The Knife of Never Letting Go Part III
They put the still-burning bridge behind them and continue on the paved road, but they soon stop to recover and catch their breath. Viola heals Todd’s wounds with bandages that contain human tissue, which bring Todd nearly instant relief. She tells him about the crash of her ship and being discovered by Aaron whose Noise was filled with dark images that haunted Viola. Todd tells her that his people were settlers who had arrived in New World twenty years ago and had instantly been involved in a war with the Spackles. She tells him that she had seen a picture of the message that had been written on Todd’s map, the warning that he had been unable to read. It had told him to warn them, but he did not understand who he needed to warn, and against what. Suddenly, they hear the click of a rifle and find themselves facing an old woman called Hildy, who wants to know why they destroyed her bridge. She searches through Todd’s noise and finds out what most of what had occurred, and invites them back to her farm. Viola follows the woman readily, but Todd is concerned about the following Prentisstown men, and the fact that he may infect the women with the Noise germ.
He follows them from a distance, and just when he is thinking that he would be doing the women a favor by leaving them, he hears the noise of another man. Tam is Hildy’s husband, he expresses sadness when he hears Todd is from Prentisstown, a town with a sad history. Hildy informs Todd that the noise does not pose a threat to women, and Tam tells him that someone is believed to be working on a cure in a place called Haven. Viola reveals to all of them that she had been sent as a scout for thousands of new settlers, who will be reaching the New World within the next seven months. Todd and Viola spend the night at Hildy’s and set off for Farbranch, the closest settlement on the following day. Todd notes several women and men as they approach the town, and he thinks about Prentisstown. The name of Prentisstown suddenly echoes throughout the noise of all the men in the fields, and one of them steps forward to block Todd’s path.
The man introduces himself as Mathew, and he claims to be from a town called New Elizabeth. He is extremely hostile towards Todd because he is from Prentisstown, and the matter nearly turns violent when Mathew points his machete at Viola. Todd stands ready to defend her with his knife out, but Hildy manages to calm Mathew down, who suddenly begins to weep. She then takes them to her sister’s house, Francia, who also happens to be the deputy mayor of Farbranch. She takes Todd and Viola in with reluctance, as she informs them that there is rumored to be a whole army chasing after them and not just a posse of riders. Viola learns that she is unlikely to find any means to communicate with her ship until they reach Haven. Todd is sent off to work in the barn with Manchee, there he learns that the town is going to be holding a meeting to decide what to do with them. Just as Todd is returning to the house at the end of the day, he is attacked by Mathew. The crazed man tells him that his mother’s name was Jessica, as he tries to kill Todd with a machete. Manchee loses his tail when he attacks Todd. Mathew is subdued by Todd's clever thinking, but he then learns that the town is being attacked by Prentisstown. Todd and Viola are told to stay put but they don’t want to endanger the people of Farbranch and so they leave for Haven on their own. Todd can’t help but think of the crazy images that had been in Mathew’s mind when he had been attacking Todd. They reach a vantage point away from Farbranch that allows them to see the attacking army. Todd then realizes that the whole town of Prentisstown has come after him, and they have easily overtaken Farbranch.
Analysis
In the part III, Todd finds himself in a new settlement of New World, Farbranch. He immediately realizes that there is a distinct difference in the Noise among the men of Farbranch in comparison to Prentisstown. Later onwards, the reader will uncover the dark history of Todd’s town, which is perhaps the reason why the men of the town project such grating and painful noise. Todd also begins to learn that Prentisstown has a terrible reputation in the other settlements as indicated by his confrontation with Mathew. However, Ben and Cillian had purposefully kept Todd in the dark about the Town’s history, which is why people like Hildy and Francia treat him so kindly.
In Farbranch, the silent women seem to hold the reins of power, as Francia occupies a chief leadership role, and can be seen instructing the men around the farm. Farbranch reveals a new effect of the Noise as women use the discretion they are granted by the silence to occupy the leadership roles of their society.
