FUFI - Trevor Noah

 

 

Memoir - ഓർമ്മക്കുറിപ്പ്

Fufi was Trevor Noah's childhood dog, and Noah's first heartbreak. In his autobiographical memoir Born a crime, Trevor Noah provides an anecdote and a reflective tone to convey the message that you do not own the people you love. The author reflects on the fact that the people they love are free to love whoever they want.

"Fufi" is a touching autobiographical story by Trevor Noah about his pet dog, Fufi. Trevor loved Fufi deeply and believed that she was the most loyal companion he could ever have. However, he later discovered that Fufi had another owner and regularly visited him as well. At first, Trevor felt betrayed, but he eventually realized that Fufi's actions were not acts of disloyalty. She simply accepted love and care from both families without guilt.
Through this experience, Trevor reflects on the human tendency to view love as exclusive and possessive, while animals love freely without such expectations. The story teaches that love does not always have to be limited to one person and encourages readers to think differently about loyalty, relationships, and unconditional love.

 

Between Trevor Noah's descriptions of his dog, Fufi, and his own childhood in "Born a Crime"?

Trevor Noah was born in South Africa in 1984, when apartheid was still very much an issue. Noah's mother was Xhosa and his father was a German-Swiss white man, and it was illegal for "mixed races" to marry or conceive children together. For this reason, young Trevor spent his first few years mostly indoors, since his mother was afraid he might be spotted by the authorities and taken away.

Fufi was the family dog for many years, and she and Noah had developed such a strong bond that they were nearly inseparable. Much later in the story, when Fufi is injured, the vet discovers that Fufi is deaf, something neither Noah nor his mother ever realized. The vet also informs them that Fufi has a syndrome that causes her to feel very little pain. Noah comments that he has become a lot like Fufi in this regard. In his case, however, it's not that he doesn't feel pain and deprivation, but he chooses to deflect it by using humor.

Fufi also teaches Noah an important lesson about possessiveness in relationships when Noah learns that Fufi has been making daily trips to another house to during the day. When Fufi doesn't come home one evening, Noah goes to the other house to retrieve her, but the other family refuses to give her up. Noah's mother has to intercede and pay the other family a small sum to retrieve the dog. Noah is happy to have his dog back, but devastated that Fufi has been so disloyal as to find another boy to play with. His mother explains that this doesn't mean that Fufi loves him any less, but that she's just behaving as dogs do, living a full and happy life. Noah claims 'That experience shaped what I’ve felt about relationships for the rest of my life.' 

In a sense, Noah became more like Fufi after this occurrence because Fufi taught him to live more in the moment. Noah also realized at that moment that he should never try to control or have ownership over any living being.

#Pamela Mead 

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 Questions and Answers

 

1. ‘On our front wall someone had written in Afrikaans, “Heks” (Witch).’ Do you think torturing the cats was caused by superstition, prejudice or both? Comment.

2. ‘They were two sisters who loved and hated each other... It was a strange relationship.’ Have you
observed such strange behaviour among humans? Discuss.

1. It’s like a bicycle, but with emotions.’ What does Trevor mean by this?
2. Where do you think Fufi was going and why?

Let's revisit
1. 'To see her with another boy, acting like she didn’t know me, after I raised her, after all the nights we spent together. I was heartbroken.' Trevor jots down his feelings in his diary. Write a likely diary entry.
2. 'You do not own the thing you love.' - Trevor says he learnt this lesson at a young age. How do childhood experiences influence the way we understand love and relationships? Analyse* Trevor's statement with reference to an unforgettable experience in your life.