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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
Sephy watches with horror as a newscaster says that Ryan McGregor has confessed to the Dundale mall bombings and his family members are in hiding. He obviously didn’t do it. How can Sephy help? Minnie interrupts Sephy’s thoughts to call Ryan a “blanker scumbag” and say that the whole family should hang. Mother scolds Minnie, but Minnie keeps going: this is going to hurt Mr. Hadley, since Meggie used to work for them.
In Sephy’s mind, it’s obvious that the McGregors have nothing to do with the bombing—these are people she once loved and trusted. Sephy’s family members, though, now see their former employee’s family as just another nought family—which means the McGregors are, to Minnie, criminals and bad people.
Themes
Minnie suggests that Callum must be guilty too, but Sephy argues that’s not true. Mother tells Sephy to grow up and leaves the room. Minnie tells Sephy that she knows nothing about how the world works and leaves as well. Sephy feels so alone. Why does everyone leave her? But she is certain that Ryan isn’t the bomber.
Minnie and Mother aren’t willing to call out Sephy directly, but they seem to take offense at her naivete. But they presumably think Callum is guilty for racist, prejudiced reasons, given that Minnie thinks the entire McGregor family is guilty by association.
Themes
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