Plot:
- People of African decent have gained technological advantage over European people. Causing a social divide between the 'Noughts and Crosses'.
- Persephone Hadley - cross, is friends with Callum McGregor who is a Nought. This is frowned upon and kept secretly. Especially as their feelings about each other are so strong.
- Callums Dad and brother join a violent terror organisation (LM) against 'black supremacy'.
- Callum's sister Lynette commits suicide by throwing herself in front of a bus.
- Eventually the two friends part and a few years later they meet again when Callum helps abduct Persephone for the LM. This eventually leads to Sephy falling pregnant with Callum's child and Callum is eventually executed.
‘Looking
at our hovel, I could feel the usual burning, churning sensation begin to rise
up inside me.’- a lot of the novel reflects anger at injustices – is there
a way to reflect 'burning' anger? Paper people burning??
‘The
only thing that was worth a damn was the oaken table. Years before, Dad had cut
and shaped it and carved the dragon’s leaf pattern into it, put it together and
polished it himself.' - could there be a dragon leaf pattern in the
background?
Blackman
is able to ‘use Romeo and Juliet style romance to show the complexity of
relationships between two different cultures’ (Book Reviews, 2004, pp.227).
- perhaps the cover could be a parallel to Romeo and Juliet but with a more
sinister edge to it? Especially as there is section towards the end of the
novel where because of a misunderstanding the characters are separated. However
is this comparison ignoring the socio economic decide to the noughts/crosses
divide. Could Sephy be in the golden tower that Callum dreams of living
in? 'I live in a palace with golden walls and silver turrets and marble
floors...’ I opened my eyes and looked again at my house. My heart sank. I
closed my eyes again.’
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