The Knife of Never Letting Go

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1, Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. What caused the Noise?

2. Where does Todd go to escape the Noise of the other men?

3. When are boys considered men in Prentisstown?

4. Who was Todd raised by?

5. What does Ben give to Todd before asking him to leave?

6. How does Todd escape Aaron?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What are the various attempts made in Prentisstown to control the Noise?

2. Why does Aaron believe the lack of Noise is threatening?

Paired Resource

13 Coming of Age Traditions from Around the World

• This article describes the various coming-of-age rituals around the world.
• How do different cultures approach coming-of-age rituals? What do many of the traditions have in common? How can you connect the novel’s themes of Masculinity as a Product of Social Norms and Masculine Vulnerability and the Eradication of the “Other” to the traditions found in this article?

Part 2, Chapters 7-12

Reading Check

1. How does Aaron imagine the girl that he chases?

2. What does Todd notice in the girl’s camp by her wreckage?

3. What does the girl use to escape the mayor and his men on the bridge?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Todd regret his decision to let Aaron live?

2. Why does Todd have difficulty communicating with the girl, and what does he reveal will happen to her if she catches the Noise germ?

3. Why is Todd surprised to see the mayor?

4. Why does Todd hit himself in the face when he screams at the girl?

Paired Resource

Life on Exoplanets

• This article describes the challenges of inhabiting exoplanets.
• What are the challenges facing those who want to inhabit exoplanets? What are the requirements for life? How does this article relate to the novel’s theme of Imposing Order on Chaos?

Part 3, Chapters 13-19

Reading Check

1. What is the message Viola interprets from the book?

2. Who points a gun at Viola and Todd?

3. What does Tam’s farmhouse look like?

4. How long does it take to get from Old World to New World?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1.  Why does Hildy believe Todd will go to Farbranch?

2.  Why does Todd think the villagers of Farbranch hate those from Prentisstown?

3.  What do the men of Prentisstown do to Farbranch when they learn Todd is there?

Part 4, Chapters 20-25

Reading Check

1. How old does Viola think Todd is according to the Old World calendar?

2. What settlement do Todd and Viola go to after leaving Farbranch?

3. Who gives Todd and Viola a ride to Brockley Falls?

4. What does Davy claim he did to Cillian and Ben?

5. What does Todd kill?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Viola reveal about her old life?

2. How does Viola describe the preacher on her ship?

Paired Resource

Life in the “Dark Ages”

• This 12-minute video describes life in the “Dark Ages”; the first 4 minutes discuss the time period in Europe, which offers some parallels to the setting of the novel.
• What might daily life in the settlements have in common with life in the Dark Ages? What happened to the economy in the Dark Ages and why? How does the information connect to the novel’s theme of Imposing Order in Chaos?

Part 5, Chapters 26-31

Reading Check

1. What prevented Aaron’s knife from penetrating Todd’s back further?

2. What does Todd hear in the dreams he hears near the huts?

3. Who rescues Todd from the ditch while he is feverish?

4. Why is Viola sluggish when Todd reaches her at Aaron’s camp?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Todd have to abandon Manchee?

2. How does Todd become ill?

Paired Resource

“What Is Toxic Masculinity?”

• This piece of writing discusses recent challenges that have been made to traditional ideologies of masculinity. (Subscription may be needed to view.)
• How are traditional ideas of masculinity being challenged? What are the problems others see in conventional masculinity? According to the author, how has “toxic masculinity” affected men? How might this writer’s ideas reflect or react to the novel’s themes of Masculinity as a Product of Social Norms and Masculine Vulnerability and the Eradication of the “Other”?

Part 6, Chapters 32-42

Reading Check

1. Where are Todd and Viola when Dr. Snow is treating Todd?

2. What is Haven positioned at the base of?

3. Why does Aaron want to be murdered?

4. Who kills Aaron?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Jacob’s size surprising to Todd?

2. Why do men with guns approach Todd and Ben at the settlement?

3. What does Ben reveal about the Spackle and the Noise?

Recommended Next Reads

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

• This novel is about a community of boys trapped in a maze without memories of their families or former lives.
• Shared topics include mystery, friendship, and masculinity.
• Shared themes include Imposing Order on Chaos.
• The Maze Runner on SuperSummary

Divergent by Veronica Roth

• This novel is about a 16-year-old girl who lives in a post-apocalyptic world divided into factions.
• Shared topics include friendships, authoritarian groups, and warring factions.
• Shared themes include Masculine Vulnerability and the Eradication of the “Other” and Imposing Order on Chaos.
• Divergent on SuperSummary