Major CharactersTodd Hewitt:
Todd is the protagonist of the series, whose inner thoughts and feelings are accessible to the reader, as the story is told in his point of view. When the book begins, he is one month away from his thirteenth birthday.Brought up by his surrogate parents, Ben and Cillian, Todd was kept unaware of Prentisstown's history until the end of the book. The town's mayor prevented Todd and all the townsfolk from gaining an education, and consequently, Todd's narrative is illiterate and unrestricted. He cannot read or write - a problem that has prevented him from reading his mother's diary. Viola Eade: Viola had recently turned thirteen when she crash-landed on New World with her parents. Unfortunately, she was the sole survivor of the crash; her dad perishes in the fire that caused the crash, while her mother lived for only a few moment after it. She and her family were part of a scouting party sent ahead by a group of new settlers. Her looks are not described explicitly in the novel, the only description being that her hair is short and that her skin is pale. She is introduced in The Knife of Never Letting Go when Todd 'hears' her silence, as she has no Noise.After Todd helps her escape from Aaron, she tells Todd her name. They begin to cooperate with each other as she shares items from her bag with him to assist them on their journey Benison "Ben" Moore: Ben is Todd's adoptive father who was a friend of his mother's. He and Cillian raised Todd and helped him escape when he discovered that it was possible to escape the Noise. He later rejoined him and told him and Viola the truth about Prentisstown: how the men killed all the women because they couldn't read their thoughts. When they were found by Mayor Prentiss's men, Ben was seemingly killed by Davy Prentiss Jr. Throughout the book, his kind, caring, gentle and wise qualities are demonstrated through what he does and what he says. Manchee Manchee is Todd’s pet dog, a gift from Ben and Cillian for Todd’s twelfth birthday, whose his thoughts are audible because of the Noise germ. Most of his dialogue consists of questions or simple words and declarations, such as "Squirrel!" or "Poo, Todd." He was Todd’s closest friend, and follows Todd unconditionally after they escape Prentisstown. When Todd is attacked in vengeance by Matthew Lyle, Manchee defends him at the cost of a large chunk of his tail. When a plan hatched by Todd goes horribly wrong, Todd is unable to stop Aaron from killing Manchee. After his death, Todd finds himself unable to ever intentionally separate himself from any of his allies, as he fears that once again, it might result in tragic consequences that they will all regret. |
Minor CharactersCillian Boyd
Cillian (kil-i-an) is Todd's other adoptive father, and a good friend of Todd's parents. He and Ben raise Todd after Todd's parents died. Cillian was convinced by Ben to come to New World, and he farms wheat and sheep. Cillian originally wanted to fight against the men of Prentisstown when they were killing the women, but Ben pacified him, arguing that they must pretend to go along with Prentiss so they could look after Todd. It is evident throughout the story that both Ben and Cillian are torn by guilt of essentially letting Todd's mother be murdered. He and Todd fight a lot, but according to Ben, this is because he cares about him. Cillian sacrifices himself in order to give Todd time to escape. Mayor Prentiss/President David Prentiss Mayor Prentiss is the mayor of Prentisstown, and the leader of the army that chases after Todd. He later becomes the President of Haven, and the self-proclaimed President of New World. He is the one who forced Prentisstown into War. Prentiss is extremely charismatic and manipulative, often choosing to play mind games instead of resorting to brute force. Although for most it is an annoyance, he learns to control his Noise, and can even use it as a weapon. Davy Prentiss Jr. Davy is the son of Mayor Prentiss, and was the local sheriff in Prentisstown. When the army is chasing after Todd and Viola, Davy is sent to find them and bring them back to the mayor. He and Todd resent each other from the first scene that the reader sees them together. Aaron Aaron is the seemingly insane priest of Prentisstown. Whenever he appears in the book, he is trying to provoke a fight with Todd, always ending with Todd injuring him without killing him. Aaron's face is disfigured in the beginning in the book after being attacked by crocodiles in the swamp. Then, later on, his nose is bitten off by Manchee after Aaron attempted to attack Todd and Viola. It is after this that he kills Manchee. At the end of the book, it's revealed that he was selected as the sacrifice for Todd's coming of age which requires him to kill someone in order to become a man. All the times that Aaron tried to provoke a fight with Todd, was him trying to get Todd to kill him, aiding Aaron in the process of becoming a saint. The plan ultimately fails, when at the end of the book, Viola kills him. |