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
Mum and Callum have spent the morning visiting any lawyer’s office that offers free legal aid. Other lawyers, upon learning about Dad’s case, have shown Mum and Callum out. Callum isn’t hopeful about the office he’s in now, Stanhope and Rigby—the office is disgusting. As Callum tells Mum they can do better, a voice behind him tells Callum not to judge. The nought man introduces himself as Adam Stanhope, the son of the firm’s founder. This impresses Callum; there are barely any nought attorneys, let alone second-generation attorneys.
Because of their poor financial situation combined with being noughts, Mum and Callum don’t have as many options as they might otherwise when it comes to lawyers. To Callum, this is a huge gut punch: he doesn’t believe anyone who keeps such a disgusting office could possibly do any good for Dad. But Mr. Stanhope starts to look a bit more promising when Callum discovers he’s a second-generation attorney—there may be more to him than meets the eye.
Themes
Mr. Stanhope leads Mum and Callum across a sticky floor and flings open a door to reveal a clean, polished office. Seeing Callum’s amazed look, Mr. Stanhope says that Crosses are reassured by a nought lawyer who doesn’t seem successful. Once everyone is seated, Mum tells Mr. Stanhope about Dad’s case. Mr. Stanhope says only, “I see” as Mum says Dad didn’t do it and she doesn’t have much money. Mr. Stanhope says he can’t work for free, and this case will be expensive. But he’ll talk to Dad and then decide. When Callum asks if Mr. Stanhope is a good lawyer, Mr. Stanhope says he’s won more cases than he’s lost.
Mr. Stanhope might have more money and outward success than Callum’s family, but he’s still working within the same racist framework. This is why he feels like he has to keep a gross waiting room—he doesn’t want to seem threatening to potential Cross clients. While Mum seems happy to go with Mr. Stanhope simply because the attorney will take the case, Callum wants a better indication that Mr. Stanhope can actually help. Callum is a bit more idealistic than Mum right now.
Themes
Mum and Callum are sitting in the police station waiting room while Mr. Stanhope talks to Dad. They’ve been here forever, and Callum suspects Mr. Stanhope snuck out the back. But Mr. Stanhope appears and grimly asks Mum and Callum to follow him. As soon as Mum enters the cell, she runs into Dad’s arms. After Dad hugs Callum, he asks where Jude is. Confused, Mum says Jude disappeared before the police even came.
With Dad’s life on the line, Mum has put aside her issues with Dad and is throwing herself fully into supporting him. This highlights her loyalty to her family—she’s going to do whatever it takes to help her husband and sons. Though it at first seems like a good sign that Mr. Stanhope didn’t bail on the McGregors, his expression and Dad asking after Jude indicates that there’s something odd going on.
Themes
Dad is suddenly furious. He says the police said they had Jude—and so Dad confessed to all the charges to save Jude. They threatened Mum and Callum if Dad didn’t. Dad tells Mum he didn’t plant the bomb, but he had no choice. Mum, shocked, says Dad is going to hang. She looks to Mr. Stanhope, who says that Dad confessed on video. Callum thinks that Jude can’t be the bomber as Dad explains that he used a coke can from home and kept other bomb supplies around the house. Jude must have touched them, which accounts for the fingerprints. Dad shouts that Jude isn’t guilty; he is. Mum sobs, but Dad says that he won’t let his family go to jail. With his confession, Jude won’t die.
To readers and to everyone in the room, it’s clear that the police set Dad up. Moreover, the police are clearly only interested in convicting someone of the crime, whether or not that person is actually guilty. In other words, they want to look like they’re doing something, not actually carry out justice. And Dad shows that his loyalty is, at this point, to his family: he fell for the police’s trap because he wants to save his family members from death or dehumanization.
Themes
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