Azizah, Fyna Nur (2026) TODD HEWITT’S DEFENSE MECHANISMS IN PATRICK NESS’S THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO. Undergraduate thesis, Fakultas Ilmu Budaya.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the defense mechanisms employed by Todd Hewitt in
Patrick Ness’s The Knife of Never Letting Go(2008), responding to the intense
psychological pressures of Prentisstown. Using a qualitative descriptive method
and Anna Freud’s psychoanalytic framework of ego defenses, this study identifies
the forms, causes, and effects of Todd’s psychological coping strategies. The
findings reveal that while Todd initially relies on primitive mechanisms, such as
repression, denial, reaction formation, and projection to shield his ego from the
constant surveillance of "Noise" and the toxic masculinity of his environment,
sublimation emerges as the most defining mechanism for his survival. Activated
by the profound internal conflict between his inherent empathy and the external
mandate to become a killer, Todd’s defenses evolve from destructive selfalienation to a constructive redirection of his aggressive impulses. Furthermore,
the study offers a new understanding of Noise not merely as a physical loss of
privacy, but as a relentless psychological catalyst that forces the ego into extreme
defensive adaptations. Ultimately, the research concludes that while Todd does
not achieve full psychological development or complete autonomy by the novel's
end, his ability to sublimate his trauma into a protective responsibility for
Viola demonstrates a crucial step toward moral resilience in an ongoing state of
dystopian chaos.
Keywords: Characterization, Conflict, Defense Mechanisms, Psychoanalysis,
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