Through the use of labels, insults and derogatory terms, Blackman expresses discrimination in her fictional society. Throughout the novel, Blackman labels characters as Crosses, members of the dominant group, or noughts, members of the non-dominant racial group. By labelling each characters' race, Blackman exposes that race is vital in her fictional society. Whilst reading, it's important to identify that Blackman consistently capitalises the word Cross, suggesting that it's a proper noun and leaves the word nought lower case, suggesting that the word isn't important. By capitalising the word Cross, Blackman indicates the cultural superiority of the Crosses; this also emphasises the unequal status between both groups. In addition, introducing
