Previous
Knife
Todd’s Ma’s journal symbolizes knowledge that he needs for his journey to adulthood. This knowledge includes the dark truths that the people of his home settlement of Prentisstown hid from Todd while he was a child, but also the knowledge of how people back then held on to hope even in those dark times. Todd is illiterate, and so he can’t read much of the journal. At first, this is a source of shame for him, as he refuses to admit to Viola that he can’t read. But Todd’s pride ends up having serious consequences, as when he sees—too late—that Ben left Todd a note about Prentisstown’s plan to attack the nearby settlement of Farbranch. Todd could have potentially saved several lives in Farbranch by asking for help, and so this part of the book illustrates the dangers of ignorance and pride. Todd’s prideful attitude stopped him from accepting the knowledge that the book contained and the benefits that would have come from accepting that knowledge.
Later, when Todd has learned both to trust Viola and to rely more on other people in general, he finally asks her to read the journal aloud to him. Todd’s Ma’s journal details how, while life in a settlement on the New World could be difficult, it was also a time full of hope. She writes about how peaceful the Spackle were and about how, while he was a little strange, the preacher Aaron seemed on the surface to be a positive influence on the community. At this point in the narrative, Todd already knows the tragic history of Prentisstown, where Aaron and Mayor Prentiss seized control by uniting people around killing the Spackle and then later by convincing the men to kill the settlement’s women (including Todd’s Ma). But the journal gives him more comprehensive knowledge, helping him to see the beauty of life in the settlement before Mayor Prentiss took over and illustrating that a better way of living is possible.
Shortly after reading the journal, Todd realizes he can “read” Viola even though she has no Noise, suggesting that the knowledge in the journal gave Todd the foundation to become more empathetic. From his Ma’s journal, Todd learns that it is essential to seek out knowledge, facing the truth even when it’s painful, and using this knowledge to consider his current life and imagine better possible ways of living.
Journal Quotes in The Knife of Never Letting Go
The The Knife of Never Letting Go quotes below all refer to the symbol of Journal. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 11
Quotes
I shove the map back inside, slam the cover shut and throw the book on the ground.
You idiot.
“Stupid effing book!” I say, out loud this time, kicking it into some ferns.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26
Quotes
There’s a knife-shaped hole all the way thru and out the other side. The knife is so sharp and Aaron must be so strong that it’s hardly ruined the book at all. The pages have a slit running thru them all the way thru the book, my blood and Spackle blood staining the edges just a little, but it’s still readable.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 38
Quotes
Oh, son, there’s so much wonder in the world. Don’t let no one tell you otherwise. Yes, life has been hard here on New World and I’ll even admit to you here, cuz if I’m going to start out at all it has to be an honest start, I’ll tell you that I was nearly given to despair. Things in the settlement are maybe more complicated than I can quite explain [...] it was hard enough even before I lost yer pa and I nearly gave up.
But I didn’t give up. I didn’t give up cuz of you, my beautiful, beautiful boy, my wondrous son who might make something better of this world, who I promise to raise only with love and hope and who I swear will see this world come good. I swear it.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 42
Quotes
“Welcome,” says the Mayor, “to New Prentisstown.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Knife of Never Letting Go LitChart as a printable PDF.
Journal Symbol Timeline in The Knife of Never Letting Go
The timeline below shows where the symbol Journal appears in The Knife of Never Letting Go. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 5
...isn’t Todd’s fault. He tells Todd that the book they gave him is his Ma’s journal.
(full context)
...with his Noise. Ben tells Todd there’s a map in the front of his Ma’s journal that he needs to follow once he gets to the swamp, as well as a...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...watch the girl while he looks at the map in the front of his Ma’s journal. Just as he’s figuring out where to go, he gets hit in the side of...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...unsure what to do, Todd tries to read a message Ben left in Todd’s Ma’s journal, but Todd doesn’t remember enough of Ben’s reading lessons to decipher it. He gets frustrated...
(full context)
Chapter 13
...His Noise says “probably.” Viola tells Todd that she saw him trying to read the journal earlier, and she saw the words Ben wrote were “You must warn them.” Just as...
(full context)
Chapter 15
...of people in the ship. She realizes this is what “warn them” meant in Todd’s journal.
(full context)
Chapter 16
Still reserved, Viola asks Todd why his journal is telling him to go to Farbranch in the first place. Todd’s Noise reveals that...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...move after the last boy (Todd) became a man. He promises Todd that his Ma’s journal will explain even more. The note ends with Ben saying Todd must warn the people...
(full context)
Chapter 26
...stab Todd in the back, it went into Todd’s rucksack and stopped on his Ma’s journal. Todd figures Aaron must have left him alive for Mayor Prentiss to find or perhaps...
(full context)
...to see that because his knife is so sharp, it tore right through his Ma’s journal, meaning the damage isn’t too severe. He takes the knife with him but doesn’t want...
(full context)
Chapter 37
...a man in 15 days. While in the settlement getting food, Todd notices his Ma’s journal in his pack. Later, he asks Viola if she’d be willing to read the journal...
(full context)
Chapter 38
...imitating Ben’s voice, Todd imagines it’s what his actual Ma would’ve sounded like. In the journal, Todd’s Ma tells him about his birth and what life was like in the early...
(full context)
Ma’s journal continues. Todd’s Pa died young, so Ben and Cillian help Ma with her fields. Ma...
(full context)
Still in the journal, Todd’s Ma says she wants him to remember that there’s always hope and wonder in...
(full context)
Chapter 42
...to stay awake. Todd realizes that he left all his belongings behind, including his Ma’s journal, so all he has now is Viola. He begins begging for anyone to help.
(full context)
