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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
Jude, Morgan, and Pete are ecstatic—they’ve kidnapped Kamal Hadley’s daughter, and she’ll die if he doesn’t work with them. Sephy is now stashed away in the middle of nowhere. Jude tells Callum he’s proud of him, but Callum shoves Jude against a wall and tells him to never underestimate his loyalty again. Jude agrees, but he also laughs. Callum wants to destroy Jude. He turns away and sees that Morgan, Pete, and Leila are all staring at him admiringly.
This is a tense situation for a variety of reasons. But for Callum, things are difficult because he’s caught between wanting to impress his brother and look competent, and his possible lingering feelings for Sephy. His cell, though, seems to admire Callum for being able to put aside his old feelings for Sephy and kidnap her—a sign that perhaps Callum’s heart is hardening.
Themes
Jude says that next, they need to deliver a ransom note with proof they have Sephy to Mr. Hadley. Jude asks Callum to decide what the proof should be. Callum knows this is a test. He says he’ll cut some of Sephy’s hair and film her holding today’s paper, and he’ll stain some article of clothing with Sephy’s blood. He tries to tell himself that it’s not Sephy; she’s just “some Cross female.” Everyone stares at Callum as he gathers his supplies and heads for Sephy’s cell.
Jude wants to make sure that Callum is fully committed to the LM’s cause—which is why he insists that Callum be the one to hurt and intimidate Sephy. To Jude, that will prove that Callum doesn’t love her anymore. It’s hard to tell if Callum still loves Sephy, but it’s clear that hurting her isn’t an easy prospect: he still sees her as an old friend and not “some Cross female,” as he tries to tell himself.
Themes
Callum and the rest of the cell are in a three-room brick cabin; they keep prisoners in the bedroom as needed. As he approaches the bedroom, he thinks of how Jude and Pete have been planning this since they heard Sephy was heading home. The General himself even gave the okay, and the General’s second-in-command will be here in a day or two. The cabin is remote, but two people will be on guard at all times, just in case. So far, they’ve been successful. Callum tells himself he can do this. He reminds himself to be what he has to be, not what he is. He’s been repeating this to himself since he joined the LM. Callum unlocks the cell door.
The way that Callum describes the cabin gives more insight into what activities the LM engages in: kidnapping is common enough, if this cabin has been used in the past for prisoners. Callum also shares that this is a very high-stakes kidnapping, and not just because Sephy is from such a wealthy family. The entirety of the LM is watching, and so it’s essential that Callum do what he’s supposed to do. But he suggests that being violent isn’t what he wants to be—it’s just what he has to do to survive.
Themes
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