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Chapter 41
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
Callum sits down beside Sephy on the beach. After a while, Sephy says she meant no harm, but going to the funeral wasn’t a great idea. Sadly, Sephy says she just wanted to show she cares—and a card seemed too impersonal. Callum doesn’t know what to say. Sephy asks if this is growing up, and then she asks Callum to put an arm around her. He hesitates, but he doesn’t explain to Sephy why he hesitates.
It's exhausting for Callum to have to consistently explain to Sephy why nobody appreciates her gestures. She has good intentions, but Sephy still puts herself and her desires first. She does this here by asking Callum to put an arm around her. Essentially, she wants to be comforted because she feels bad for offending people—while Callum is feeling bad because his sister died.
Themes
