. So, thank you

to Mr. Trevor Noah for your wonderful achievements.

achievements.

All righty. If you would now like to go

cuz you don't have any questions and

you'd like to head off, you're more than

welcome to. We'll do some quick Q&A in

Thank you. Is that your first time?

Yeah, it was time.

>> No, but it's like it's 60 seconds. It's

like impossible, but then like 5 minutes

later, you're like, okay,

>> it's the way.

>> Yeah. Well, I said, guys, can I please go?

go?

>> But then you said nothing. I was going

>> Yeah, I I can ro if you like.

>> Is it Is this thing on?

>> That one is

>> Yeah. Uh it was

>> Oh yeah.

>> All right, folks. If we do have some

questions, Mr. Babage is going to come

up and bring the mic to you so you can

ask your questions. Everyone can hear

them. Um,

>> unless you just want to yell them out.

Um, we're all here to answer a few

questions. So, pop your hand if you got

>> Hello. Hi. Um for one of the topics it

was a do you ask question for topic two

I think

>> u one of the teachers do you agree

>> yeah the do you agree question one of

the teachers discussed how you can like

100% agree with this topic but I've also

been taught contrastingly where I should

follow like a 80/20 rule where I should

agree and I also should disagree when

I'm presented a like do you ask do you

agree question so I just wanted to get

like more clarification on that

>> that's okay am I Can I answer that one?

All right. So, my answer is multi-art. I

think that when you get a do you agree

question, one of the most

straightforward answers is to say I

don't entirely agree and here are some

exceptions that show that it's not

always true. I think that answer works

quite well most of the time, like I'd

say 90% of the time. And it gives you

the opportunity cuz the rubric is going

to say you need to present multiple

interpretations. And so showing some

kind of exceptions or challenge in some

way is you presenting a different

interpretation. So, I think it makes a

lot of sense to usually say I don't

entirely agree. I would probably almost

never say I don't agree. Um, simply

because in saying I don't agree, you

might actually ignore the prompt

potentially, which can be really risky.

Um, I think there are times where you

can say I do definitely completely agree

so long as the reason that you agree is

more than one that you've got different

kind of ideas coming out, different

reasons why I agree in this way for this

reason. I agree in this way for this

reason. The challenge with that answer

is that it's very hard to come up with

different ideas that are all ultimately

leading to the same place. And so if you

have that thought in mind and you have

enough nuance in each idea to make it

work, yes, I'd say you can do it. I'd

say it's very very hard. I would mostly

advise against it. I would largely

recommend that you say I partially or or

mostly agree or to some extent agree

tends to work a little bit better. But

what I would also say is that one of the

advantages of doing that is if you get a discuss question, discuss questions tend

discuss question, discuss questions tend to require you to only partially agree

to require you to only partially agree anyway. And so if you're kind of always

anyway. And so if you're kind of always practicing that kind of skill, you're

practicing that kind of skill, you're setting yourself up for multiple kind of

setting yourself up for multiple kind of options, which I I like I like

options, which I I like I like efficiency. So I think that's efficient.

efficiency. So I think that's efficient. Um that's kind of I think a reasonable

Um that's kind of I think a reasonable answer.

answer. >> Can I add to that

>> Can I add to that >> please?

>> please? >> I resisted interrupting for the whole

>> I resisted interrupting for the whole lecture. Can I just say

lecture. Can I just say um I just wanted to touch on you said um

um I just wanted to touch on you said um I should agree and I should disagree.

I should agree and I should disagree. Try not to think of it as agreeing and

Try not to think of it as agreeing and disagreeing. Try to think of it as

disagreeing. Try to think of it as forming a contention that has a couple

forming a contention that has a couple of parts and then you are agreeing with

of parts and then you are agreeing with your contention because you don't want

your contention because you don't want to contradict yourself. But further to

to contradict yourself. But further to to what you said there, if you are doing

to what you said there, if you are doing an agree and you can't think of how to

an agree and you can't think of how to do something sort of as a second prong,

do something sort of as a second prong, do an I agree and it leads to. So like a

do an I agree and it leads to. So like a the second part of it is well yes I

the second part of it is well yes I agree but there's a particular outcome

agree but there's a particular outcome that I want to focus towards or lead to.

