Noughts And Crosses

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2001

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue

Part 1, Chapters 1-15

Part 2, Chapters 16-20

Part 3, Chapters 21-24

Part 4, Chapters 25-42

Part 5, Chapters 43-64

Part 6, Chapters 65-74

Part 7, Chapters 75-88

Part 8, Chapters 89-103

Part 9, Chapters 104-113

Part 10, Chapters 114-117

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Symbols & Motifs

Noughts and Crosses

Blackman uses the symbols of noughts and crosses to distinguish between the two groups warring for power within her novel. A reference to the British version of tic-tac-toe, noughts and crosses is a game composed of two sides represented by a circle for the noughts and an X for the crosses. She associates noughts with the color white and crosses with the color black. The color and shape of each symbol contribute to its meaning throughout the novel.

The lighter skinned noughts face discrimination in the Cross-dominated society Blackman describes. The word nought means nothing and represents the lack of value attributed to them by the darker-skinned Crosses. Callum explains that “even the word was negative. Nothing. Nil. Zero. Nonentities” (84). Blackman furthers this discrimination by creating the derogatory term of blanker, a term which enrages Callum. The symbol of the cross carries a religious connotation as the shape of an X resembles that of the Christian cross. Blackman chooses this meaning to emphasize the religious justification for discrimination promoted by the Crosses who believe they are favored by God to rule over noughts. Blackman uses the term dagger as the derogatory term for Crosses to convey the danger and treachery associated with Crosses by the nought community. Through her use of carefully constructed language and images, Blackman demonstrates the differences between the two communities and positions them in conflict with one another. This conflict drives the plot of the novel forward and contributes to the struggles with identity and love experienced by the main characters of Callum and Sephy.

Death

Death surrounds Callum throughout the novel. The multiple references to death in relation to Callum foreshadow his own death and symbolizes the death of his outdated approach to navigating life in a Cross-dominated society. The first mention of death occurs early in the novel as Callum and his family listen to a news report on a car bomb attributed to the Liberation Militia. The news reporter explains that the sentence for political terrorism is execution. This detail foreshadows Callum’s later death by hanging at the novel’s conclusion. The death of his sister Lynette leads Callum and his family down a path of destruction. Lynette chooses Callum to carry the secret of her suicide, but he struggles to honor that secret. He judges his sister for giving up on her life and vows never to do the same. This reaction serves as a point of contrast for Callum’s ultimate act of sacrifice for his daughter. Callum’s attempts to navigate life as a nought fails. He abandons his attempts to gain social mobility through his education. He realizes the dire consequences of following the path of violence with the Liberation Militia. Ultimately, he finds peace only in his death and in the birth of his child who, as a mixed-race nought and Cross, will usher in a new era.

Letters

Blackman uses the epistolary form in many of her chapters. Her characters communicate in letters to unveil their most intimate thoughts and feelings. The personal nature of letters makes them the perfect vehicle to express one’s innermost thoughts. In her letter to Callum, Lynette unveils her plans for suicide and urges Callum to keep her secret. In her letter to God, Sephy explores her views of God, the devil, and humanity. The epistolary form offers the writer the opportunity to speak openly without judgement. Sephy and Callum struggle to communicate openly with one another out of a fear of judgement and a lack of understanding. On opposite sides of society, Callum and Sephy also face the additional burden of being kept apart. Because of this breakdown in communication, Sephy and Callum rely on letters to express their love for one another and to communicate future plans. This is why Callum’s choice to invite Sephy to the beach via letter is the ultimate betrayal. He redefines the meaning of their secret space by making it the setting of her horrific kidnapping. He also uses the epistolary form to deceive Sephy. Callum uses the epistolary form once more at the end of the novel when he asks Jack to deliver a letter to Sephy with his final words to her. Blackman does not unveil the text of the letter to the reader. This letter is not needed, as in an uncharacteristic display of open communication Sephy and Callum express their love for each other openly and loudly in his final moments alive on earth.