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
Sephy is fast asleep, but Callum isn’t. This is not what he expected. He got here wanting to smash things, including Sephy. But now she’s in his arms. He could do anything—he could caress her, or he could strangle her. In her sleep, Sephy turns to face Callum. He kisses her, and she wakes up and kisses him back. But Callum pulls away and angrily asks if she’s kissing him because she wants to, or because she feels guilty. She tries to turn away, hurt, but Callum won’t let her. He refuses to leave when she asks him to and suggests they get some sleep. Sephy falls asleep again on Callum’s shoulder. Callum whispers a secret in Sephy’s ear—something he’s never told anyone else, even himself.
Callum’s inner monologue illustrates how closely connected romance and violence are for him: Sephy is both the object of his affections and a convenient target if he’d like to take out his anger on a real person. And Callum’s anger and tenderness as he kisses Sephy also drive home that this is a very tense romance: Callum doesn’t seem to trust that Sephy genuinely has feelings for him. Rather, he suspects that she’s using her sexuality to make him feel better, something Sephy’s hurt reaction suggests isn’t true.
Themes
