What Is The Irony In The Knife Of Never Letting Go

"I am Todd Hewitt," he thinks to himself, "and I am twelve years and twelve months old. I live in Prentisstown on New World. I will be a man in one months time exactly." This is the phrase he was taught to repeat in his head when his Noise turned red and his thoughts needed to be calmed. The only problem is, his thoughts aren't only his, but for the whole world. Ever since the settlers were infected by an alien germ that mutated the brain, no one on New World could have secrets since their thoughts were broadcast at every moment. In a colony composed of only men and animals, who also create Noise, there is no escape from the constant barrage of sound, or so Todd thought. Once Todd discovers a secret masked within the Noise of the entire colony, …show more content…
The story takes place after a religious congregation lands on New World to create a community "where people could live in safety and peace with God as a guide and with love for fellow men", as the Old World was overflowing with greed and corruption. The irony is that the corruption is within themselves rather than in the Old World. The self-appointed leader of Prentisstown, Mayor Prentiss, overthrows the colony government to create his own version of Eden involving religious persecution of women, native aliens, and anyone who disagreed with his preachings. He brainwashed the colony into "burning any kind of knowledge","killing all women", and "using the Noise as control over others", because the "Mayor knows enough to use craziness to achieve his ends". Like this quote says, "if he could make every single boy in Prentisstown a man by his own meaning, then he's God, aint he?". He is corrupt because of his influence over the emotions and Noise of his citizens, who he should be protecting, but he uses them as soldiers to kill for greed of land and power. His corruption warns the readers of future governments, or lack there of, and how there should be a balance of power between leaders and citizens. Mayor Prentiss and any other power-hungry individuals are harmful to the growth and prosperity of future colonies, which presents the question of how …show more content…
Women today are still fighting for equal rights with men, but in the book women seemed to lose any rights they might have had. Women were thought to be sinful because they produced no Noise but had the ability to hear the thoughts of men, so men "couldn't trust the word of a woman". Settlers of Prentisstown "allowed themselves to be swayed by Mayor Prentiss and the preachings of Aaron, who used to say that what was hidden must be evil. They killed all the women and all the men who tried to protect them,". Once Todd escaped Prentisstown and found another settlement, women had minimal rights; " they clean and they cook and they make babies and they all live in a big dormitory outside of town where they can't interfere in men's business," . This book warns of a dim future for women and how a lack of representation can cause gender minority. Women need to fight for equality and power in government, so to have a