The Big Effects of Small Conflicts: A Central Theme of "The Little Knife" Harper Beard College

In The Little Knife, by Michael Chabon, the main character, young Nathan Shapiro, and is his family travel to Nags Head, North Carolina for an unforgettable summer getaway. Throughout the entire trip, the narrator slowly comes to the realization that his picture perfect family is falling apart. The story goes to show that it is the minor events, such as the simple argument of stealing a little knife from the cottage, which lead to much larger and devastating events in the future. When a person cooks a frog, they do not simply just throw it into a pot of boiling water; the frog will jump right out. However, if the amphibian is put in lukewarm water and slowly brought to a boil, it will never notice it is dying until it is too late. Similarly, relationships are not just destroyed quickly and efficiently; it takes time a small actions and engagements that turn people on each other. This story portrays this theme by means of the setting, point of view, and irony.

When the narrator describes about the area the stay in during the family trip to Nags Head, he says “They drove down I-95, through the Commonwealth of Virginia, to a place called the Sandpiper—a ragged, charming oval of motel cottages painted white and green as the...