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Chapter 9
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
Finally, Heathcroft comes on TV. Callum notices that nobody shows how the police officers supposedly protecting the nought students still let the Crosses physically assault and spit on the noughts. The newscaster says the nought students met “some hostility” today, which makes Callum snort. Jude mutters, and Callum doesn’t blame him—he’s also enraged. His anger disappears, though, when Lynette grabs Callum’s hand. The TV shows Sephy yelling at the crowd, and Callum excuses himself to do homework. From the other room, Callum listens to Jude say that noughts and Crosses can never be friends—Callum is fooling himself about his friendship with Sephy. Mum and Dad both agree, and Mum says she’ll talk to Callum soon. Callum wonders if maybe his family is right.
Getting Callum’s inner monologue and his experience of walking up to Heathcroft shows that the news is intentionally downplaying how volatile the mob was this morning. The language the newscaster chooses suggests that they don’t see the mob as anything to get too worked up over—even though the mob was shouting horrible slurs. Callum is still reeling after hearing Sephy use “blanker,” and he doesn’t want to expose himself to any more trauma. But in leaving the room, he gets to hear what his family really thinks—and this makes him feel even more at odds with them, too.
Themes
