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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Knife of Never Letting Go, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Cost of Violence
Information vs. Knowledge
Bigotry and Misogyny
Humanity’s Connection to Nature
Summary
Analysis
Manchee starts barking, and the person with the gun, who seems to be an older man, tells Todd to quiet the dog or he’ll shoot. The man has no Noise. He asks Todd why he’s running, and Todd debates whether to say he’s from Prentisstown. The man with the rifle doesn’t like this, but Viola intervenes to say that Todd saved her life. As the person with the gun talks to Viola, the voice changes, and Todd realizes the rifler is actually a woman.
Part of the reason why Todd and Viola think the person with a rifle is a man is because they associate men with violence. Although this world seems to have a stark divide between men and women, with men having Noise and women supposedly being vulnerable to a deadly Noise virus, this section explores how men and women might not be as different as Todd learned they were in Prentisstown.
Themes
The woman keeps her rifle up but introduces herself as Hildy (short for Mathilde). She can hear Todd’s Noise and lets him know that he’s right: he definitely won’t be welcome in the settlement up ahead. Todd says he’s determined to go that way regardless, but Hildy says what he and Viola really need is a rest at her farm, particularly since there aren’t any other bridges nearby for Mayor Prentiss and his men to use.
Hildy, who has much more life experience than Todd, knows how to remain wary without being paranoid or distrustful. Although she generally doesn’t like Prentisstown, she is able to evaluate Todd on his own merits based on the fact that he is helping Viola. This contrasts with the men of the Prentisstown army, who seem to be brainwashed and just keep repeating the same chants.
Themes
Hildy leads Viola and Todd to her farm, with Todd walking behind them to avoid the chance of infection. Todd begins to wonder if he can let Hildy take care of Viola so that he and Manchee can go off on their own again. All of a sudden, Todd hears the Noise of a stranger thinking about Hildy and the burning bridge. The stranger’s noise says “Hello” to Todd.
Although Todd has learned to trust Viola more, his desire to get back on his own suggests that he is still trying to live up to the version of independence that he learned in Prentisstown. His recent betrayal by everyone in Prentisstown except Ben and Cillian may also be causing Todd to view others with suspicion.
Themes
