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Chapter 25
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 Callum gets home, the house is in chaos. Lynette is experiencing another episode and Jude is upset, as usual—but strangely, Lynette is yelling back at Jude, and Jude’s face is bleeding. Dad is standing between them. As Jude and Lynette try to hit each other, Jude spits that “daggers” still see a nought when they look at Lynette. When Lynette insists she has dark skin, Jude drags her to the broken mirror, pulls her face close to his, and says they’re equally white. He calls her pathetic and says if she hates herself so much, she should just die. If God is real, she’ll come back as a “dagger” and Jude won’t have to feel bad about hating her.
It's important for readers to remember that Lynette is mentally ill—so aside from being extremely rude and saying damaging, hurtful things, Jude isn’t helping his sister heal. Rather, it appears as though he’s lashing out because of the hatred he feels for Crosses; it stings for him to see his own sister identifying more with Crosses than with noughts. This conflict makes Callum’s home life even less safe and supportive, and this starts to push all three McGregor children to look for support elsewhere.
Themes
Dad tells Jude to stop, but Jude says someone has to tell Lynette the truth—nobody, not Dad, Mum, nor Callum, have enough backbone to do it. Callum says that Lynette isn’t the only person who can’t stand Jude, which causes Jude to rush Callum and knock him to the ground. Dad pulls Jude up and slaps him across the face when Jude turns away. In a menacing voice, Dad says Jude has no idea what Lynette has been through, so he can’t judge her.
Jude makes it clear that he thinks he’s doing the right thing by insisting to Lynette that she’s white—though this is corrupted somewhat by his cruelty and his unwillingness to try to understand why Lynette might suffer from these delusions. Dad’s menacing warning indicates that Jude doesn’t know everything, and it's foolish to think he does.
Themes
Dad explains that three years ago, at the same time Mum lost her job and Jude had to drop out of school, Lynette and her boyfriend were attacked by four nought men. Callum and Jude had always heard that Lynette was away for two weeks caring for their sick aunt, but Dad says Lynette didn’t want anyone to know the truth. She was in the hospital for two weeks. The attackers almost killed both Lynette and her boyfriend—all because her boyfriend was a Cross. He asks if it’s any wonder that Lynette can’t think of herself as a nought, after all noughts have done to her.
Lynette’s story (and Dad’s analysis of what happened) suggests that Lynette doesn’t see the Crosses as evil oppressors. Rather, she sees noughts—like Jude—as the people who hurt her and destroyed her relationship with her boyfriend. Noting that Lynette didn’t want anyone to know what happened suggests that she feels ashamed. In this way, she shares a lot in common with her brothers. Their shame just takes different forms.
Themes
Callum realizes Lynette’s hands are bleeding. She stares at them, and then looks up and asks where Jed is. Dad says that Jed left a long time ago. Lynette looks suddenly horrified and asks where she is and where Jed is—he was here yesterday, or last week. Dad gently reminds Lynette that she’s 20, not 17. Jude reaches for Lynette, apologizing, but she slaps him away and runs upstairs. Callum has never seen Dad and Jude look so lost. Callum turns and sees himself in the mirror. He realizes that he looks just like Dad and Jude. He had no idea he shares their same hates, fears, and feelings.
To Jude and Callum, Lynette’s odd behavior suddenly makes sense, and she seems young and in need of protection rather than ridiculous. For Callum, though, the main takeaway from all this isn’t that Lynette is recovering from major trauma. It’s that he, Jude, and Dad are all at a loss as to how to help her. They’re having to balance their personal hatred of Crosses with their love for Lynette. And it’s hard for Callum to realize he’s just as upset and ashamed as his family members.
Themes
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