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Chapter 49
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
Mum accosts Callum with questions as soon as he gets home—she wants to know where Jude is. He left just after Callum did. Mum still doesn’t know what happened, but before Callum can tell her, an emergency alert comes on the TV. A newscaster explains that a bomb exploded at the Dundale Shopping Center, killing at least seven people. The newscaster says that five minutes before the bomb detonated, the government received a warning from the Liberation Media.
Both Mum and Callum suspect that Dad and/or Jude were involved in the bombing. For Mum, it’s essential that she find her oldest son so she can protect him. And it seems like a shock for both Mum and Callum to realize that Dad and Jude’s involvement with the Liberation Militia has led to this violent act. But the LM’s actions also suggest that noughts are fed up with the status quo—and they’re willing to go to extremes to try to make change.
Themes
From behind Callum, Jude says that’s a lie—he and Dad are in the doorway. The TV shows footage of the bloody carnage outside the mall, and then the prime minister comes on the screen. He says that all the Liberation Militia has done is make the government less interested in working with them. Jude starts to ask Dad something, but Dad shushes him. Mum turns the TV off and asks Dad to tell her the truth: did he and Jude plant the bomb? Dad says it’s none of Mum’s business. Even angrier now, Mum asks Jude if he planted the bomb. Disobeying Dad, Jude blurts that their cell had to—but there was supposed to be a warning an hour before it went off, and everyone was supposed to be evacuated. He doesn’t understand why that didn’t happen, and he turns to Dad.
Given what Jude says about how the mall was supposed to be evacuated before the blast, it seems as though the LM just wanted to make a threat but not hurt anyone—but for whatever reason, the threat morphed into actually killing people. This is a huge shock for Jude in particular. He seems to have innocently trusted Dad and the LM to act fairly and follow through with the lifesaving warning—and it's unclear to him why this didn’t happen.
Themes
Mum tries not to vomit and says that Dad and Jude murdered people. Dad’s defiant expression seems to crumble, and he reaches for Mum—but she slaps him so hard she breaks a finger. She screeches that Dad promised not to endanger his family, and she insists murdering people won’t bring Lynette back. Dad says that now, the Crosses know the Liberation Militia mean business. Mum ignores Dad and asks Jude to take her to the hospital so she can get her finger looked at. Dad offers to take her, but she warns him to stay away from her.
Dad is caught between his loyalty to Mum and his loyalty to the LM. He wants to support a cause he believes in, but Mum makes it clear that Dad’s loyalty to the LM is seriously damaging their marriage. Mum’s choice to resort to physical violence illustrates that violence plagues most romantic relationships in the novel, whether they’re between noughts, Crosses, or noughts and Crosses.
Themes
Once Jude and Mum are out the door, Dad hugs himself and starts to pray—this is odd, Dad doesn’t believe in God. But Dad suddenly notices Callum and stops. Callum says he’ll go help Mum and Jude and runs away.
Things get even more confusing for Callum when he sees Dad pray to a god who’s supposed to only look out for Crosses. But it’s too hard for Callum to try to talk to Dad right now, so he follows Mum and Jude instead.
Themes
Get the entire Noughts and Crosses LitChart as a printable PDF.
