The Knife of Never Letting Go

“If one of us falls, we all fall.”

This is Aaron’s most frequent preachment. Todd doesn’t understand it at first, but it doesn’t sound overly negative. It is a call to solidarity in a harsh environment. Over the course of the novel, as Todd learns the truth about Prentisstown, Aaron’s mantra grows sinister. It comes to mean that everyone in Prentisstown must be a killer, or they will not be able to take over the New World.

“Noise ain’t truth. Noise is what men want to be true, and there’s a difference twixt those two things so big that it could ruddy well kill you if you don’t watch out.” 

The Noise of Prentisstown teaches Todd that thoughts cannot be trusted. They reveal intentions and subconscious desires that no one would suspect if there were privacy. The difference between reality and wishful thinking is vast. The idea that thoughts are not truth is potentially unsettling, given that one’s thoughts comprise most of one’s reality.

“Men lie, and they lie to theirselves worst of all.”

The men in New World adopt strategies to hide their thoughts. They think fake thoughts to cover up their real thoughts so often that the lies replace the truths. The men forget what is real and are constantly in a state of tricking themselves. This leads to a loss of identity. They become less than individuals and make it easier for the Mayor to replace their identity with that of a group identity.