The Knife Thrower

The Knife Thrower

Entertainment is a huge part of life. When you are on a stage entertaining people and you get everyone going, you would do everything to experience it again. When they can feel you're presence and when you hear them clapping and cheering, you get addicted and you would do anything to do it again. You'll be willing to go further than you had ever thought you would. You feel the pressure from the fans and the crowd. They will be demanding something extraordinary and something they have never seen before every time. They will be depending on you to make the best show possible for them and not disappoint. You cant please everyone, and that is the pressure you are facing. And that is what Hensch, the knife thrower might be facing. It's the pressure from the crowd. How far will the knife thrower go until it's too far? How much can the audience allow him to go? And who is responsible if something horrible happened? Is it the entertainer? Or is it the audience?

The knife thrower is a short story about a mysterious knife thrower named Hensch. He has the ability of captivating people with a show that everybody gets excited and scared about. Everybody knows who he is, and his reputation is why people are either fascinated by him or scared of him.

"Hensch, the knife thrower! Of course we knew his name. What we couldn't be sure of was what he actually did." (l. 22, p. 1).

This quote above shows that it's the mystery that is keeping the narrator and the narrator's friends interested in Hensch and his new act. Hensch knows how to make a show and what the audience wants. He keeps it cool and controlled, and lets his assistant to do all the talking to keep him cold and mysterious. Even though he didn't acknowledge the crowd throughout the show, he still was following their lead, as in he didn't do anything until he got the impression that the crowd wanted more.

This short story is told from an audience member's point of view. The narrator is in the audience and is describing every move in details. That way we get every emotion that is going through the narrator and the crowd as well. And the reason for that is to make it much more intense and realistic for the reader.

Something also so important in this short story is the symbolism of the colors. In the beginning of the story, the assistant is wearing a white gown. The white color is a symbol of innocence and purity. Then when Hensch throws the knife and marks his assistant, she changes into a black gown. Meaning she isn't innocent and pure anymore because she got marked, almost like if she committed a sin. So the story isn't only about crossing lines, our and others' boundaries, but also about crossing sexual lines and boundaries. When Susan Parker was chosen she was describes as pale white,