the knife of never letting go by patrick ness discussion guide

8/6/2019 The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness Discussion Guide

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

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1. Patrick Ness chose to write Todd’s voice in the vernac-ular, as Todd actually speaks, with grammatical andspelling errors. For instance, on page 4, Todd thinks,“The plans are being planned, the preparayshunsprepared, it will be a party, I guess, tho I’m starting toget some strange pictures about it.” His voice reectsthings about his environment and how he was raised.

What, in particular, does Ness’s use o the vernacularshow us about Todd? About Hildy? Wil? Look ormore examples o Ness’s use o the vernacular in TheKnife of Never Letting Go.

HC: 978-0-7636-3931-0 • PB: 978-0-7636-4576-2

E-book: 978-0-7636-5216-6

The first book in The Chaos Walking SERIES

ABOUT THE BOOK

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town o men. Ever since thesettlers were inected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear every-thing the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Toddis just a month away rom becoming a man, but in the midst othe cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something romhim—something so awul that Todd is orced to ee with only hisdog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears as well. With hostile menrom the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange andeerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn’t she killed bythe germ like all the emales on New World? Propelled by Todd’sgritty narration, readers are in or a white-knuckle journey inwhich a boy on the cusp o manhood must unlearn everything heknows in order to fgure out who he truly is.

I look at the knife again, sitting there on the moss like a

thing without properties, a thing made of metal as sepa

rate from a boy as can be, a thing which casts all blame

from itself to the boy who uses it.

2. Think about the title o the book: The Knife of NeverLetting Go. On page 84, Todd says, “But a knie ain’t

just a thing, is it? It’s a choice, it’s something you do A knie says yes or no, cut or not, die or don’t. A knietakes a decision out o your hand and puts it in theworld and it never goes back again.” Todd describes theknie on page 341 by saying, “As long as I hold it, aslong as I use it, the knie lives in order to take lie, buit has to be commanded, it has to have me to tell it tokill, and it wants to . . . but I have to want it to as wellmy will has to join with its will.” What does the knie

C a n d l e w i c k P r e s s D i s c u s s i o n G u i d e



The Knife of Never Letting Go • Di s cu s s i on G ui d e w w w.can dl ew ick .com 2

symbolize? What does Todd do, and not do, with theknie? Think about the Spackle, the turtle, and Aaron.

What happens to the knie in the end? What do youthink this signifes?

3. On page 8, Todd talks about the “crocs” in the swamp. When you read his description o the crocs, you realizethey are not like the crocs we might be amiliar with.They are “easily big enough to kill an almost-man and

his dog. The fns on their backs look just like a row o rushes and i you get too close, WHOOM!— outtathe water they come, ying at you with their clawsgrasping and their mouths snapping.” In The Knifeof Never Letting Go, Ness imagines what it might belike to settle a new world. In a July 2009 interview at www.yareads.com, he said, “I started thinking, how would settlers really be? What would they really do? Ithought that they would take names rom Earth andstick them on whatever seemed closest. Some peopledon’t realize they’re on another planet or a hundredpages, which I like. Todd has always lived there, so it’s

not another planet, it’s home. I really like that kind o world building.” What clues did you pick up early onthat led you to the conclusion that the book is set ina world dierent rom our own? Look or words andphrases such as grublets, cassors, crested pine, fssion-bike, and Packy Vines. What do these unamiliar termsreer to?

4. Todd tells us on pages 18 and 19 that he has had littleeducation. In act, reading and writing are orbiddenby the Mayor o Prentisstown. On page 51, Ben tellsTodd that “knowledge is dangerous.” At one point in

the story (page 142), Todd realizes, “The world’s adangerous place when you don’t know enough.” How does Todd’s lack o education and knowledge aecthis journey, especially in terms o his inability to readBen’s note and map or his mother’s journal? How doesthe denial o education allow totalitarian governments(like that in Prentisstown) to control their citizens?

5. On pages 20–22, Todd reers to the Noise that fllshis lie. The author indicates Noise through the use o ont. Do you think this eectively communicates whatNoise might look and eel like? Where did this Noise

come rom? On page 391, Todd describes Noise as“Inormayshun, all the time, never stopping, whether

you want it or not. . . . And too much inormayshuncan drive a man mad.” And on page 42, he says, “TheNoise is a man unfltered, and without a flter, a manis just chaos walking.” (Note that this last phrase,Chaos Walking, is the title o the trilogy o which TheKnife of Never Letting Go is the frst book.) Dystopian

novels — ones that describe a uture that is bleakdark, and oten earul — oer the author a chance tocomment on present-day society. What in our contem-porary lives might we consider Noise? What positiveand negative impact do you think this Noise has onour lives?

