Fufi is an autobiographical anecdote by Trevor Noah, adapted from his memoir Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Through Trevor's childhood relationship with his dog Fufi, the narrative explores love, attachment, jealousy, betrayal, freedom and emotional maturity.
Trevor initially feels heartbroken when he discovers that Fufi has another home and another boy who loves her. Eventually, the experience teaches him an important lesson: we do not own the people or beings we love. Genuine love allows freedom rather than demanding possession.
Learning Objective
Activate learners' prior experiences and understand the setting and opening events of the narrative.
Think of an incident that offered you a valuable lesson in life. How can such experiences help build healthy relationships?
Classroom Procedure
1. Individual Reflection – 5 minutes
Students recall an experience that taught them an important lesson related to friendship, family, pets, trust, sharing, misunderstanding, jealousy or forgiveness.
2. Pair Sharing – 5 minutes
Students share an anecdote with a partner.
3. Introduction to Trevor Noah – 5 minutes
Teacher briefly introduces Trevor Noah as a South African comedian, television host, political commentator and author. Explain that Fufi is adapted from his memoir Born a Crime.
4. Guided Reading – 20 minutes
- Trevor's family moving to Eden Park
- His mother bringing home two black cats
- Attitudes towards black cats
- The killing of the cats
- The family's decision to avoid pets temporarily
- The arrival of two puppies
- Their names: Fufi and Panther
5. Comprehension Interaction – 10 minutes
- Why did Trevor's mother initially bring home cats?
- Why were black cats unusual in that neighbourhood?
- What happened to the cats?
- Why did the family take a break from pets?
- How did Fufi and Panther enter Trevor's life?
- What kind of relationship did the two dogs have?
6. Recapitulation – 5 minutes
Students orally reconstruct the important events.
Learning Objective
Develop critical thinking about prejudice and create a functional poster.
Was the cruel treatment of the black cats caused by superstition, prejudice or both?
Can people love each other and still frequently quarrel or disagree?
1. Recapitulation – 5 minutes
2. Discussion: Superstition and Prejudice – 10 minutes
- Superstition
- Prejudice
- Stereotyping
- Irrational fear
- Humane treatment of animals
3. Discussion: Complex Relationships – 10 minutes
Discuss the unusual relationship between Fufi and Panther.
Context: Trevor and his mother decide to display a poster offering their cats for adoption.
Task: Design a poster offering the cats for adoption.
Features of a Good Adoption Poster:- Attractive title
- Suitable picture/illustration
- Names of the pets
- Age and physical appearance
- Temperament/personality
- Habits
- Special care requirements
- Reason for adoption
- Urgency
- Contact details
- Short persuasive appeal
Classroom Procedure: Discuss features – 5 min • Group preparation – 15 min • Display/presentation – 5 min
Assessment Criteria: Relevance • Clarity • Completeness • Visual appeal • Persuasive language • Organisation
Learning Objective
Analyse Fufi's character and understand how Trevor's perception of her changes.
Reading Focus
- Fufi's appearance
- Panther's appearance
- Trevor's belief that Fufi was “dumb”
- Panther responding whenever called
- The burglary incident
- Fufi's injury
- The veterinarian's discovery that Fufi was deaf
- Panther's role in helping Fufi
- Trevor's deep attachment to Fufi
- Fufi's extraordinary jumping ability
1. Guided Reading – 15 minutes
2. Character Comparison – 10 minutes
| Fufi | Panther |
|---|---|
| Beautiful | Unusual-looking |
| Clean-lined | Scruffy-looking |
| Deaf | Could hear |
| Excellent jumper | Helped Fufi respond |
| Trevor's dog | Mother's dog |
3. Discussion – 10 minutes
Why did Trevor's family mistake Fufi's deafness for lack of intelligence?
4. Expression Analysis – 10 minutes
Discuss: “It's like a bicycle, but with emotions.”