that I want to focus towards or lead to. Would you say that would be

Would you say that would be >> I think that's really fair. Yeah. I the

>> I think that's really fair. Yeah. I the one last thing I would note is that one

one last thing I would note is that one of the things I look for in a topic is

of the things I look for in a topic is if I get presented with absolutes like

if I get presented with absolutes like it is it must be

it is it must be >> it's never it's always

>> it's never it's always >> it's the heart everyone for me and maybe

>> it's the heart everyone for me and maybe it's the philosophy teacher me it's more

it's the philosophy teacher me it's more general thing that's a red flag that

general thing that's a red flag that makes me go uh it probably isn't that

makes me go uh it probably isn't that there probably is some kind of exception

there probably is some kind of exception book somewhere um I'm sure I can find a

book somewhere um I'm sure I can find a third paragraph that goes differently

third paragraph that goes differently and I probably should aim to try to find

and I probably should aim to try to find it um because that would be useful.

it um because that would be useful. Great question. Uh, next question.

Great question. Uh, next question. Vincent up front.

Vincent up front. >> Hi.

>> Hi. >> Uh, also a question about this topic.

>> Uh, also a question about this topic. So, I'm wondering if like uh because for

So, I'm wondering if like uh because for me my original plan for during the one

me my original plan for during the one minute is agreed agree disagree and my

minute is agreed agree disagree and my disagree part is uh I write the rebel

disagree part is uh I write the rebel rebellion works. It's like cuz like

rebellion works. It's like cuz like during a part like Alex is ready start

during a part like Alex is ready start he mentioned that this in like in his

he mentioned that this in like in his township there's like some woman uh like

township there's like some woman uh like running uh chasing a man with like

running uh chasing a man with like boiling water or boiling oil. Yeah. So

boiling water or boiling oil. Yeah. So I'm wondering if that can be a part of

I'm wondering if that can be a part of disagree.

disagree. >> Oh I think I think that's an interesting

>> Oh I think I think that's an interesting one. So you're kind of arguing that um

one. So you're kind of arguing that um actually in that example it's the male

actually in that example it's the male hardship that's the actual center of

hardship that's the actual center of >> No male hardship. I know it's like a

>> No male hardship. I know it's like a it's been a woman is like rebelling like

it's been a woman is like rebelling like this is like a core spell like here.

this is like a core spell like here. >> Okay. Um

>> Okay. Um >> strength for women is what?

>> strength for women is what? >> Yeah, I think that's kind of the

>> Yeah, I think that's kind of the strength of women conversation. Yeah,

strength of women conversation. Yeah, >> I've talked about this a lot with my

>> I've talked about this a lot with my class. So um this idea that the the

class. So um this idea that the the women are

women are um oppressed even more so than than

um oppressed even more so than than others. But there's also the idea that

others. But there's also the idea that the men are trying to control them

the men are trying to control them because they've got no control over

because they've got no control over other parts of their life. They've

other parts of their life. They've they're they're in poverty. It's hard to

they're they're in poverty. It's hard to break that cycle. That can lead to

break that cycle. That can lead to feelings of poor self-worth which can

feelings of poor self-worth which can lead to the alcoholism and the violence

lead to the alcoholism and the violence and so on. But Trevor says his life was

and so on. But Trevor says his life was run by women and his world was run by

run by women and his world was run by women. So, I've got the the wondering if

women. So, I've got the the wondering if the women kind of let it go for a time,

the women kind of let it go for a time, but underneath they are the the backbone

but underneath they are the the backbone and they have the strength. This is

and they have the strength. This is playing up.

playing up. >> It's based on how much you're speaking

>> It's based on how much you're speaking into it, so speak louder.

into it, so speak louder. >> Can't do it without.

>> Can't do it without. >> Yes.

>> Yes. um they have the strength to fight back

um they have the strength to fight back if and when necessary,

if and when necessary, >> but they choose not to most of the time

>> but they choose not to most of the time because they know that they need to

because they know that they need to allow

allow the men in their lives to have some

the men in their lives to have some feeling of ownership. Now, someone might

feeling of ownership. Now, someone might dispute that.

dispute that. >> That's a that's an idea talking about.