6. On page 26, Todd tells us that Old World (Earth) wasull o “corrupshun and sin.” On page 163, Hildy says

“Old World’s mucky, violent, and crowded, a-splittingright into bits with people a-hating each other anda-killing each other, no one is happy till everyone’smiserable.” Is Patrick Ness making a statement aboutthe world in which we currently live? What do youthink o his assessment? I the people o Prentisstownhave come to the New World to fnd a paradise — “anew way o lie, one clean and simple and honest andgood, one dierent rom Old World in all respectswhere people could live in saety and peace with Godas our guide and with love o our ellow man” (page414) — have they been successul and changed theirways? Explain.

7. When New World is described as “a whole new Eden”on page 26, this is an example o an allusion. PatrickNess assumes that the reader will have heard o Edenand know what it means. Ness also makes allusionsto Nazi Germany, Al Qaeda and terrorism, and so onLook or additional allusions throughout The Knife of

Never Letting Go.

8. Prentisstown is characterized by a complete lack oprivacy. Patrick Ness said, speaking about contempo-

rary lie in an interview at www.bookdepository.com“No one’s allowed a private lie, because even yourriends might sell you to the papers i you’ve allegedlydone something ‘shocking.’ And with camera phonesand Facebook, suddenly every action, even ones meantor just close riends, can be broadcast to the entireworld. . . . I think it’s robbing us o something.” Do

you agree or disagree with Ness? Do we suer roma lack o privacy? What are some examples? What arethe costs o lack o privacy? Are there any benefts?

9. In chapter 1, “The Hole in the Noise,” Todd mentions

Spackles and uses the racial slur “Spacks.” Hedescribes them on page 69. What is a Spackle? Onpages 413–419, Viola reads to Todd rom his mother’s

journal. His mother writes that Aaron has said somethings she doesn’t agree with “about the natives oNew World. Which are called the Spackle . . . andwhich were a BIG surprise, since they were so shy atfrst neither the original planners back on Old World or




our frst scout ships even knew they were here! They’re very sweet creachers. Dierent and maybe primitiveand no spoken or written language that we can really fnd but I don’t agree with some o the thinking o the people here that the Spackle are animals ratherthan intelligent beings.” How is the treatment o theSpackle reminiscent o the treatment o the Jewsduring Hitler’s regime and the treatment o Native

Americans by European colonists? In chapter 25(pages 271–280), why do you think Ness decided toshow the participation o the hero o the story, Todd,in the degradation and destruction o a Spackle? How do these actions change Todd? How do these actionschange Viola’s eelings about Todd? Do they change

your eelings about Todd?

10. Throughout The Knife of Never Letting Go, Nessexplores gender roles. In a February 10, 2010, inter-

view at presentingLenore.blogspot.com, he said, “Thegender roles were more a way o exploring my theory about how bad we are as a species at handling dier-

ence. I something is dierent, it’s either better (inwhich case we need to destroy it) or worse (in whichcase we need to exploit it). That was more a plea toaccept dierence as merely dierence.” How would

you respond to Ness’s comments?

11. On pages 64–68, when Todd sees a girl or the frsttime, he’s surprised that she is not what he expected agirl to be like. He says, “Girls are small and polite andsmiley. They wear dresses and their hair is long. . . .They do all the inside chores. . . . They reach woman-hood when they turn thirteen . . . and then they’re

women and they become wives.” Viola tells Toddwhen they are in Carbonel Downs that the womenthere “clean and they cook and they make babiesand they all live in a big dormitory outside o townwhere they can’t interere in men’s business” (page362). What do you think o Todd’s description? Think about Ness’s use o gender roles in the novel. How arethe roles played by both genders in the book similarto contemporary American gender roles, and how arethey dierent? How does Todd, through Viola, even-tually see women and their roles? (Check out pages380 and 408 i you aren’t sure.)

12. In The Knife of Never Letting Go, Todd aces many ethical dilemmas, in which he has to choose betweenwhat is right (and usually more difcult) and whatis wrong (and usually easier). In some cases hemakes the right decision. In others, he does not.For instance, on page 79, he realizes that the girlhe has ound is considered a “sign” and is wanted

by the citizens o Prentisstown to be sacrifced. Heconsiders giving her over to Aaron and the Mayor“They could have what they want and leave me aloneand I could go back and everything could be like itwas . . . it might save me.” What does he ultimatelydecide to do? Why? Look or additional examples oethical dilemmas that Todd aces. What is the ethicaldilemma that Ben and Cillian ace in how they raiseTodd? (See pages 393–397 i you need help.)