5. Recapitulation – 5 minutes
Learning Objective
Develop prediction, inference and narrative comprehension skills.
1. Prediction – 5 minutes
Where do you think Fufi goes every day, and why?
2. Reading – 15 minutes
- Fufi scaling the five-foot wall
- Leaving the house every morning
- Trevor discovering her escape
- Trevor following her on his bicycle
- Fufi travelling through several streets
- Her arrival at another house
3. Prediction Check – 5 minutes
4. Narrative Sequencing – 10 minutes
5. Vocabulary in Context – 10 minutes
rascal • scale • enclosed • roam • scamper • grab • neighbourhood
6. Recap – 5 minutes
Learning Objective
Analyse Trevor's emotional response to discovering Fufi's second home.
Reading Focus
- Trevor reaching the other house
- The boy calling Fufi “Spotty”
- Both boys claiming the dog
- Fufi's inability to respond because she is deaf
- Trevor's anger
- Confrontation between the families
- Trevor believing Fufi had been kidnapped
- Trevor's mother obtaining proof of ownership
- The other family's refusal to surrender Fufi
- Payment of one hundred rand
- Fufi returning with Trevor and his mother
1. Dramatised Reading – 15 minutes
Roles: Trevor • Other boy • Trevor's mother • Other boy's mother
2. Conflict Analysis – 10 minutes
Discuss: Who actually “owned” Fufi?
3. Trevor's Emotions – 10 minutes
4. Point-of-View Activity – 10 minutes
How might the other boy have felt when Fufi was taken away?
5. Recap – 5 minutes
Learning Objective
Understand the central message of the story.
1. Reading – 10 minutes
2. Discussion – 10 minutes
Why was Trevor crying?
Why was his mother's response important?
3. Concept Mapping – 10 minutes
4. Group Discussion – 10 minutes
“Is love possible without freedom?”
5. Connecting with the Unit – 5 minutes
Discuss how the experience functions as a “mirror within”, enabling Trevor to understand his own emotions.
6. Exit Response – 5 minutes
Complete: “Fufi taught Trevor that…”
Discourse Activity 2: Diary Entry
Context: Trevor has followed Fufi and discovered that she regularly visits another boy. He feels betrayed and heartbroken.
Imagine that you are Trevor. Write the diary entry he might have written that night.
Features of a Diary Entry
- Date/day
- Personal and informal tone
- First-person narration
- Immediate context
- Thoughts and feelings
- Emotional vocabulary
- Reflection
- Suitable conclusion
Points for Development
- Followed Fufi
- Shocked to see her at another house
- Another boy called her Spotty
- Fufi appeared comfortable with him
- Felt ignored and betrayed
- Remembered raising her
- Anger and confusion
- Pain of “first heartbreak”
- Questions about love and loyalty
Classroom Procedure: Generate points – 10 min • Diary conventions – 10 min • Individual writing – 20 min • Peer review/presentation – 10 min
Discourse Activity 3: Analytical / Personal Response
Planning the Response
Introduction
- Childhood experiences shape attitudes.
- Relationships teach emotional lessons.
Trevor's Experience
- Loved Fufi deeply.
- Discovered Fufi's second relationship.
- Initially interpreted it as betrayal.
- Felt jealous and heartbroken.
Realisation
- Fufi had no malicious intention.
- Her relationship elsewhere did not reduce her love for Trevor.
- Affection cannot be controlled through ownership.
Personal Connection
- An appropriate personal experience
- Misunderstanding or jealousy
- Lesson learned
Conclusion
Healthy relationships require trust, freedom and understanding.
Classroom Procedure: Analyse quotation – 10 min • Brainstorm – 10 min • Organise response – 10 min • Individual writing – 15 min • Sharing/feedback – 5 min
4. Character Sketch of Fufi
Beautiful appearance • deafness • affectionate nature • intelligence/adaptability • extraordinary jumping ability • independence • relationship with Panther • affection for Trevor • freedom-loving nature • role in teaching Trevor an important lesson.
