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Chapter 27
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
As Wilf loads Todd onto his cart, Todd feverishly talks about how he lost Viola. It turns out Wilf already knew Todd and Viola were using false names and not actually called Ben and Hildy. It also turns out that Wilf and the others followed Viola’s advice and decided to flee the army. Rumor has it that in each new town the army visits, all the men join in. Jane, Wilf’s wife, asks Todd if he saw the army in person, and Todd says he has.
Once again, the story leaves it ambiguous as to whether Mayor Prentiss has some sort of fantasy or sci-fi power over other men, or whether he simply spreads his message by appealing to their masculinity. Wilf listens to Viola even though she’s a stranger, demonstrating an open-mindedness that distinguishes him from Prentisstown, where everyone fears outsiders.
Themes
Wilf, Jane, and the others are headed toward Haven, but Todd wants to go off on his own to find Viola. When Jane realizes that Todd is from Prentisstown, the rest of the caravan snaps to attention, but Wilf tells them Todd is just a feverish boy from Farbranch. After a pause, everyone accepts this, and Todd eventually leaves the caravan, still feeling feverish but determined to find Viola.
Wilf seems naïve when Todd first meets him, but this passage reveals that Wilf notices a lot more than he lets on (such as the fact that Todd is from Prentisstown). Although Todd seems to once again make things difficult by going off on his own, his motive of wanting to help Viola is noble, showing once again how the moral choices Todd faces aren’t simple.
Themes
