Literary Response Blog- August 21, 2014

"The Paring Knife"
By: Michael Oppenheimer



In this short story many symbols are expressed, but one, in which the story was obviously named after stands out among the rest, the paring knife. Due to its referencing in multiple parts of the story, it would be very hard for anyone to miss its symbolic qualities. The story begins by stating that the knife has been found under the refrigerator, where is has apparently resided for four years or so, as stated by the narrator. The narrator continues on with the story of how it is that the knife got there in the first place. It is stated that there was a large amount of wine drunk that night, and that when they went to make love, something happened that caused them to fight, causing the speaking character to exit the room and go to sit in the kitchen, where he then proceeds to throw dirty dishes from the previous dinner onto the floor. After finding the knife, it is shown to the lover and she places it on the table and then exits the room to continue cleaning the rest of the house, clearly not remembering the story behind it, or failing to mention it.


I have said all this to introduce the symbolism behind the knife, and other elements that led to why the knife was introduced as a symbol in the first place, starting with the large dinner and wine. These two are obviously lovers, so of course they have an intimacy with each other. Their intimacy is synonymous of the communion of their meal and what it may represent, such as a possible upgrade in their relationship. The wine simply introduces a factor that may or may not be viewed as Biblical, but also as one representing alcoholism or the ability of alcoholic beverages to remove one's inhibitions. By being drunk, the couple opens themselves up to a wide range of possible scenarios. They are either drunk and enjoy making love, which didn't happen in this story, or have their inhibitions so absent that when something goes wrong, they say things that they wouldn't normally say. These things can be more hurtful and cut deeper, kind of like being stabbed with a knife.


Getting to the knife, one could say that it is representative of what the lover's words may have done to the woman he loves, or just broadly the arguments that may arise when one is in a close relationship. Although in the end, without a word, the woman puts the knife quietly back under the refrigerator, but why? It's as if she is saying, "I remember, but I realize that that argument was pointless and I forgive you." No matter what was said, the woman decided to let it go and not reminisce about what the knife was doing there, but chooses to ignore what the reason for it being there was, or just to let it sink into the past where the little scuttle occurred in the first place.