How we cite our quotes: (Chapter, Paragraph)
Quote #4
It's a like a shape you can't see except by how everything else around it is touching it. [But this, this is a shape, a shape of nothing, a hole where all Noise stops. (1.87)
Todd describes silence, and it's as weird of an idea to him as Noise is to us—so weird that it throws him for a loop. It's more something than the lack of noise, which means it's not a lack of language, per say, but a totally new language.
Quote #5
God Almighty, you get the stupid, stupid bar which even at this hour of the day is just a howl of Noise cuz what they do there is turn the music up so loud it's meant to drown out Noise but that only words partway […] cuz Noise is like a drunk man: blurry and boring and dangerous. (2.38)
Okay, so here we have Noise described as "dangerous." It's overwhelming, lacking rhyme or reason, and the only way to get rid of it is just to pile more on top. Language and communication in this kind of world is closely related to total chaos.
Quote #6
Her accent's funny, different from mine, different from anyone in Prentisstown's. Her lips make different kinds of outlines for the letters, like they're swooping down on them from above, pushing them into shape, telling them what to say. In Prentisstown, everyone talks like they're sneaking up on their words, ready to club them from behind. (13.11)
Here, Todd makes a comparison between accents and communication. He finds Viola's way of talking refreshing, and the way she says her words sounds free and direct. This is unlike the accent in Prentisstown, which sounds nasty and backhanded.