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Chapter 33
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 rushes toward the river with Viola. He is surprised to see that Ben is really there. Ben is happy to see Todd, but Todd can tell from Ben’s Noise that Cillian apparently died in a burning farmhouse while fighting Mayor Prentiss’s men. Todd’s own Noise reveals what happened to Manchee.
The deaths of Cillian and Manchee show the terrible cost of Mayor Prentiss’s violence. But loss can also bring survivors together, just as it did when Todd and Viola bonded over the loss of their parents.
Themes
Ben tells Viola that he needs her to keep a lookout so he can talk to Todd. Ben tells Todd he has to get to Haven because there’s an army chasing him, but Todd says he already knows. Ben reveals that he can’t come because Prentisstown men aren’t welcome in Haven. Todd opens up his Noise to let Ben know about everything that happened on his journey, including Farbranch, Wilf, and killing the Spackle.
This reunion between Ben and Todd is a chance for them both to take stock of how Todd’s upbringing prepared him for his journey. While Todd managed to live up to some of Ben’s expectations, he also fell short in notable ways, like when he gave into anger by killing the Spackle.
Themes
Ben says it’s time for Todd to learn the truth, but as he’s speaking, Viola warns them that she hears a horse. Ben says it seems to be the army, so they have no choice but to head for Haven. Ben doesn’t know what they’ll find there—he hasn’t been back for 20 years—but he wants them to have hope.
One of the novel’s recurring ideas, particularly toward the end as things get darker, is that people need to hold on to hope. Although Todd must learn to overcome some of his ignorance and biases, he ultimately must learn how to be comfortable with pressing forward into the unknown, with hope being the thing that sustains him.
Themes
Just then, a large group of men begin crossing the bridge, with Doctor Snow near the front, holding Jacob’s hand. Ben says they need to run now. Todd doesn’t want to leave Ben again, but Viola says it’s too late to run, as Doctor Snow gets close enough to see them all.
Todd’s journey continues to alternate between him letting go of the past and him finding his past catching up to him. Todd has already left Ben once, but Todd learns that even after all of his experience with loss, it never gets easier to leave someone.
Themes
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