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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
When Sephy hears a quiet knock on the door, she leaps off her bed and pretends to have been brushing her hair. Minnie comes in quietly and asks if Sephy is okay. She’s concerned: Sephy hasn’t gone back to school, she always looks like she’s been crying, and she only wears leggings and baggy sweaters now. Sephy is annoyed, but Minnie says Sephy must be pregnant and starting to show. Sephy instantly bursts into tears.
Sephy is by now four to five months pregnant, so Minnie is likely right that she’s starting to show. Interestingly, Minnie’s concern for Sephy seems genuine—it’s hard for her to see her sister so sad and not doing anything. But Sephy has been hiding what’s going on for months now, so Minnie’s concern hits her hard and causes her to lose control of her emotions.
Themes
Minnie pulls Sephy close and says that if Sephy had asked, she and everyone else could’ve helped her long ago. She points out that Sephy can’t just ignore that she’s pregnant—she’ll have to tell Mother. Horrified, Sephy begs Minnie to keep her secret. Minnie grudgingly agrees and leaves. Sephy returns to weeping. Her dreams for the future are gone—now she just wants her baby.
Minnie is right: Sephy can’t hide her pregnancy forever, and people are going to find out. But this is a frightening thought for Sephy, in part because she does want her baby. That desire is possibly dangerous for her, as her baby will be proof that noughts and Crosses can love each other—something her society would rather ignore.
Themes
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