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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Key Examples in Born a Crime
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Colonialism and Religion:
In the introduction to South Africa, Johannesburg, and the concept behind apartheid, Noah uses verbal and situational irony to explain how irrational society can be:
Like indigenous peoples around the world, black South Africans adopted the religion of our colonizers. […] “You need to pray to Jesus,” he said. “Jesus will save you.” To which the native replied, “Well, we do need to be saved—saved from you, but that’s beside the point. So let’s give this Jesus thing a shot.”
If you’re Native American and you pray to the wolves, you’re a savage. If you’re African and you pray to your ancestors, you’re a primitive. But when white people pray to a guy who turns water into wine, well, that’s just common sense.
Related Themes:
Chapter 4
Explanation and Analysis—White in a Black Family:
When Noah is a child, he is treated differently than the other kids in the family because, despite being mixed-race, he passes as White. He recounts this experience with situational irony:
Unlock with LitCharts A+There were so many perks to being “white” in a black family, I can’t even front. I was having a great time. My own family basically did what the American justice system does: I was given more lenient treatment than the black kids. Misbehavior that my cousins would have been punished for, I was given a warning and let off. And I was way naughtier than either of my cousins. It wasn’t even close. If something got broken or if someone was stealing granny’s cookies, it was me. I was trouble.
Related Themes:
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—The White Neighborhoods:
In the preface to Chapter 13, Noah depicts the incredible lengths that White neighborhoods went to protect themselves and ultimately separate themselves from Black and "colored" (mixed-race) people. With an ironic metaphor and a simile, Noah describes his personal struggle with these supposed safeguards:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The white neighborhoods of Johannesburg were built on white fear—fear of black crime, fear of black uprisings and reprisals—and as a result virtually every house sits behind a six-foot wall, and on top of that wall is electric wire. Everyone lives in a plush, fancy maximum-security prison.[…] I’d hear people laughing and playing and I’d get off my bike and creep up and peek over the wall and see a bunch of white kids splashing around in someone’s swimming pool. I was like a Peeping Tom, but for friendship.
Related Themes:
