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Chapter 1
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
Standing outside his house, Callum closes his eyes and tells himself he lives somewhere grand. But when he opens his eyes, his house is still a “rundown hovel.” Callum pushes the shame and anger down and walks in the front door. Mum immediately runs for Callum and asks where he was. Callum ignores her and sits at the table—where his 17-year-old “toad” of a brother, Jude, says Callum was with his “dagger friend.” Callum hates the word and tells Mum he was just walking.
What shines through in this passage is Callum’s intense shame as he faces his family’s poverty. The poverty, perhaps even more than being a nought, makes Callum upset and ashamed. Callum also doesn’t seem to get along well with family members, if he describes Jude as a “toad.” Jude’s use of the word “dagger” (which Callum frames as at least wildly impolite, if not a slur) also suggests he's not interested in integrating—which could also be part of Callum and Jude’s issue with each other.
Themes
Jude, eating some spilled pasta right off the table, distracts Mum from Callum for a moment. Callum greets Lynette, but she looks down. She and Callum have always been close. But though she’s 20, Lynette has been “a bit simple” since she was in an accident three years ago. She always looks serene, and Callum envies her sometimes. Mum asks Callum again where he was, but Dad changes the subject by asking if Callum is ready for school tomorrow. He’s thrilled his son is going to Heathcroft, but Mum says it’s a mistake: noughts should have their own schools that are just as good as Cross schools. They shouldn’t mix, as Crosses will always treat noughts as second-class citizens.
Callum starts to share what happened to Lynette at the end of the prologue, but he leaves things vague. He frames Lynette as possibly struggling to recover from some major trauma. Conflict emerges between Mum and Dad in this passage: Mum believes noughts and Crosses should live in a separate but equal society, while Dad supports integration. So it’s clear that life at home isn’t great for Callum, as he constantly finds himself at odds with Jude and in the middle of his parents’ fights.
Themes
Callum is shocked to hear Mum say this. Segregation has existed for forever, and what will please the noughts and Crosses? Different planets? Mum and Dad continue to argue, but Callum insists he’ll be fine. As Jude quips that Callum will soon be too good for them, Callum sips his milk. He wishes he could have orange juice, like Sephy has every night, but it’s too expensive. Jude continues to taunt Callum. He’s been unbearable since Callum got accepted to Heathcroft, and it’s a constant struggle to not hit him. Callum wants to escape to the beach with Sephy and thinks of their kiss. He’s excited to go to school tomorrow. He’ll be able to make something of himself with a “proper education”—and then nothing can stand between him and Sephy.
It's unclear to Callum why Mum is just now coming out in support of segregation. Callum seems to agree more with Dad, especially since it’s framed as though he’s going to be one of the first nought students to attend Heathcroft (Sephy’s school). Orange juice emerges as a symbol for Sephy’s wealth and privilege, and Callum aspiring to have orange juice with dinner every night speaks to his desire to move up the social ladder. His insistence that getting a “proper education” will also help speaks to how strongly he wants to move up in social class and transcend racial divisions.
Themes
