How we cite our quotes: (Chapter, Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I got lied to about everything and you can search my Noise if you want to be sure that's true." I stand, talking faster. "There wasn't sposed to be another settlement. Prentisstown was sposed to be it for the whole stupid planet. But there's the other place on the map! So maybe—" (11.27)
Poor Todd is trying to reason things out when he knows that almost everything that he has to go on is a lie. He's just told Viola that she might die from his Noise germ, but now he's backtracking. Since other stuff was a lie, maybe the story about the women dying from the germ was a lie, too. We find out later on that it sure was.
Quote #5
"That's how New World's always done it. It's sposed to be scriptural. Aaron always went on about it symbolizing the day you eat from the Tree of Knowledge and go from innocence into sin." (21.69)
Aaron strikes again with his lies and manipulation, making Todd's coming of age seem like this religious process where he goes from innocent to sinful. Fun fact: When coming of age involves mandatory murder, maybe the religious leaders are a little bit off their rockers.
Quote #6
But it's like nothing that happened before really happened, like that was all a big lie just waiting for me to find out. No, not like, it was a big lie waiting for me to find out and this is the real life now, running without safety or answer, only moving, only ever moving. (21.90)
After leaving Prentisstown, Todd's learning to live in a world without manipulation. This is tough, because most of what he thinks to be true has been made up, so he basically has to start all over again knowledge-wise. This shows how manipulative a ruler like Mayor Prentiss can be—dude's completely distorted reality for Todd.