Chapters 4-5 Summary

In these chapters, Noah explores identity, language and culture. His Black family and neighbors treat him as if he is white, and so he often escapes punishment. His own grandfather—a bipolar man whom Noah sees infrequently because the grandparents are divorced—calls him “Mastah.” His mother teaches him several languages, primarily English, since it is the “language of money” and the key to employment. They also speak Xhosa, Patricia’s “home language,” and she teaches Noah several other languages, including Zulu, German (learned from Noah’s father), Afrikaans, and Sotho. Noah uses languages as a tool to “bridge the race gap,” changing people’s perception of his tribal identity and race to blend in. When forced to choose between being in Black or white classes at school, however, he “[chooses] black.”

Noah explores Patricia’s position in her family. Her name means “She Who Gives Back.” As the second girl, she isn’t considered important. When she was 9 years old, she was taken to an aunt’s farm where she worked long hours for the next 12 years. There was never enough food, so sometimes she stole food from the pigs or ate clay. But she attended a local mission school, where a white pastor taught her English. When she returned home, she enrolled in a secretarial course and got a job. She was forced to give her earnings to the family—“the Black tax” that keeps her from improving her life—so she ran away to the city.

She is determined to give Noah—named “Trevor” because it has no associations in the family—a better childhood. Their lives are full of experiences that don’t cost money, like picnics, trips to parks, and voracious reading. She teaches Noah “how to think” and prepares him to live a life of freedom because “the ghetto is not the world.” Apartheid ends gradually, and they move to a Colored area, Eden Park. This is where they own the car that constantly breaks down.

Chapters 4-5 Analysis

Noah is the only lighter-skinned person in his family. Sometimes they treat him differently because they see him as white even though he is not. He is light-skinned enough to show bruising, so his grandmother is afraid to beat him. He is too young to understand the racism behind his grandmother’s attitude as she wonders how to discipline a white child. The color of his skin makes him a mystery in his own family.

Noah’s language skills get him out of trouble, open doors, and help him see other people’s humanity. Other people are also able to see Noah differently when he communicates in their home language. He learns how to be a “chameleon” who can move easily between different groups and navigate different sets of expectations.

Noah discusses Patricia’s difficult childhood and her abandonment of her family. As a person who suffered from food insecurity for most of her childhood, she has to be clever with her money when she has Noah. She believes in herself and knows she can give him a better upbringing than the one she had. Their trips together to parks, long walks, arguments and discussions are as much a part of Noah’s intellectual development as his formal education.