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Chapter 39
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
Today is Lynette’s funeral. She’s been gone a week, and Callum has spent the week doing nothing. He spends the morning of the funeral on the beach and returns home to find his house full of people. Callum knows Lynette would be just as surprised by the fuss everyone is making as he is. He also knows Mum and Dad would be devastated to know Lynette’s death was intentional, so he’s decided they’ll never know.
As Callum decides to take on the emotional burden of keeping Lynette’s suicide a secret, he draws away from his parents. He’s trying to protect them, but by keeping this secret, Callum also doesn’t let his parents support him and help him grieve for his sister.
Themes
Realizing he hasn’t seen Mum and Dad in a while, Callum goes looking for them. He finds Dad in the corner with two other men and heads that direction, but he stops when he sees the solemn looks on their faces. Callum watches Dad nod as the other two talk, and then sees him pocket something another man gives him. He then sees Mum see Dad—and she’s clearly livid. Callum is so caught up in watching his parents that he doesn’t notice the room quiet down until it’s silent. When Callum turns around, Sephy is there.
Callum is very absorbed in his own grief. This, combined with his youth and his innocence, means that he’s been somewhat unaware of what’s brewing between Mum and Dad. But here, Callum sees that there’s clearly something going on; Dad’s involved with these men in some way, and Mum is not happy about it. It’s unclear what’s happening, and Sephy’s arrival means that Callum has to wait to find out.
Themes
Sephy approaches Mum and Dad and offers her condolences. Mum assures Sephy she’s not intruding, but as Sephy notices the hostile glares from the other attendees, she says she should leave. Mum argues—but Dad is glaring at Sephy. His expression matches the one Mrs. Hadley gave Callum when he tried to visit Sephy after she was beaten up. Jude steps forward and tells Sephy to leave—if Sephy really cared, she would’ve been helpful for the last three years when the McGregors were so poor, and she wouldn’t have acted like a “brat” and gotten Harry fired.
Noting that Dad and Mrs. Hadley’s expressions match suggests that the animosity that noughts and Crosses feel for each other is similar on both sides. And in the McGregors’ home, noughts for once have more power than Crosses like Sephy have. This is why Dad and Jude feel comfortable speaking so bluntly to Sephy; in this situation, Sephy doesn’t have the social power that she usually does.
Themes
Sephy stares at a man Callum has never seen, Harry, and says in a shocked tone that the new chauffeur said Harry quit. Harry says he was fired for not protecting Sephy from the riot at school. Jude shoves Sephy and says that Crosses like her have only hurt his family, and Dad tells Sephy to leave. When Sephy says she hasn’t done anything, Dad says that’s exactly right—and now she’s here in a dress that cost more than he makes in a year, expecting everyone to celebrate her. Callum tries to approach Sephy, but a woman holds him back and whispers that noughts and Crosses don’t mix. Sephy runs from the room, crying.
The discovery that Harry was indeed fired makes Sephy look naïve. She learns in this situation that she can’t take someone like Karl at his word—and she shouldn’t trust her parents to treat their staff fairly. Then, Dad essentially accuses Sephy of pretending to care about Lynette just so she looks good. And he notes that it’s extremely tone deaf for her to come in such an expensive dress, as it just highlights how poor the McGregors are.
Themes
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Mum tells Jude that was uncalled for, but Dad spits that Jude only told the truth. Many people, including Mum, stare at Dad in disbelief. When did Dad decide “live and let live” wasn’t good enough? Dad tells Mum that his “ineffectual days are over” and pushes past her. Callum is terrified.
Now, Callum can’t ignore that tensions are rising in his family—and between noughts and Crosses. Dad’s insistence that he’s done being “ineffectual” is extremely ominous, as it suggests he’s going to go to greater lengths to change things.
Themes
