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Chapter 16
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
Todd reaches for his knife, but Hildy warns him not to use it. Todd, however, is worried because he can tell Matthew’s Noise is getting very red, and that only happens with people looking to fight. Matthew references a law about what happens to men from Prentisstown, but Hildy counters that Todd is still a boy. She mentions that Matthew himself fled Prentisstown, but Matthew says he only ever lived there when it was called New Elizabeth.
This passage once again once again highlights how violence is associated with masculinity in this world, with Hildy being the one to diffuse the tension between Todd and Matthew. The passage shows how Noise can be a feedback loop that leads to violence, with Matthew’s red Noise provoking Todd, and Matthew reacting to Todd grabbing his knife.
Themes
Hildy tells Matthew to calm down. But when Matthew points with his machete toward Viola to ask who she is, Todd draws his knife. Hildy intervenes again, telling Matthew that Todd isn’t the enemy and telling Todd that Prentisstown had a sad history. Matthew isn’t happy about it, but he lets Hildy take Todd and Viola around town.
Todd has learned from Ben and Cillian that caring for someone means being willing to protect them, so Todd may be trying to follow their example by protecting Viola. But if so, Todd hasn’t quite gotten the full message, as both he and Matthew fail to realize that they are on the same side of a larger conflict.
Themes
Todd is surprised to learn from Hildy that there are even more settlements than Farbranch and that Farbranch trades with them. Viola asks if it’s true that there’s a place called “Haven” with a cure for Noise, but Hildy says the cure is just a rumor. Haven is definitely real, however, and it’s the first and biggest settlement on the New World. As Todd walks along, he sees the first people younger than him that he’s ever seen. Hildy takes Todd and Viola to the mayor’s house, where her sister Francia opens the door.
Todd continues to learn that the world is so much bigger than what he knew about in Prentisstown. Farbranch already has things Todd has never seen before, like younger children, and Farbranch isn’t even the largest settlement on the planet. Once again, the presence of Noise doesn’t help spread knowledge, and Hildy has no idea if the people in Haven have really found a cure for Noise—even with all men broadcasting their thoughts, the various settlements remain isolated.
Themes
