Noughts&Crosses Essay Example

Callum.As Sephy arrives home one night after a secret meeting with Callum as she realises how amazing her life would be if only she were allowed so see Callum without all the secrets and lies – “My smile slowly faded as an unbidden thought crept into my head. There was just one thing that stopped by day from being entirely perfect. If only Callum and I didn’t have to sneak and creep around. If only Callum wasn’t a nought.

” …. Malorie Blackman highlights the perils of a divided society when she creates the scene in the schoolyard of Heathcroft High, the high school dominated by Crosses.The Crosses form a "mob" and attack the Noughts, shouting ridiculous messages such as "No blankers in our school” Sephy retaliates - “Stop it, just stop it” Nothing. 'STOP IT! YOU'RE ALL BEHAVING LIKE ANIMALS' I shouted so hard my throat immediately began to hurt. “WORSE THAN ANIMALS - LIKE BLANKERS! ” The sound of the crowd slowly died away" This shows that to stop the crosses in their horrific battle to keep noughts out of their school, they have to be condemned as noughts themselves.

This is asinine as the noughts are the same as them in all ways except the colour of their skin, but they are treated like second class citizens.The book is written in first person narration with the narrator alternating to either Callum or Sephy between chapters, an X or O before the narrator's name indicates their race. The author uses language as a tool to show the characters’ status in society as black or white. Various language techniques are used to display the

classes of society. The words “blanker” (used by blacks to describe whites) and “dagger” (used by whites to describe blacks) are used repeatedly throughout the novel.This use of language reflects the intolerant attitudes towards one another.

There is a significant amount of symbolism used in these words. “Blanker” is used to describe a blank, worthless, brainless white person. And “dagger” is used to depict a weapon that is capable of scratching and severing, reducing and disconnecting a person, or even bringing them to an end completely. This compelling novel makes us look more closely at the questions of colour, class and social injustice that still plague the world we live in.