Analysis

Just cuz I can't hear any noise from her don't mean she can't hear every word of mine.

-Todd

Synopsis

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness is an edge-of-your-seat read that you can’t put down. 

The book opens with our main character, Todd exploring the swamp with his dog, Manchee. We learn as he moves through the silent swamp and back into town, that there is something in this world called Noise. Noise is what men think. And they can all hear each other. The interesting thing is…this disease that caused this intrusive behavior also killed all the women in the town. So, Prentisstown, Todd’s home, is filled with nothing but men. It isn’t long until Todd realizes that everything is not as it seems. He is sent away in a hurry by his guardians just as a major war breaks out. On the way, he meets his first girl, Viola who exudes a silence Todd does not understand. They run from the Prentisstown army in search of Haven, a New World town that will protect them from the impending war. Can they get there in time? And will they be able to save the other settlements from Prentisstown’s anger?

Analysis: Writing Style

This book is written in an easy-to-read form which is teen friendly and will allow for a non-stop reading adventure. Ness relates to the population of young adults by writing in an engaging yet clear way so that readers can get the most out of the book. This is a heavy novel with a lot of violence and a lot of intense scenes. Because of this, the reader may find large blocks of text difficult to handle. Ness addresses this by avoiding long paragraphs and using many short spurts of thought to provide information to the reader. This, in addition, is exactly how our main character sees the world. He grew up hearing Noise which consists of multiple bursts of thought all at once.

This novel was written in the first person narrative, told from the perspective of Todd Hewitt. Because of this, we have easy access to Todd’s thoughts and emotions, and this makes for an easier connection between the readers and Todd. Unlike other young adult novels that were told in the first person narrative, like Catcher in the Rye, this novel does not use stream of consciousness. Todd’s thoughts are very easy to follow, which makes it a quick read.

This novel is also in the present tense, which fits the storyline very well as this is a very fast-paced in-the-moment novel. The present tense makes the reader feel like they are alongside Todd in this adventure, feeling and living every moment of it at the same time Todd is.

One of the great stylistic details of this book is the diction. Todd is an illiterate teenager, and his thoughts and words reflect that. Early in the book, Todd says, “I never ended up reading too good. Don’t matter. Ain’t nobody in Prentisstown ever gonna write a book” (19). The tone of this phrase is very appropriate and believable for an illiterate teenager, and also at showing Todd’s blasé attitude about his illiteracy. Patrick Ness did an excellent job at depicting Todd as a believable teenager.

Analysis: Literary Themes

Feelings of Isolation

A major theme in many YA novels is the feeling of isolation. Oftentimes, the main character feels like they do not belong in their society, and they do not feel accepted. Todd is a perfect example of a character who feels isolated from his society. Todd is the only boy in a society of men. He is twelve years and twelve months old, one month away from being a man. The men in society do not want to socialize with Todd (or they are not allowed to socialize with Todd, because it is too dangerous for them to socialize with Todd because they cannot risk letting their Noise slip and revealing to Todd the ritual that will turn him into a man) so the only company Todd has is with his dog, Manchee, whom Todd is not too fond of. The end result is that Todd feels completely isolated from the members of his society, so he finds himself looking forward to the day when he can be considered a man.

Distrust of Authority

In many of the novels we have read the main character has had reason to distrust or be critical of authority roles in their society. Todd was brought up in a society of lies. Todd’s entire reality has been built on the lie that all the women were killed by the Noise germ that had been released by the Spackle.  Growing up, Todd had no reason to distrust the authority figures in his society. But when Todd and Viola fight to escape from Prentisstown, they encounter a woman, Hildy, and that is just the beginning of Todd’s discovery he has been lied to.  As Todd continues on his journey, he encounters more and more people who reveal bits and pieces of Prentisstown’s violent history, and he slowly learns that the authority figures of Prentisstown are not people who can be trusted.

Tense “Parent-Child” Relations

Many young adult novels and films express a tense relationship between the teenager and his or her parents. Often this disconnect is caused by misunderstanding and miscommunication between the two generations. Todd is an orphan who was brought up by two men, Ben and Cillian. The relationship dynamic between Todd, Ben and Cillian is nearly identical to the relationship between Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry in S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. Just like Ponyboy thinks Darry is mean and doesn’t care about him, Todd thinks Cillian hates Todd. Likewise, Ben is to Todd what Sodapop is to Ponyboy. Ben is a kind, caring, listening figure, and whenever Todd complains that Cillian hates him, Ben says that isn’t the case.

Loss and Death

The theme of loss and death is prevalent in almost every Young Adult novel. Most of Holden’s behavior in Catcher in the Rye is a result of the death of his little brother. Liesel, in The Book Thief, loses almost everyone she loved in one short night. Even Harry Potter lost his beloved owl, Hedwig, in the beginning of The Deathly Hallows. In young adult novels, the death of a loved one is used to signify a loss of innocence and the realization of mortality. Until someone loses a loved one, the idea of death is a more abstract concept, and teenagers often have this idea that they are invincible in the world, but death forces a change in that mentality. Todd had the misfortune of being brought up through loss, having lost both of his parents when he was very young, so Todd knew the consequences of death. However, when Todd loses Manchee, it’s a very painful experience for Todd. He feels guilty and alone and a coward. There is nothing more painful than seeing a boy lose his dog, even if he didn’t like the dog to begin with. As painful as it is, it is important that Todd experiences this death, because it signifies the beginning of the end of his childhood and the start of his manhood.

Loss of Innocence

The loss of innocence is a theme discussed heavily in young adult literature, and was more prevalent in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. The loss of innocence is an important theme in young adult literature, because the loss of innocence typically signifies the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood. In The Knife of Never Letting Go, the boys of Prentisstown become men when they lose their innocence by committing a violent act. Viola works especially hard to protect Todd’s innocence and prevent him from committing this act. However, after Viola makes the ultimate sacrifice, the sacrifice of her innocence, Todd comes to the grim conclusion that, “‘I think maybe everybody falls,’” (468) meaning that no matter how hard an adolescent tries, it is inevitable that they will fall from grace and lose their innocence. However, while this is a seemingly-hopeless conclusion, there is a silver lining. A very important theme in this novel is the theme of choice; everyone has the choice to become who they want to be, and every person can make the choice of how they lose their innocence. By the end of the novel, Todd does consider himself to be a man, but he does not lose his innocence and become a man through committing violent acts. Instead, he becomes a man by standing up for what he believes in and protecting those he loves, which is a far more nobler and brave act.