The short story Just Lather, That’s All, written by Hernando Tellez, is set in a barbershop in a small Colombian town. Captain Torres walks in the barbershop for a shave. The barber began to tremble when he recognized Captain Torres, and secretly Captain Torres is his enemy. The barber doesn’t like Captain because he was against the rebels and he also killed many rebels with pleasure. The barber hates him because of what he did with the rebels since the barber is a rebel himself. The barber struggles with his inner conflict. He is really confused and scared about what he should do and what not. He also thinks about the consequences he will get if he kills the Captain or whether he will become a town hero. As he is shaving the Captain he struggles within himself to decide whether to kill Captain Torres or not. The barber is frustrated with his hatred for the Captain and his values for human life. After all that thought he decides not to kill Caption Torres. He believes he is a professional barber and is here to give him a shave. Once Captain Torres is done shaving he tells the barber “They told me that you’d kill me. I came to find out. But killing isn’t easy. You can take my word for it.” This quote clearly explains that even the Captain finds killing people a hard task and that not all rebels are enemies. The main message of the story is that everyone has their own place in the scheme of things.The definition of a coward is one to show fear, the barber shows he is a coward by being afraid, seconding guessing himself, and showing weakness. When the captain walks into the barber shop he begins to quiver on the spot, therefore showing how fearful his is of the captain. For example “When I recognized him I started to tremble.” The barber without a doubt is showing terror. When you’re brave and courageous you never doubt yourself and stick to your guns, however the barber does not. In other words, when you plan on doing something you should never back down. On the other hand the barber does back down. For instance, “But what would I do with the body? Where would I hide it? I would have to flee…” Here he begins to think about what would happen if he did kill the captain and therefore leading him to not kill. In addition, the barber says “No one deserves to have someone else make the sacrifice of becoming a murderer.” In other words he is trying to say he doesn’t deserve to be the one to kill him and be called a murderer. Finally, the barber gives off vulnerability by thinking of reducing the amount of pain and suffering to the captain. For example, the barber thinks to himself “I'm sure that one solid stroke, one deep incision, would prevent any pain. He wouldn't suffer.” Caring for the enemy and trying to minimize the amount of pain they will have is true acts of a coward. In conclusion being fearful, doubting oneself, and giving off weakness is a sure fire sign of a coward.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Just Lather, That’s All- Summary
The short story Just Lather, That’s All, written by Hernando Tellez, is set in a barbershop in a small Colombian town. Captain Torres walks in the barbershop for a shave. The barber began to tremble when he recognized Captain Torres, and secretly Captain Torres is his enemy. The barber doesn’t like Captain because he was against the rebels and he also killed many rebels with pleasure. The barber hates him because of what he did with the rebels since the barber is a rebel himself. The barber struggles with his inner conflict. He is really confused and scared about what he should do and what not. He also thinks about the consequences he will get if he kills the Captain or whether he will become a town hero. As he is shaving the Captain he struggles within himself to decide whether to kill Captain Torres or not. The barber is frustrated with his hatred for the Captain and his values for human life. After all that thought he decides not to kill Caption Torres. He believes he is a professional barber and is here to give him a shave. Once Captain Torres is done shaving he tells the barber “They told me that you’d kill me. I came to find out. But killing isn’t easy. You can take my word for it.” This quote clearly explains that even the Captain finds killing people a hard task and that not all rebels are enemies. The main message of the story is that everyone has their own place in the scheme of things.The definition of a coward is one to show fear, the barber shows he is a coward by being afraid, seconding guessing himself, and showing weakness. When the captain walks into the barber shop he begins to quiver on the spot, therefore showing how fearful his is of the captain. For example “When I recognized him I started to tremble.” The barber without a doubt is showing terror. When you’re brave and courageous you never doubt yourself and stick to your guns, however the barber does not. In other words, when you plan on doing something you should never back down. On the other hand the barber does back down. For instance, “But what would I do with the body? Where would I hide it? I would have to flee…” Here he begins to think about what would happen if he did kill the captain and therefore leading him to not kill. In addition, the barber says “No one deserves to have someone else make the sacrifice of becoming a murderer.” In other words he is trying to say he doesn’t deserve to be the one to kill him and be called a murderer. Finally, the barber gives off vulnerability by thinking of reducing the amount of pain and suffering to the captain. For example, the barber thinks to himself “I'm sure that one solid stroke, one deep incision, would prevent any pain. He wouldn't suffer.” Caring for the enemy and trying to minimize the amount of pain they will have is true acts of a coward. In conclusion being fearful, doubting oneself, and giving off weakness is a sure fire sign of a coward.
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