Friday, November 16, 2012

What are three character traits for the barber in "Just Lather, That's All"?

The barber in this excellent short story is a very
interesting character. He is not presented as a "hero" in the traditional sense of the
word, and yet it is clear that he is operating in secret as a rebel sympathiser against
a brutal and uncompromising military regime, symbolised in Captain Torres. However,
interestingly, what is emphasised again and again in his short narrative is the way he
takes pride in his skill as a barber. Note what he
says:



Under
the stroke of my razor Torres was being rejuvenated--rejuvenated because I am a good
barber, the best in the town, if I may say
so.



Even though he is shaving
the head of the military regime, the most brutal soldier of all, it is still important
to him to do his job well. For a second characteristic, it is clear that the barber is
timid. He begins to tremble when Captain Torres enters the room and his decision at the
end of the narrative to just be a barber and not a murderer shows that he is keen to
remain with what he is comfortable. Lastly, however timid he is, the story revolves
around the fact that he is a rebel, and therefore opposed to the regime of Captain
Torres. However, in spite of this, it is his decision to not be a murderer that shapes
him as a character above anything else.

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