>> That's a that's an idea talking about. Yeah, cuz I I remember also there's like

Yeah, cuz I I remember also there's like a part he's mentioning that women are

a part he's mentioning that women are like the force at home, but like they're

like the force at home, but like they're trying to pretend to be weak of men

trying to pretend to be weak of men because to make sure the man's

because to make sure the man's reputation or something

reputation or something >> that probably represents, I'd say, a

>> that probably represents, I'd say, a hardship. It would be a good way of

hardship. It would be a good way of expressing that one. Um, great

expressing that one. Um, great questions. We're going to Oh, Mr. Sorry.

questions. We're going to Oh, Mr. Sorry. >> Be careful jumping on one or two small

>> Be careful jumping on one or two small examples and using them to say that the

examples and using them to say that the majority is incorrect.

majority is incorrect. Yeah, good for an exceptions paragraph,

Yeah, good for an exceptions paragraph, but not the whole point.

but not the whole point. >> Yes, there's not exceptions there.

>> Yes, there's not exceptions there. >> Next question.

>> Next question. >> Um, so with how questions just in

>> Um, so with how questions just in general like um for a contention, would

general like um for a contention, would you like list your would you write your

you like list your would you write your idea and would you list all the

idea and would you list all the different ways he does it like blah blah

different ways he does it like blah blah blah blah blah by the use of anecdotes,

blah blah blah by the use of anecdotes, imagery and then so on? Like how would

imagery and then so on? Like how would you actually frame a contention with a

you actually frame a contention with a how question? I think there are lots of

how question? I think there are lots of >> it's hard to talk about how questions

>> it's hard to talk about how questions without ending up kind of having lots of

without ending up kind of having lots of different ways of thinking about it.

different ways of thinking about it. Like I know one of the things that I

Like I know one of the things that I think about when I think about how

think about when I think about how questions is unless you are a strong

questions is unless you are a strong media student making your essay about

media student making your essay about literature student probably in this case

literature student probably in this case I was thinking more of something

I was thinking more of something boulevard making your essay about these

boulevard making your essay about these are the the structural devices that will

are the the structural devices that will drive the essay rather than here are the

drive the essay rather than here are the ideas that will drive the essay is quite

ideas that will drive the essay is quite hard. And I know in the way that I teach

hard. And I know in the way that I teach this book at least, I focus very heavily

this book at least, I focus very heavily um on individual moments in the story

um on individual moments in the story around well that's a really interesting

around well that's a really interesting metaphor or that's a really interesting

metaphor or that's a really interesting historical illusion or that's a really

historical illusion or that's a really interesting religious moment or that's a

interesting religious moment or that's a really interesting symbol or motif

really interesting symbol or motif that's running through the story. And I

that's running through the story. And I would use those as part of an example

would use those as part of an example rather than making it the whole

rather than making it the whole paragraph. Um, there might be times

paragraph. Um, there might be times where I might go, actually, my whole

where I might go, actually, my whole paragraph is about how it's a a complex

paragraph is about how it's a a complex kind of non-cronological narrative or

kind of non-cronological narrative or how it's broken up into youth versus

how it's broken up into youth versus adolescence versus early adulthood and

adolescence versus early adulthood and those kinds of ideas. A lot of the times

those kinds of ideas. A lot of the times I think it's really hard to build a

I think it's really hard to build a whole paragraph around that. And so, if

whole paragraph around that. And so, if you are going to do something like that,

you are going to do something like that, I think you need more than one idea to

I think you need more than one idea to go in each paragraph that would be like

go in each paragraph that would be like that. And I I do think it's a little

that. And I I do think it's a little risky. I think the only way you can

risky. I think the only way you can although there's never absolut

although there's never absolut probably probably the the one key device

probably probably the the one key device that you could maybe do is humor um

that you could maybe do is humor um because this is a really tragic story um

because this is a really tragic story um about a really difficult upbringing but

about a really difficult upbringing but the whole story is largely told in a

the whole story is largely told in a really humorous way. So with that how

really humorous way. So with that how topic that we looked at today um about

topic that we looked at today um about the role of faith my contention in the

the role of faith my contention in the introduction would probably just be

introduction would probably just be around what you know um what is the role

around what you know um what is the role like what am I defining the role of

like what am I defining the role of faith as what is it that Noah is trying

faith as what is it that Noah is trying to say about faith in for the lives of

to say about faith in for the lives of people in South Africa that would be my

people in South Africa that would be my contention like his overall message

contention like his overall message about faith you could potentially say

about faith you could potentially say like through the use of the humorous

like through the use of the humorous tone throughout or something like that.

