On The Sidewalk Bleeding Short Story

Lauren Seidewand

ENG 1D1

November 18th, 2015

Mr. Andreacchi

Short Story Essay

Everyone at some point is bound to experience situations where they question who they really are. This conflict usually arises as a result of either another’s actions or one’s own actions. In the short story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, Andy struggles with his self-identity. Furthermore, the barber in “Just Lather, That’s All”, battles with his abilities and image of himself. Therefore, both the barber and Andy face an inner conflict as a result of their struggle of determining who they genuinely are, which conclusively results in how their future will unfold.

In the short story “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”, Andy suffers with the inner conflict of his self-identity

as he has his last moments on Earth. Andy is initially stabbed by the Guardians gang and ponders “had they known that he was Andy, or had they simply known that he was a Royal wearing a purple silk jacket?” (Hunter, 41). For this reason, Andy starts to develop an inner conflict within himself as a result of questioning his true identity, how the world see’s him. “I’m Andy, he screamed wordlessly. I’m Andy!” (41). He realizes that he, as a human being, was not stabbed, only the jacket was. He thought of how happy he was when he first joined the Royals. “There has been meaning to the title” (40). Now, the meaning of the jacket was death. Andy realizes that he does not want to die as a Royal, he wants to die as Andy, a person. This conflict is eventually solved by Andy using all his remaining strength to remove the Royal’s jacket so that he can end his life as just Andy. Even though to the police officer and everyone else, he may have died as “A Royal” (42) he was able to prove to himself that he is Andy, he is more than just a title on the back of a jacket. Through all of this, Andy shows that one’s identity will result in how one’s future will unfold. In Andy’s case, his future means both life or death, Andy or Royal. While Andy has to overcome the problems with how the world sees him, the barber in “Just Lather, That’s All” struggles with making a life changing decision based on his self-image.

At the start of “Just Lather, That’s All”, the reader is introduced to the barber who is suffering with an inner conflict dealing with his self-identity.

His client is Captain Torres, who is an evil man. The barber has been given the job of shaving his beard, and with the Captain sitting before him and a razor in his hand, the barber realizes how easy it would be to kill him. “I could cut his throat just so, zip! zip! I wouldn’t give him time to complain” (Tellez, 3). This develops the barber’s inner conflict as he is silently contemplating whether to simply shave him like a professional barber should, or kill him on the spot. The Captain’s fate is literally in the barber’s hands. This inner conflict is a result of his image, how he wants to be portrayed, because he is both a barber and a secret rebel. “My destiny depends on the edge of this razor” (3). Therefore, whatever he chooses ultimately results in how his future will unfold. If he kills the Captain, he could be seen as either a “murderer or hero” (3). If he doesn’t kill the Captain, he is letting the man go who is responsible for so many terrible things. After contemplating his choices and considering the consequences, he eventually solves his conflict by simply giving him a shave and letting Torres go. As a result, the barber indeed proves how one’s identity will result in how one’s future will

unfold.

Andy and the barber set their future path for themselves based on their internal conflict with their identity. Firstly, Andy learns how one’s identity can determine life or death as his death is upon him. Secondly, the barber overcomes his dilemma with his self-image by staying true to his professionalism. Through these short stories, the reader will better understand the consequences of one’s identity. Therefore, it is clear to see that how one handles inner conflict conclusively determines his/her future.