Similarities Between The Enemy And The Knife Of Never Letting Go

The Knife of Never Letting Go, book one of three in the Chaos Walking series, is a science fiction novel written by Patrick Ness in 2008. This British-American author, journalist, and lecturer was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971. He studied English Literature at the University of Southern California and he is now greatly known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls. His book The Knife of Never Letting Go won a numerous amount of awards including the Booktrust Teenage Prize, the Guardian's Children’s Fiction Prize, and the 2008 Tiptree Award. Patrick Ness is a brilliant author who is the mastermind of many impressive novels.

One of the many themes developed in the novel, A Separate Peace, is fear. Going to war, not excelling in studies, and jumping from a tree are three events that show how fear is portrayed throughout the story. Fear is an important theme in this story because almost every character ends up being consumed by fear. The entire story revolves around fear and without it, the story wouldn’t be the same.

Todd has taken a step closer to entering manhood, and the knife has taken a step of having less power in his eyes. When Aaron is telling Todd to kill him, Viola takes the knife and kills him, “And gravity takes his body and he slumps sideways. Away from the pulpit. And over the edge. And disappears under the wall of water. Taking the knife with him” (Ness, 463). As soon as the knife and Aaron hit the ground, all of Todd’s superiority and power is lost and he becomes a man. Todd has humbled himself and that is the real definition of a man, and Todd has to learn that.

“His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye was shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole...,” writes O’Brien as he studies the deceased enemy (118). Throughout the novel, the author shows consistency with repeating stories and lines in a way to present a greater image. He reminds the reader of details the elaborate his larger view. When he writes of the man he killed, he wants the reader to imagine themselves in his shoes, as he imagined himself in the enemies’. As he carefully studies the dead man, he imagines how the boy found himself in the war. By relating American society to the boy’s village of My Khe, he bridges similarities connecting the two by a culture that promotes defending one’s land and ways of life. By saying, “he would have been taught that to defend the land was a man’s highest duty and highest privilege,” he shows there is minimal difference between how most Americans view the military and the duty of the villagers in My Khe (119). Although he had not known the exact history of the boy, he attempted to illustrate in his own mind what his life may have been like prior to the invasion. The inability for O’Brien to walk away from the body as Kiowa continued to pry him away says he was troubled by the similarities. Despite Kiowa saying it could have been him lying lifeless on

“The Paring Knife” by Michael Oppenheimer is based on symbolism that connects the readers to the core of the story. Oppenheimer writes this piece of literature about a paring knife, which has a major significance to this one couple’s relationship. When the man finds the knife under the refrigerator, he remembers how it was placed there in the first place. Suddenly, readers know the knife has a story behind it. There is a flashback, which results in the knife leaving memories that are painful and regretful.

The first parallel that can be drawn between the book and society that supports the theme of perseverance is tied together by the parallel of being brave enough to put yourself on the line for what you believe in. He does this in search of the base his mother is being held captive at, and is being helped by his electroclan partners. In the process of saving his

Adversities are hard to avoid in one’s life; everyone has to face them at one point in their life. The effect it has on a person’s life can change their perspective towards the world. When problems arise individuals traditionally become stunned to such difficult situations that they face. The adversity becomes a brick wall that is challenging to break down. An individual's true character in addition to their nature is revealed when they face a conflict in their life or a challenge. The people who conquer the challenges that life throws at them, they are the only one’s worthy enough of being called a warrior. In the novel, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham has his protagonist David go through some conflicts which he overcomes throughout the story.

Jack and Todd both suffer from their own personal struggles. The biggest one being that they were left on their own at some point in their story and they were left not knowing what to do or what would happen to them. From the novel The Knife of Never Letting Go, Todd had a great life with his two dad’s, Ben and Cillian until one day they unexpectedly forced him to leave without any explanation. They gathered up his things and he had to leave right away, Todd was confused and scared. Ben had told him when he got to the swamp he would know what to do but Todd was frustrated when he got there because he had no idea

This movie had many recurring symbols that could relate with the challenge of facing death. Facing the challenge of death was shown in a different way compared to the chrysalids. It was challenged in a way that they had take control of it before it got you. There are three main symbols that can show on how they fought for it and took control of it. Weather can change people’s moods all the time example raining is sad and sunny is good. Weather was a good symbol that showed that they had won their fight over death. In the last battle scene before Michael Dunne died the weather had changed from raining to sunny showing that Michael battle against death was over and he could leave in peace. The hawk was also a great symbol of strength and hope. When seeing the bird they were gaining strength and hope so that they could take control of death. The last battle scene had a great short moment that shows the bird flying over the war wreaked land giving hope to all the remaining soldiers that they can still take control of death. Another great symbol involved the nurse using and stealing morphine. The morphine was used to control the feeling of pain that she felt inside of herself because all of death around her. That symbol was used a couple of times throw the movie like when she was in the hospital injecting it into her leg behind the cretons. That was the third out of the three symbols that were used in this movie. All of the examples showed the challenge of facing death in a way that they needed to control it before it gets you. The movie showed great examples on facing challenges of death. Another great way to show the challenge of facing death would be in the poem Anthem for doomed

Throughout the novel, the author voices the idea that the mental and emotional burdens outweigh the physical

The theme of the story is that all good things will come to an end, and that living a secret life will inevitably lead to isolation.

This is what I think the theme of the novel

Commitment and self-defense are two things required for the growth of a person. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness is a very well written book. This book is about a boy name Todd Hewitt who is the last boy in a town called Prentisstown in the New World. In Prentisstown there is a law that states boys don’t become a man tell their thirteenth birthday. One day he finds a girl name Viola in the swamp; he finds her because she creates a hole in the noise, which is a germ everyone one on New World has.

“I tried to think what I had loved knives for, but my mind slipped from the noose of the thought and swung, like a bird, in the center of empty air" (Plath 216) This is an example of personification. Ester, the main character, is thinking about suicide once again. She gives her mind human like qualities that it cannot have. She talks about it as if it is its own person, though it is only part of a person.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first in a science fiction series of the same name and what I consider to be one of the most unique novels of that genre. This book is unique to me for not only its premise and setting, but also its characters and story progression. The concept would be interesting itself. The protagonist lives in a world where all males and animals can hear each other's thoughts because of a bacteria on the planet. The reason we know this little about the setting is the reason I adore this book so. The first person only allows access into to mind of the main protagonist. This protagonist is special because he was lied to for his entire life and knows only as much as we do. This means that every revelation is not only new