tone throughout or something like that. But yeah, otherwise I would just bring

But yeah, otherwise I would just bring it into

it into >> then the key point would be like the

>> then the key point would be like the idea is made more prominent through that

idea is made more prominent through that technique, not the technique is the

technique, not the technique is the point.

point. >> Yeah.

>> Yeah. >> Can I just have to list the things in

>> Can I just have to list the things in your content?

your content? >> Yes. Yeah.

>> Yes. Yeah. >> So can you just like

>> So can you just like what's the topic about?

what's the topic about? >> The topic is about the role of faith,

>> The topic is about the role of faith, not about how.

not about how. >> Yeah. So your introduction, your

>> Yeah. So your introduction, your contention, your paragraphs are framed

contention, your paragraphs are framed around your arguments in response to the

around your arguments in response to the role of faith in your body paragraph.

role of faith in your body paragraph. All the how means is you should be

All the how means is you should be talking about construction in every

talking about construction in every single essay.

single essay. >> That's my rule.

>> That's my rule. >> How just means

>> How just means >> all questions are how questions.

>> all questions are how questions. >> Dial.

>> Dial. Okay.

Okay. >> Yeah. If every example you've got is

>> Yeah. If every example you've got is like a quote plus a literary device that

like a quote plus a literary device that relates to the quote, you're set. You're

relates to the quote, you're set. You're going to be fine. Which is usually the

going to be fine. Which is usually the way I teach it. It works quite well.

way I teach it. It works quite well. From an exam assessor's point of view,

From an exam assessor's point of view, they hate introductions that are lists.

they hate introductions that are lists. >> Okay? Just tell me what you're going to

>> Okay? Just tell me what you're going to argue and get on with it. Don't tell me

argue and get on with it. Don't tell me it's this and this and this and this and

it's this and this and this and this and this. Just get on with it.

this. Just get on with it. >> Beautiful. I think that gets us there.

>> Beautiful. I think that gets us there. Uh, any more questions? We got another

Uh, any more questions? We got another one from Carrie in the middle. um

one from Carrie in the middle. um how do you explore how do you explain

how do you explore how do you explain the nonlinear structure in a meaningful

the nonlinear structure in a meaningful way?

way? >> So the questions about the nonlinear

>> So the questions about the nonlinear structure and how to explore it in a

structure and how to explore it in a meaningful way. Um that's a good

meaningful way. Um that's a good question. The short answer I have to

question. The short answer I have to that is I'm not 100% sure there is a

that is I'm not 100% sure there is a meaningful way to talk about it. Um I

meaningful way to talk about it. Um I don't think it necessarily is. So here's

don't think it necessarily is. So here's my thing about it being a nonlinear

my thing about it being a nonlinear structure. I'm not 100% convinced it

structure. I'm not 100% convinced it entirely is. I think that it's a

entirely is. I think that it's a three-part story and the first part is

three-part story and the first part is his early childhood, the second part is

his early childhood, the second part is his high school years and the third part

his high school years and the third part is his um early adolescence kind of not

is his um early adolescence kind of not going to uni and instead spending time

going to uni and instead spending time with Alex. That doesn't sound nonlinear

with Alex. That doesn't sound nonlinear to me,

to me, >> but it's nonlinear within

>> but it's nonlinear within >> but within the complex construct that it

>> but within the complex construct that it is a little bit nonlinear. Um the fact

is a little bit nonlinear. Um the fact that he's chosen to do that, I think the

that he's chosen to do that, I think the only way that I would think about it

only way that I would think about it that could be potentially relevant is

that could be potentially relevant is that maybe he's doing that in order to

that maybe he's doing that in order to highlight a particular emotional idea or

highlight a particular emotional idea or particular concept where he picks

particular concept where he picks different moments from her life to do

different moments from her life to do that. Um, but I think it's pretty niche

that. Um, but I think it's pretty niche and I'm not 100% convinced it's super

and I'm not 100% convinced it's super useful. Um, I haven't seen anybody write

useful. Um, I haven't seen anybody write on it particularly well or productively.

