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Chapter 31
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 thinks he hears the sound of music, then wakes up and realizes it’s the birds in the forest. He sees Viola and realizes that she has taken them off the river and put him in a bed. Todd is disoriented, so Viola explains that Todd has been very sick. He’s currently in a settlement called Carbonel Downs where someone named Doctor Snow is taking care of him.
The beginning of this chapter reveals that Todd was sicker even than he seemed in the previous chapter. This chapter shows how a relationship involves give and take, and so after Todd helped rescue Viola, she now returns the favor by taking care of him.
Themes
Doctor Snow comes in to check on Todd and says Todd was so sick that he wasn’t even giving off Noise until recently. Viola leaves the room, and Doctor Snow says that while Todd was unconscious, Viola almost never left his side. When Todd learns that he’s been asleep for five days, he wants to leave immediately, but Doctor Snow assures him he’s in one of the safest settlements in the New World.
Although Doctor Snow is kind to Todd, this passage drops warning signs for the future. Doctor Snow is convinced that his settlement is safe, but Hildy was similarly convinced that Farbranch would be safe, only to realize too late that it wasn’t.
Themes
Doctor Snow says he won’t force Todd to stay if he doesn’t want to, but, if possible, the village elders would like to speak with Todd before he goes. While they’re talking, Doctor Snow’s son Jacob interrupts to tell him about their goat, and Todd marvels at how small Jacob is. Todd learns from Viola that Jacob is only four, but on the New World that means he’s old enough to learn how to milk goats. Viola says she and Todd need to talk in private.
The fact that at four years old Jacob is already learning to milk goats suggests that the people of this settlement are either desperate for help or place a strong value on work. Although this chapter is peaceful, there are signs of something darker at work, with Viola’s words to Todd suggesting that they need to get away from Doctor Snow because she doesn’t trust him.
Themes