13. Follow the relationship between Todd and his dogManchee. At the beginning o the book, Todd tellsus that Manchee was an unwanted birthday presentOn page 333 Todd says, “I rub the ears o my . . ruddy great dog that I never wanted but who hungaround anyway . . . and who’s right there when Ineed pulling back rom the darkness I all into andwho tells me who I am whenever I orget.” The twobecome true riends and companions. List the ways inwhich Manchee shows his devotion to Todd. ExplainManchee’s part in Todd’s ethical dilemma.

14. In the last hundred pages o the book, there is muchtalk o hope. Ben talks to Todd and Viola about hopeIn her journal, Todd’s mother says, “Let me tell youabout the place you’ve been born into, son. It’s called

New World and it’s a whole planet made entirely ofhope” (page 414). Later Todd says, “I think howhope . . . may be the thing that keeps you going, butthat it’s dangerous, too, that it’s painul and risky.”(page 423). For Todd and Viola, hope lies in whatthey think they will fnd in Haven. It is what allowsthem to continue their journey and not give up. Dothey fnd what they hope to fnd at the end o theroad? Explain.

15. In The Knife of Never Letting Go, though the mencan hear one another’s thoughts via Noise, do theyreally know one another? Todd says on page 308, “thelesson o orever and ever is that knowing a man’smind ain’t knowing the man.” Though Todd cannothear Viola’s Noise, he eventually is stunned to realizethat he knows “what she’s thinking and eeling andwhat’s going on inside her. . . . I can read her” (pages419–420). Think about the development o theirrelationship. How is it that Todd knows these thingsin the midst o Viola’s silence?

16. One o the themes o The Knife of Never Letting Gois that “war makes monsters of men” (page 430). Whatoccurs in the story that proves this to be true? Can

you think o present-day examples that either supportor negate this idea?




ALSO BY PATRICK NESS:

The Ask and the Answer

A Costa Children’s Book Award Winner

A Publishers Weekly Best Children’sBook of the Year

A Booklist Editors’ Choice

★ “Grim and beautifully written. . . . Uses a brilliant cast

of well-developed characters and its singular setting and

premise to present a provocative examination of the natureof evil and humanity. This is among the best YA

science ction novels of the year.”

— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ “An amalgamation of society’s most brutal facets — fascism,

terrorism, torture, ethnic cleansing — with all kinds of rel-

evance to our world . . . a relentless urry of heavy-hitting

issues, hinging on appeasement, complicity, and maintain-

ing one’s morality in the face of impossible choices.”

— Booklist (starred review)

HC: 978-0-7636-4490-1 • PB: 978-0-7636-4837-4 • E-book: 978-0-7636-5217-3

A Monster Calls

★ “From a premise left by author Siobhan Dowd before her

untimely death, Ness has crafted a nuanced tale that

draws on elements of classic horror stories to delve into

the terrifying terrain of loss.”

— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★ “Beautiful in its execution, and fearless in its honesty.” — Booklist (starred review)

★ “A profoundly moving, expertly crafted tale of

unaccountable loss.”


HC: 978-0-7636-4490-1 • E-book: 978-0-7636-5217-3

Monsters of Men

A Carnegie Medal Winner

A Booklist Editor’s Choice

A U.S. Board on Books for Young People

Outstanding International Book

A Publishers Weekly Best Children’s

Book of the Year

★ “This is science ction at its best, and is a singular fusion of

brutality and idealism that is, at last, perfectly human.”

— Booklist (starred review)

★ “As in his preceding books, Ness offers incisive appraisals

of violence, power, and human nature, and with the series

complete, it’s clear that he has crafted one of the most

important works of young adult science ction in recent

years.”


HC: 978-0-7636-4751-3 • PB: 978-0-7636-5665-2 • E-book: 978-0-7636-5211-1

book Two in The Chaos Walking SERIES book THREE in The Chaos Walking SERIES

This discussion guide was written

by Terri Evans, media specialist

at Champlin Park High School in

Minnesota. In 2010, Patrick Ness

visited Champlin Park High School to

spend three days discussing The Knife

of Never Letting Go with the nearly

3,500 students and sta who had readthe book over the summer.

the knife of never letting go by patrick ness discussion guide

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