The Knife of Never Letting Go

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does Todd know about the men in his village because of their Noise?

A) Their personalities from their thoughts

B) Each thought the men have

C) They communicate better because their thoughts are known.

D) Only what they want him to know

2. How does Prentisstown define manhood?

A) By age

B) Through Noise control

C) By killing

D) In leaving the village

3. Why is the lack of technology important for the novel’s setting?

A) The characters cannot solve complex problems.

B) It highlights the difficulty of the New World’s life.

C) It reveals that the characters lack intelligence.

D) It demonstrates the control the mayor has over New World.

4. What is the mood of the novel’s conclusion?

A) Expectant because of the arrival of the Prentisstown army

B) Exciting because the mayor declares himself the primary ruler

C) Peaceful because of the lack of Noise

D) Eerie because of the mayor’s presence and the empty village

5. Why are people in power mostly women in Farbranch?

A) They are better at managing the village.

B) Because women can conceal their thoughts

C) The men are too weak and scared to act.

D) The Spackle germ has not infected the women.

6. What does Todd’s refusal to use a knife early in the novel reveal about him?

A) He is not a man.

B) He has not yet developed his hatred.

C) He is uncertain about his identity.

D) He has some moral fiber.

7. What does Todd base his view of manhood on?

A) His ability to protect Viola and Manchee

B) Whether or not he can control the Noise

C) His guilt and rage toward Prentisstown

D) His desire to defeat the mayor

8. How does Todd attempt to prove to himself that he is a man?

A) By protecting Manchee

B) By killing Aaron

C) By killing a Spackle

D) With his adventurous nature

9. What does Todd’s dialect reflect in the novel?

A) His superior upbringing

B) Lack of education

C) The barbarism of the New World

D) Technological advancements

10. What purpose does the boy who looks like Todd serve in his hallucinations?

A) It is a product of his guilt and self-doubt.

B) It serves as an antagonist to Todd.

C) It is a prophecy predicting Manchee’s death.

D)  It describes Todd’s external conflict.

11. How is Prentisstown’s government set up?

A) Democratic

B) Socialist

C) Communist

D) Authoritarian

12. What is Prentisstown’s motive in creating a divine army?

A) To spread religious attitudes

B) To conquer the New World

C) To destroy all women

D) To get rid of the Noise

13. How does Todd experience character growth in the novel?

A) He comes to accept that killing does not make someone a man.

B) He learns to get along with Viola despite their differences.

C) He no longer hates women or holds them responsible for the Noise.

D) He becomes a man when he performs his first killing.

14. Compare Viola’s motive for killing with Todd’s.

A) Viola killed out of selfish gain, while Todd killed to protect himself.

B) Viola and Todd both killed to uphold their ideologies.

C) Viola killed in self-defense, and Todd killed to affirm his identity.

D) Viola and Todd both killed out of self-preservation.

15. What is an example of the novel’s theme of Masculinity as a Product of Social Norms?

A) Prentisstown requires killing to become a man.

B) The women in the neighboring village perform leadership roles.

C) Boys are not men in Prentisstown until they are 13.

D) Aaron wants to die to become a saint.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your answer.

1. Who is the real antagonist in The Knife of Never Letting Go, and why is his role somewhat ambiguous?

2. Why are Todd and Viola so moved by the song of the creatures in the herd?