on it particularly well or productively. So, I'm I'm not sold on it myself. Was

So, I'm I'm not sold on it myself. Was there any disagreement from the

there any disagreement from the >> If I was going to write about the

>> If I was going to write about the nonlinear part of it, there's other

nonlinear part of it, there's other things you can write about structurally,

things you can write about structurally, but if you were to write about that, it

but if you were to write about that, it connects quite well with the role of

connects quite well with the role of memory and how he tells stories about

memory and how he tells stories about memory because memory is fragmented and

memory because memory is fragmented and nonlinear, our own memories. So the

nonlinear, our own memories. So the structure of it actually does reflect

structure of it actually does reflect how we remember things. That that would

how we remember things. That that would probably be the only way if you wanted

probably be the only way if you wanted to write about it as a as its own thing.

to write about it as a as its own thing. Otherwise, I'd be looking at other

Otherwise, I'd be looking at other structural elements like which prefaces

structural elements like which prefaces and chapters are set up in what order

and chapters are set up in what order and why why is one particular chapter

and why why is one particular chapter wedged between two others? Is there any

wedged between two others? Is there any particular reason for that? And

particular reason for that? And >> also the smaller things. Why do cars

>> also the smaller things. Why do cars come up so much? Why does food come up

come up so much? Why does food come up so much? why, you know, those kinds of

so much? why, you know, those kinds of things as well are like nice, easier, I

things as well are like nice, easier, I think, how elements to talk about. I

think, how elements to talk about. I think we have time for maybe one more

think we have time for maybe one more question, but I wanted kind of a big

question, but I wanted kind of a big picturey type one. Has anyone got like a

picturey type one. Has anyone got like a a big question they think everyone needs

a big question they think everyone needs to hear about, or is it more of a like a

to hear about, or is it more of a like a for your teacher question, maybe?

for your teacher question, maybe? You got a thought?

You got a thought? >> Yeah. Where's that mic gone? Oh,

>> Yeah. Where's that mic gone? Oh, >> would you mind passing it over?

>> would you mind passing it over? >> It's on the mic. It goes

>> It's on the mic. It goes >> It goes on the thing. Otherwise, I have

>> It goes on the thing. Otherwise, I have to repeat the question.

to repeat the question. >> Okay. Since this is like the final

>> Okay. Since this is like the final question, we better make it worthwhile.

question, we better make it worthwhile. Um um you know how we had like a teacher

Um um you know how we had like a teacher who framed the response on the quote and

who framed the response on the quote and um I guess to my understanding, I feel

um I guess to my understanding, I feel like she kind of got off topic because

like she kind of got off topic because the um as the other teacher has said

the um as the other teacher has said that it was more like on the hardships

that it was more like on the hardships or how people has defined like the key

or how people has defined like the key terms. So if for example, if you did

terms. So if for example, if you did frame your response on like a particular

frame your response on like a particular key term, how far would you say it's

key term, how far would you say it's like off topic?

like off topic? Good question. I think there's two parts

Good question. I think there's two parts to that. I want to go back to the first

to that. I want to go back to the first part first, which is does my whole essay

part first, which is does my whole essay have to be about the quote?

have to be about the quote? >> And I think the answer to that question

>> And I think the answer to that question is no, it does not. It is an expectation

is no, it does not. It is an expectation if there is a quote, you need to find a

if there is a quote, you need to find a way to make it relevant, I would say, to

way to make it relevant, I would say, to at least one body paragraph. So, if I

at least one body paragraph. So, if I take was it topic one or two that you

take was it topic one or two that you were talking about?

were talking about? >> Um, that was two I think

>> Um, that was two I think >> the women one. So if I take a quote like

>> the women one. So if I take a quote like this, there's a really nice kind of I

this, there's a really nice kind of I guess kind of ideal

that kind of comes out of that particular um quote. There's a great

particular um quote. There's a great paragraph in the way that that that

paragraph in the way that that that women are valued in the story, but value

women are valued in the story, but value is not the only story of women in this

is not the only story of women in this story. And so I wouldn't want to make

story. And so I wouldn't want to make the whole essay about just that concept.

