Throughout the novels, Todd is repeatedly pressured to murder another human being in order to fulfil Mayor Prentiss’ plans. It is only until Mayor Prentiss reveals his plans that Todd sees he must fight him to save Viola, and New Prentisstown. He is at first forced to do so because Viola is under the Mayor’s control, but as the novel progresses, Todd starts to lose who he really is. Without Viola, he starts to become colder and emotionally detached from the dire situation. This raises questions about the justification of actions when the perpetrator is 'following orders'. He first commits acts of cruelty against Spackle ( branding them), but later on the Mayor enforces the same acts on women. In The Ask and the Answer, Todd is forced to follow the Mayor's commands in his militaristic regime, The Ask. His voice has been described as 'science fiction's Huckleberry Finn.'

He cannot read or write, a problem that has prevented him from reading his mother’s diary and communicating with Viola from the scout ship in book three. Mayor Prentiss prevented Todd from gaining an education, and consequently, Todd’s narrative is illiterate and unrestricted. (Note that New World follows a thirteen-month calendar, meaning he is actually about fourteen Earth/Old World years at the beginning of the series.) Brought up by his adoptive parents, Ben and Cillian, Todd was kept unaware of Prentisstown’s history until the end of the first book. When the trilogy begins, he is one month shy of turning thirteen. Todd Hewitt is the protagonist of the series.

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