Summary Of Just Lather That's All

Just a Matter of Time…and Opinion
In the Short Story “Just Lather…That’s All” by Hernando Tellez. In this story, the protagonist is described as an ordinary barber, who finds himself in a sticky situation. The barber, who is a rebel in Colombia in 1948, when the government refused to agree with the people's demands for economic change. The barber has a surprise visit in his barber shop. One day the enemy captain of the military walks into the barber shop and wants a shave. The whole time when the barber is shaving the captain, he has an argument with himself on whether he should slit the throat of the captain seeing as it was all too easy. I think the razor in this story Represents barber’s personality and how he would deal with an enemy. (Would he

stick to his job, or kill the enemy?) The razor also represents the barber’s power over Captain Torres he can either kill him or let him live.

When Captain Torres walks into the barber shop, the barber must do his job and shave the enemy. The barber, who is a rebel against the Columbian government, would now have a weapon placed in a position where he could kill Captain Torres. “My destiny depends on the edge of this blade. I can turn my hand a bit more, push a little harder on the razor and sink it in. The skin would give way like silk, like rubber, like the strop. There is nothing more tender then human skin.” … “But, I don’t want to be a murderer, No sir.” (Tellez) The author uses convincing comments to why the razor is so important, how easily the barber could become a murderer. The barber has the razor in his hand ready to kill Captain Torres. However, this razor also represents the barbers profession and trade. He wouldn’t want to lose business, or look like a bad barber and a murderer. The barber didn’t want to be known as a murderer. He didn’t want to have the blood on his hands. The razor also represents the barber’s entire profession and if he would have slit Captain

Torres’s Throat he would be a bad barber. “Out of his neck a gush of blood would spout onto the sheet, on the chair, on my hands, on the floor. I would have to close the door.” Here the author uses “I would have to close the door” As he wouldn’t be able to keep his profession. He would have to run, He wouldn’t be a good person, or barber no longer. He would have to run and flee his own home. In conclusion, the razor represents the barber’s personality and the barber’s profession and how important it is.