the whole essay about just that concept. And I also want to have opportunities,

And I also want to have opportunities, especially in a do you agree to go,

especially in a do you agree to go, well, maybe there's exceptions, maybe

well, maybe there's exceptions, maybe it's not always true. Um, and so maybe I

it's not always true. Um, and so maybe I want to challenge that that potentially

want to challenge that that potentially quote in some way and not always be

quote in some way and not always be focused on it. Um, I think it's

focused on it. Um, I think it's important to talk about the quote. I

important to talk about the quote. I don't think it's the only thing that you

don't think it's the only thing that you should do in your essay cuz it's not the

should do in your essay cuz it's not the only thing that's in the topic.

only thing that's in the topic. >> The quote gives you the challenge or the

>> The quote gives you the challenge or the >> I think that's true true that the the

>> I think that's true true that the the quote is always there to give you either

quote is always there to give you either a really interesting exception idea or a

a really interesting exception idea or a really clear interesting paragraph idea.

really clear interesting paragraph idea. And so one question I would ask when I

And so one question I would ask when I sit down for the sack or a practice sack

sit down for the sack or a practice sack is go what is an obvious paragraph that

is go what is an obvious paragraph that I can write that links to the idea

I can write that links to the idea that's implied in this quote and there

that's implied in this quote and there probably will be some kind of obvious

probably will be some kind of obvious idea there but that's one and then what

idea there but that's one and then what are my other two going to be? Does that

are my other two going to be? Does that make does that make sense? Do you think

make does that make sense? Do you think that answers your whole question? Only

that answers your whole question? Only part of your question

part of your question >> only part.

>> only part. >> What's the second part again? It's like

>> What's the second part again? It's like if you focused your essay on like a

if you focused your essay on like a particular key term, how far would you

particular key term, how far would you say you've gone off topic?

say you've gone off topic? >> I reckon it depends on which key term.

>> I reckon it depends on which key term. >> Yeah.

>> Yeah. >> What jumped out for me this topic was

>> What jumped out for me this topic was the heart.

the heart. >> And for me that's the the whole

>> And for me that's the the whole question. I know it's about the role of

question. I know it's about the role of women and their hardships, but it says

women and their hardships, but it says they are the heart of the story. And my

they are the heart of the story. And my first question was are they the heart of

first question was are they the heart of the story? or even is there a heart to

the story? or even is there a heart to the story?

the story? >> What does that actually mean? And I need

>> What does that actually mean? And I need to decide that in terms

and is there something else that needs exploring as alternative to that?

exploring as alternative to that? >> Yeah,

>> Yeah, >> I think that's true. Um, and look, I

>> I think that's true. Um, and look, I think if you look at this topic and go,

think if you look at this topic and go, well, there's three kind of key words

well, there's three kind of key words that I can play with, experiences,

that I can play with, experiences, hardships, and hard. I probably wouldn't

hardships, and hard. I probably wouldn't want that to be my answer because I

want that to be my answer because I think experiences and hardship are

think experiences and hardship are probably too connected. Um,

probably too connected. Um, but I think if you ignored experiences

but I think if you ignored experiences and hardship to only focus on heart, or

and hardship to only focus on heart, or you ignored heart to only focus on

you ignored heart to only focus on experiences and hardship, you probably

experiences and hardship, you probably are missing part of the question. Um,

are missing part of the question. Um, and you're trying to imagine there's a

and you're trying to imagine there's a heart to the question that isn't

heart to the question that isn't actually there cuz it's got more than

actually there cuz it's got more than one bit to it.

one bit to it. >> It's probably the way I would think

>> It's probably the way I would think about it. Do you reckon that answers

about it. Do you reckon that answers your question now?

your question now? >> Yes. Yes.

>> Yes. Yes. >> Perfect. All right. With that, I think

>> Perfect. All right. With that, I think we're going to call it a day. Thank you

we're going to call it a day. Thank you all for coming. If you have any further

all for coming. If you have any further questions, send them in like an email or

questions, send them in like an email or ask your teacher cuz we are all very

ask your teacher cuz we are all very helpful. So, please ask us questions.

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Born a Crime - English Lecture