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 heading home for the first time in two and a half years, just to appease Mother. Karl picks Sephy up at Chivers and drives her home silently. It turns out when Sephy arrives home that Minnie and Mother are out. It’s kind of a relief; Sephy doesn’t know how to handle Mother. Sephy will only be home for a few days, since she starts a summer job at a law practice in a week. Sarah greets Sephy warmly once Sephy is inside and offers Sephy a note—from Callum. Sephy’s heart pounds as she reads it. Callum asks her to meet him at their place late tonight. Why does he want to see her? Why does Sephy suddenly feel conflicted? It doesn’t seem like there’s any harm in going, but something tells her to stay home.
Sephy is still fighting against her familial obligations. She’s becoming more independent, and she doesn’t see her family as a source of support—coming home is just a way to make Mother stop fussing. This is why it’s a relief that nobody is home: Sephy doesn’t want to see anyone anyway, and she’s too focused on her future life that doesn’t include being close with her family. Callum’s note, though, brings Sephy back into the past. On some level, she seems to still hope that things will work out between her and Callum.
Themes
