Essay

Describe an idea that interested you in the text. Explain why this idea interested you.

In The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness an idea that interested me was choices and consequences. It interested me because of the three particular points it highlighted. These include sometimes you are not aware of the consequences that may come from your choices, even choices that seem small can result in huge consequences and a person’s choices and consequences shape who they become. In the novel we are introduced to Todd, an inhabitant of New World where a germ called Noise causes all of men’s thoughts to be exposed. He has to flee his settlement and journey into the unknown, accompanied only by his dog Manchee and stranger Viola whilst being pursued by a growing army. In The Knife of Never Letting Go we are shown how sometimes the consequences that may come from our choices are unknown. Todd and Viola face this during their journey to Haven when they come to a split in the road and have to decide whether to go left or right Todd says “maybe our story will turn out differently if we take the left fork, maybe the bad things that are waiting to happen to us won’t happen.” This shows that the consequences of this choice are unknown to Todd and Viola, and therefore they had to make a blind decision without knowing what the outcome would be. We are later shown that they discover they took the wrong path as it turned out to be longer, and resulted in Mayor Prentiss arriving to Haven before them. From this, Todd and Viola learn how 'blind' choices can turn out to have detrimental consequences, therefore acknowledging that they need to be prepared for any kind of outcome when making such decisions.  Another example of this idea is the choice made by all of the immigrants to leave Old World and come into New World. These people did not know what New World would be like, but assumed that it would be better than the current world they were living in, yet when they arrived they had to deal with the Noise germ that was all over New World. This caused them to become full of hatred for the native Spackle of New World, resulting in them killing most of the population, and people became segregated because of the different ways Noise affected people.  This idea interested me as it shows the different type of choices we must face on our journey of life. We are taught that, like Todd and Viola, we must be prepared for any kind of outcome and that choices like these require maturity as we are forced to consider the severity of possible unknown consequences. The consequences of these choices can result in highlighting who we truly are, as we have to deal with unexpected consequences that lie outside our comfort zone and cause the essence of our values to shine through.   Another idea that Ness portrays is that even choices that seem small can result in huge consequences. An example of this from the novel is Todd’s inability to kill Aaron with the knife he is given, which he constantly scolds himself for. But later on he realises that “A knife ain’t just a thing, is it? It’s a choice, it’s something you do. A knife says yes or no, cut or not, die or don’t. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again.” This shows Todd’s realisation that even though a choice like killing Aaron can seem small and irrelevant because of how the men of Prentisstown have normalised it as an action that must be completed in order to become a man, but is not really easy at all and can actually have life-changing consequences. It will have some kind of affect no matter how small it may seem and can never be taken back. Another example of this is when Todd chooses his pride over letting Viola read his Ma’s book as he cannot read very well. This results in most of Farbranch being killed by the army as they did not know to warn them. This shows how huge consequences came from Todd’s small, selfish decision. This idea interested me because it shows how the realisation that small choices can have huge consequences is an essential part of growing up and each choice needs to be carefully considered as consequences can end up being larger than previously thought. This realisation comes with maturity and shows a person’s development of deeper understanding about their choices and how consequences will affect more than just emotions. Lastly, the novel shows how a person’s choices and consequences shape who they become. When Todd and Viola are almost at Haven but Davy Prentiss shoots Viola, he then says to Todd “Hands up, I’m taking you to my father” but Todd does “the most amazing thing. The most amazing thing I ever did. I ignore him.” This shows Todd making a choice to stay with Viola and stand up for himself and Viola instead of giving in, acting defeated and letting Davy Prentiss take him to Mayor Prentiss. This is a turning point for Todd as he grows and develops as a person by standing up for his own values, rights and beliefs. Another example of this is when Todd and Viola are hiding in the waterfall near Haven when Aaron is searching for them. He comes into the waterfall screaming Todd's name, and instead of hiding or fearing Aaron, Todd goes toward him screaming back "AAARON!" and says "I open my eyes and wait for him to come" . This shows Todd standing up for himself and Viola again, and not letting his fears overcome him or control him. He takes a stand for his rights and faces what he has been fearing. This idea interested me because it shows that there are times in our lives when we have to make a choice of whether to stand up for what we believe in or to keep quiet. These moments shape who we become as we develop an independence and ability to be true to our own values which develops our maturity and character. In conclusion, in The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, we are taught that sometimes you are not aware of the consequences that may come from your choices, even choices that seem small can result in huge consequences and a person’s choices and consequences shape who they become. The idea of choices and consequences interested me as it is a very strong theme throughout the novel.

