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Chapter 23
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
It was the train journey from hell and it ruined Callum’s whole day. With three stops to go, two Cross police officers got on to check IDs. Callum wasn’t surprised by this; Sephy was. When the officers got to Callum, they took his ID and asked him for his name and age—information that’s on his ID. They asked where he lived, and where he was going. Upon hearing he was going to Celebration Park, they said he was a long way from home. They asked for Callum’s ticket, and then asked where he got the money for it—or if he bought it himself at all.
The fact that Sephy is surprised is a sign of her privilege: she’s not used to being questioned for just existing in public, like Callum is. The fact that this experience ruins Callum’s whole day speaks to how demeaning it is to be constantly thought of as a criminal. Wherever Callum goes, Crosses think the worst of him—and Crosses with institutional power, like police officers, have the ability to make Callum’s life scary and miserable.
Themes
When Callum admitted he didn’t buy the ticket, the officers asked him to come with them. Sephy suddenly jumped up, said that Callum was with her, and offered to give them phone numbers for her father, home office minister Kamal Hadley, or his personal secretary. The officers backed down, but they glared at Callum. They’d been humiliated by a child and couldn’t even take out their anger on a nought.
It's unclear why Sephy waited so long to set the officers straight—she could’ve saved Callum a lot of grief by mentioning from the outset that she and Callum were together. And note that Sephy gets the better of the officers by making it clear that she’s wealthy and well-connected. It works, but she also unwittingly lords her power over Callum.
Themes
Once the officers wandered away, Sephy winked at Callum and asked if he was okay. Sephy then said she wasn’t going to let the officers ruin her day. Callum looked away, not wanting to blame Sephy for the way the police treat noughts. She’s not responsible for the way security guards follow noughts around stores. Callum doesn’t even go into gift shops anymore, since all Crosses believe noughts just steal. Callum doesn’t want to resent Sephy for the fact that his education is thought of as being less important than hers. He pushed his loathing deeper inside himself.
The wink makes it seem like, to Sephy, this was just a fun exercise and nothing to worry about. But Callum explains to readers that for him, this is so much more. This is proof that Crosses think poorly of him, just because of his skin color. Callum believes that Crosses want him to fail and expect him to be a criminal. And it’s getting harder for him to not loathe Sephy alongside all the other Crosses who treat him terribly.
Themes
