Reading Response: Character

Recently, I have finished a book called The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The main character of the book, Todd Hewitt, goes through a clear change throughout the book. In the beginning Todd doesn't appreciate what he has, while towards the end of the book, he is thankful for what he has and wishes to have back what he didn't appreciate. At the start of the book, Todd comes across as a very annoying and ungrateful boy. He hates that he still isn't a man, hates that he's the youngest in his town, hates that he got a dog for his previous birthday, and hates one of his 'parents', Cillian, that he always ends up arguing with. He constantly voices his opinion about these things, but in reality doesn't know how lucky he is to have a home and two people who care about him. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize this until much later. Todd, who lives in an isolated town populated only by men, sheep, and his dog, believes that everything is perfectly normal, and that the women had died because of a germ on their planet. In reality, the germ on the planet had done nothing but let men hear each others thoughts and speak with them. But when Todd comes across a 'quiet spot' in the swamp near his home, the whole town turns on him, why? Todd himself doesn't even know. Now running from a whole army of men, Todd realizes their are a lot of things to be thankful for, starting with his dog and Cillian.Todd realizes that his 'stupid ruddy dog' is actually quite useful, for one as protection, and also as a handy scent-sniffing guide. Cillian, who he argued with a lot, ends up sacrificing himself to buy Todd time to escape, as well as providing Todd with a plan of escape. Towards the end of the book, when Todd has lost all, he understands how he would give anything to have his old life back. This is a clear example of a character change in Todd, from beginning to end of the book.