Born a Crime

Content warning: This section of the guide discusses racism and apartheid.

Food is symbolic of a person’s wealth, or lack thereof. This is best represented by the idea of the “cheese boys” (207). In Alexandra, basic food is cheap, but a person can make the basic food more delicious by adding extras. The extras cost money, and the most expensive extra is cheese. Therefore, if a person can afford cheese, they are wealthier than others. Noah says that in a place where people can’t afford nice cars or fancy clothing, a necessity like food, or a luxury food item like cheese, shows how much money someone has.

This idea is also seen when Noah lives at the garage with his mom and Abel. When the business is failing, they survive by eating Mopane worms, the cheapest food available in South Africa. Mopane worms will allow someone to survive, but the worm spines poke a person’s mouth and, according to Noah, don’t taste good.

For Noah, the CD writer becomes symbolic of empowerment and Defiance of Oppression. Noah always had a natural predilection for business, but without his friend Daniel giving him the CD writer, he never would have had the means to create a successful business.