摘 要

特雷弗·诺亚是一位来自南非的著名喜剧演员。《生为罪犯》是他的处女作。这部作品不仅是他的自传，也是南非的社会纪实。该作品问世后大获成功，受到了社会各界的追捧和研究。小说以自传的形式讲述了在南非种族隔离的背景下， 特雷弗的母亲帕特里夏突破贫困的限制，释放自己的灵魂，选择了自己生一个孩子，按照自己的意愿独立把孩子抚养成人的故事。本文首先简要介绍了作者及其作品，然后从帕特里夏的性格以及性格形成原因分析入手，阐述她对儿子特雷弗的影响。通过剖析帕特里夏这个充满冒险、独立和乐观精神的角色，本文总结出母亲在孩子的成长过程中起着至关重要的作用。

关键词：《生为罪犯》；特雷弗·诺亚；帕特里夏；性格；种族隔离政策

Contents

1. Introduction １
2. Demonstration ２
   1. Character of Patricia ２
      1. Spirit of adventure ２
      2. Independence and bravery ３
      3. Optimism ４
   2. Formation of Patriciarsquo;s character ５
      1. Social condition ６
      2. Family influence ７
   3. Patriciarsquo;s influence on her son Trevor ８
      1. Promotion of his self-cognition ８
      2. Development of his good quality ８
3. Conclusion １０

Works Cited 12

Bibliography 13

Character Analysis of Patricia in Born a Crime

Introduction

Trevor Noah is the host of the Emmy and Peabody Award-Winning of The Daily Show. He first joined the show as a contributor in 2014 and succeeded Jon Stewart as host in 2015. While The Daily Show has introduced Noah to an American audience, hersquo;s long been a popular comedian around the globe. He was born in an interracial family in South Africa during the period of apartheid. After cutting a figure in the United States in a short time, he was chosen to be the next host of TDS by Jon Stewart. He was the winner of the Thurber Prize by writing the novel Born a Crime, a book recommended by Bill Gates.

Born a Crime, the autobiography of Trevor Noah, is a story of a mischievous boy and his heroic mother growing in the late apartheid era and subsequent turbulent years. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison in South Africa, and the relationship between his parents was illegal at the time of his birth. He was born as evidence of violation of the law. Itrsquo;s the origin of the book title.

Born a Crime is the story of the young manrsquo;s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother — his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life. The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on

caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humour and a

１

motherrsquo;s unconventional, unconditional love. (Noah 1)

Trevor Noah is very honest in his book without hiding any kind of unpleasant growth experiences. You can see his experiences of stealing and burning CDs to make a living, being detained on suspicion of stealing cars, and so on, which make the story particularly true. It goes without saying that mother plays a vital role in the growth of her children. Through close reading, this thesis approaches the story in the light of character analysis of Patricia to explain her influence on her son Trevor. It is the hope of the author to bring a new light to the study of this great work in the perceptive of apartheid, character and personal growth.