Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Noughts and Crosses, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Racism, Division, and Tragedy
Awareness and Privilege
Love, Lust, Power, and Violence
Friendship
Youth, Innocence, and Growing Up
Family
Summary
Analysis
It’s early in the morning and Sephy hasn’t slept at all. Mother is okay after the bombing, and outwardly, Sephy is too. Inside, though, she’s tormented by the knowledge that Callum knew about the bomb. He saved her life, but she almost wishes he hadn’t. Sephy heads downstairs, hoping some warm milk might help her feel better. But when she opens the fridge, she finds Mother’s bottle of chardonnay. Sephy pours herself a tiny bit; it tastes like vinegar. But as she drinks more, she decides she likes it. After a full glass, Sephy falls fast asleep.
Sephy is struggling to confront some difficult potential truths about Callum. Again, while readers know Callum isn’t involved with the LM, Sephy doesn’t know this—and she clearly sees the LM as a group that’s purely violent and scary. This causes her to call her friendship with Callum into question, and to wonder if she really knows Callum at all. And for now, alcohol starts to look like a good way to escape these things she doesn’t understand.
Themes