5. Character Sketch of Trevor
Affectionate child • attachment to pets • love for Fufi • possessiveness • jealousy • emotional sensitivity • heartbreak • willingness to learn • later maturity • deeper understanding of relationships.
6. Character Sketch of Trevor's Mother
Practical • caring • patient • emotionally mature • calm in conflict • understands Trevor's feelings • teaches him about love • turns heartbreak into understanding.
7. Anecdote
Topic: “An Experience That Taught Me a Valuable Lesson”
8. Conversation
Prepare a conversation between Trevor and his mother after bringing Fufi home.
9. Speech
Topic: “Love Does Not Mean Possession”
10. Pet Adoption Profile
Name • Breed/type • Age • Colour • Physical features • Personality • Habits • Food • Health • Special care • Suitability for adoption
| Word / Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| neighbourhood | Area surrounding one's home |
| vicious | Violent or dangerous |
| scruffy-looking | Untidy in appearance |
| traits | Distinctive qualities |
| deaf | Unable to hear |
| potty-trained | Trained to relieve itself appropriately |
| rascal | Mischievous person or animal |
| enclosed | Surrounded or closed in |
| scale | Climb |
| scamper | Run quickly with light steps |
| malicious | Intending to cause harm |
| betrayal | Breaking someone's trust |
| heartbreak | Intense emotional sadness |
| fullest | To the greatest possible extent |
Autobiographical Narration: Trevor narrates a childhood experience from his own life.
First-Person Point of View: The frequent use of “I” gives immediacy and intimacy to the narrative.
Humour: Trevor presents several experiences humorously even while dealing with serious ideas.
Dialogue: Dialogue makes the confrontation over Fufi lively and dramatic.
Anecdote: A simple childhood incident leads to a profound realisation.
Empathy • Respect for animals • Tolerance • Trust • Emotional maturity • Respect for freedom • Healthy relationships • Awareness of prejudice • Learning from experience
Oral questioning • Reading comprehension • “Let's Pause and Ponder” discussions • Poster preparation • Pet profile • Prediction activity • Dramatised reading • Diary entry • Analytical response • Character sketch • Conversation • Speech • Vocabulary exercises • Peer assessment • Portfolio work
Prescribed English textbook • Pictures of pets • Chart paper • Markers • Adoption posters • Presentation slides • Dictionary • Worksheets • Mind maps • Suitable audio/video resources
- Pre-reading anecdote
- Poster for pet adoption
- Pet profile
- Responses to “Let's Pause and Ponder”
- Character sketch of Fufi
- Trevor's diary entry
- Analytical response – “You do not own the thing you love”
- Vocabulary activity
- Character sketch of Trevor
- Personal reflection on the lesson
- Narrate the major events coherently.
- Analyse Fufi, Trevor and Trevor's mother.
- Interpret Trevor's emotional transformation.
- Discuss superstition and prejudice.
- Understand the relationship between love and freedom.
- Recognise possessiveness as different from genuine affection.
- Appreciate autobiographical narration and humour.
- Prepare functional and creative discourses.
- Connect literary experiences with everyday relationships.
- Communicate ideas effectively through speaking and writing.
- Were students able to follow the sequence of events?
- Did they understand why Fufi was initially misunderstood?
- Could they distinguish love from possessiveness?
- Did the “Pause and Ponder” discussions generate meaningful interaction?
- Were students able to prepare an effective adoption poster?
- Did the diary entry reflect Trevor's emotional state?
- Could learners analyse “You do not own the thing you love” rather than merely retell the story?
- Which learners require additional support in written discourse?
Ask learners to explain how the three are connected in Fufi.
Fufi's affection for another boy does not diminish her affection for Trevor. The painful childhood experience ultimately teaches him to approach later relationships with greater understanding, freedom and emotional maturity—the kind of inward reflection suggested by the unit title, The Mirror Within.