Born a Crime

by

Trevor Noah

Sizwe Character Analysis

One of Trevor’s friends who, along with Tim, helps him resell pirated CDs. Sizwe is sharp, popular, and good-hearted: he “[brings] out the best in everybody.” He lives in Alexandra and convinces Trevor to start DJing, which makes them some of the most popular guys in the neighborhood. Trevor and Sizwe spend the year after high school hanging out in Alexandra, selling whatever they can get their hands on, and playing gigs around Johannesburg.

Sizwe Quotes in Born a Crime

The Born a Crime quotes below are all either spoken by Sizwe or refer to Sizwe. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism, Apartheid, and the Cycle of Poverty Theme Icon
).
Chapter 15 Quotes

There is also this to consider: The name Hitler does not offend a black South African because Hitler is not the worst thing a black South African can imagine. Every country thinks their history is the most important, and that's especially true in the West. But if black South Africans could go back in time and kill one Person, Cecil Rhodes would come up before Hitler. If people in the Congo could go back in time and kill one person, Belgium's King Leopold would come way before Hitler. If Native Americans could go back in time and kill one person, it would probably be Christopher Columbus or Andrew Jackson.

Related Characters: Trevor Noah (speaker), Sizwe, Hitler
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

It's easy to be judgmental about crime when you live in a world wealthy enough to be removed from it. But the hood taught me that everyone has different notions of right and wrong, different definitions of what constitutes crime, and what level of crime they're willing to participate in.

Related Characters: Trevor Noah (speaker), Sizwe
Page Number: 212-213
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Born a Crime LitChart as a printable PDF.
Born a Crime PDF

Sizwe Quotes in Born a Crime

The Born a Crime quotes below are all either spoken by Sizwe or refer to Sizwe. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism, Apartheid, and the Cycle of Poverty Theme Icon
).
Chapter 15 Quotes

There is also this to consider: The name Hitler does not offend a black South African because Hitler is not the worst thing a black South African can imagine. Every country thinks their history is the most important, and that's especially true in the West. But if black South Africans could go back in time and kill one Person, Cecil Rhodes would come up before Hitler. If people in the Congo could go back in time and kill one person, Belgium's King Leopold would come way before Hitler. If Native Americans could go back in time and kill one person, it would probably be Christopher Columbus or Andrew Jackson.

Related Characters: Trevor Noah (speaker), Sizwe, Hitler
Page Number: 195
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

It's easy to be judgmental about crime when you live in a world wealthy enough to be removed from it. But the hood taught me that everyone has different notions of right and wrong, different definitions of what constitutes crime, and what level of crime they're willing to participate in.

Related Characters: Trevor Noah (speaker), Sizwe
Page Number: 212-213
Explanation and Analysis: