On The Sidewalk Bleeding Short Story

717 Words2 Pages

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 …show more content…

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

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