Descriptive essay with a simile and metaphor

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Descriptive and Personal Essay
Excerpts from Richard Selzer's "The Knife"

Note to Students: Here is a great example of a writer employing simile and metaphor to compress and energize the language. Notice how the knife takes on a life of its own. How does Seltzer's syntax and rhythm work to engage the reader?

Beginning:

One holds the knife as one holds the bow of a cello or a tulip-by the stem. Not palmed nor gripped nor grasped, but lightly, with the tips of ...