MOSTLY EDITED ~ NEED A QUOTE FOR THE LAST TWO PARAGRAPHS

In The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness an important idea is choices and consequences. This is important as it teaches us that sometimes we do not know the consequences of our choices, even choices that seem small can have huge consequences, and our choices and consequences shape who we are. The Knife of Never Letting Go follows the story of Todd, an inhabitant of New World where all of men's thoughts are exposed by a germ called Noise. Todd must flee his town and journey into the unknown whilst being pursued by a growing army. He, his dog Manchee and stranger Viola are searching for answers to their askings and a safe haven. An important idea in the novel is that sometimes we do not know the consequences of our choices. An example of this is when Todd and Viola come to a split in the road they have been following and have to choose left or right. Todd says "maybe our story will turn out differently if we take the left fork, maybe the bad things waiting to happen to us won't happen" showing how they do not know what the consequences will be of their choice and they must make a 'blind' decision. Later on we find out that the path they chose was the wrong, longer path, resulting in Mayor Prentiss arriving in Haven before them and therefore they were not able to find safety. From this Todd and Viola learnt  that when in these kind of situations, you must expect the worst and be prepared for any kind of outcome. They had to make a decision without knowing what would happen, therefore had to mature and grow in order to deal with the uncertainty of the consequences that were to come. Another example of this is the people of Old World choosing to immigrate to New World. These people came to New World expecting a fresh start and a safe haven away from the bad things of Old World, but instead found that New World was infected with the Noise germ. This caused the settlers to form hatred toward the native Spackle, leading them to killing almost all of their population. There was also segregation among the settlers as each were affected differently, both physically and mentally, by the fact that they could all hear men's thoughts. This shows how the people of Old World were not expecting any bad consequences to come of their choice. This idea is important as we learn that in situations like these, we are called to be mature and to think and prepare for consequences that we may not be expecting or hoping for. These kind of choices can help us to grow as a person as we have to deal with things that may be outside of our comfort zone and things we have not experienced before.Another important idea in The Knife of Never Letting Go is that even choices that seem small can have huge consequences. An example of this is Todd's inability to kill Aaron, which he constantly scolds himself for. But he realises that "a knife ain't just a thing, is it? It's a choice. A knife says yes or no, cut or not, die or don't. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it into the world and it never goes back again". This shows that Todd has realised that not being able to kill Aaron is not a weakness. He was brought up in a town where murder is viewed as something that is easy and even a vital action for a boy to become a man, but Todd realises that this is false and that choosing to murder someone is not small but has huge consequences that are out of your control and can never be taken back. Another example of this is when Todd chooses his pride over letting Viola read his Ma's book, resulting in them not being able to warn Farbranch about the army. As Todd "watched Farbranch burst into flames below us" he realises how choices that seem small at the time can end up having detrimental consequences and learns the importance of making mature decisions. This idea is important as we learn that some choices aren't always as small as they may seem and will affect a lot more than just our emotions. We need to carefully consider our choices and make mature decisions that are not selfish or out of spite as these often lead to larger consequences that are permanent and out of our control.Lastly, the idea that our choices and consequences shape who we are is important in the novel. An example of this idea is when Davy Prentiss finds Todd and Viola and says to Todd "hands up, I'm taking you to my father" but Todd "does the most amazing thing. The most amazing thing I ever did. I ignore him". This shows Todd taking a stand for himself and for Viola. He ignores Davy Prentiss, showing him that he is not in control and cannot order him around. Todd makes the choice to risk his safety by standing up for his values and beliefs which in turn shapes who he is as his values and beliefs go stronger from this, as does his security in his identity. Overall he becomes a stronger, more independent character. Another example is when Todd and Viola are hiding in the waterfall and Aaron is coming towards them, screaming Todd's name. Instead of hiding and fearing Aaron, Todd screams "AAAARON!" and "open my eyes and wait for him to come". This shows Todd choosing to step out and stand up for him and Viola. Instead of letting his fears drown him, he is stepping up above the waves and is prepared to face the full force of them. This shows how Todd has grown and realised the importance of facing his fears, from the choices and consequences he has faced. This idea is important as we are taught that in moments when we choose to stand up against our fears, and stay true to our values and beliefs, we grow and develop as a person. Our choices will determine who we become and Todd shows us how doing these things will strengthen us as human beings. In conclusion, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness includes the important idea of how sometimes we may not know the consequences of our choices, even choices that seem small can have huge consequences and our choices and consequences shape who we are.

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