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Just Lather, That's All
"Just Lather, That's All" can be read as an existential exploration of the barber's psychology, in which he decides on his identity over the course of just a few tense minutes. The barber's...
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Just Lather, That's All
The gun belt and military cap that the man who has come to get a shave hangs on the wall hook are a striking visual that represent a number of things to the reader. First, we know one of the...
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Just Lather, That's All
The social context of "Just Lather, That's All" is left deliberately vague. Most commentators have assumed that it takes place in Colombia, but this seems to be for no other reason than the...
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Just Lather, That's All
"To have blood on your hands" is an idiomatic expression that means you are responsible for someone's death. This could be the direct act of killing another human being, or it could be a situation...
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Just Lather, That's All
When Captain Torres enters the shop, the barber begins to tremble. He seems afraid for most of the duration of the story. His final decision, however, is based not on fear but on principle. He...
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Just Lather, That's All
The barber in "Just Lather, That's All" tells us that he is secretly a rebel. He tempers this, however, by saying that he is also a conscientious barber who is proud of his profession. He then says...
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Just Lather, That's All
The principal type of conflict present in "Just Lather, That's All" is that of Man versus Self. The barber struggles first with his fear then with his conscience in deciding whether to kill Captain...
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Just Lather, That's All
The immediate setting of the story is a barbershop. This is made evident immediately when a man walks in, as the narrator is sharpening razors and the customer asks for a shave. The reader learns...
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Just Lather, That's All
The short story "Just Lather, That's All"—also known in English as "Lather and Nothing Else"—by Colombian writer Hernando Tellez tells of a visit to a barbershop of a ruthless man named Captain...
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Just Lather, That's All
There are many purposeful and meaningful details in "Just Lather, That's All." We might begin with the first few sentences of the story: He said nothing when he entered. I was passing the best of...
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Just Lather, That's All
The barber who supplies information regarding the military's movements to the rebels with whom he sympathizes narrates this story. When the leader of the military group he opposes, Captain Torres,...
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Just Lather, That's All
The barber who narrates the story ends up in a position to kill the leader of the military: a man responsible for the deaths of a great many of the barber's friends, a rebel group. This man,...
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Just Lather, That's All
Direct characterization is when readers are told explicitly by the narrator of a quality or many qualities of a character. The reader doesn't have to work to discern anything. Indirect...
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Just Lather, That's All
There are several similarities between the barber from "Just Lather, That's All" and Daru from "The Guest." Three of the most immediately obvious of these similarities are as follows. First, both...
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Just Lather, That's All
Though Captain Torres and the barber are mortal enemies in the Hernando Tellez short story, "Just Lather, That's All," they both have similar character traits. Both are very serious about their...
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Just Lather, That's All
In "Just Lather, That's All," Captain Torres is a hardworking person who is dedicated to his career. At the beginning of the story, it is revealed that he spent the last four days in pursuit of...
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Just Lather, That's All
Hernando Tellez builds wonderful suspense in his short story Lather and Nothing Else (also translated as Just Lather, That's All). The story is written from the perspective of a barber who is...
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Just Lather, That's All
A very important symbol in this excellent short story that is used to explore the character of the barber himself is of course the razor that he is holding and currently using to shave the neck of...
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Just Lather, That's All
The primary conflict in Hernando Tellez' short story, "Just Lather, That's All," deals with the barber's indecisiveness about whether he should kill Captain Torres. Torres is the hunter of...
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Just Lather, That's All
The decision that the barber has to make will either result in him being regarded as a coward by the rebels and a hero by the military, or a coward by the military and a hero by the rebels....
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Just Lather, That's All
At first glance, the barber seems like a coward because he has the opportunity to kill his enemy, Captain Torres, when he comes to his shop for a shave. But after mulling it over, the barber does...
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Just Lather, That's All
The situation of the story is given in the first few paragraphs. A military man, who we come to know as Captain Torres, enters the barbershop. The barber, who is narrating the tale, becomes very...
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Just Lather, That's All
In "Just Lather, That’s All," the author covers a wide range of topics. Here are a few examples: History of Colombia: The story is set in a violent period of Colombia's history which is, in fact,...
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Just Lather, That's All
In "Just Lather, That's All," the narrator's primary role is that of a barber, and it is clear that he really enjoys it. He mentions that he performs his work "honourably," and describes himself as...
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Just Lather, That's All
This is another good question about this excellent short story that contains a massive surprise at the end. The barber regrets intensely the position that fate or "destiny" has placed him in. He is...
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Just Lather, That's All
In this excellent short story, the protagonist is the anonymous barber who narrates the story, the antagonist is Captain Torres, who comes to the barber's shop for a shave, and the setting is the...
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Just Lather, That's All
This is an interesting question to consider, as personally, I don't actually believe that Captain Torres would reveal the identity of the barber as a rebel sympathiser to his men, as they would...
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Just Lather, That's All
My own personal ideas about this question are that we have no reason to doubt the barber--I do not think he is presented as a narrator that is in any way unreliable, in that we are given no reason...
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Just Lather, That's All
Unfortunately, given the subject matter, Hernando Tellez's short story "Just Lather, That's All" could have taken place in any one of several Latin American nations during the 20th century. Such...
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Just Lather, That's All
This is definitely a very good statement to explore when thinking about the character of the barber in this tense story. Certainly, as we discover, there is a lot more to this timid character than...
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Just Lather, That's All
The barber is faced with both a moral and professional dilemma: He would love nothing better than to cut the throat of Captain Torres, the man who had hunted down and killed and tortured so many of...
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Just Lather, That's All
Imagery: Torres is introduced by his gun, his hat, and the way that he makes the barber tremble, well before he is even named. Heat is also used throughout the story both literally and...
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Just Lather, That's All
This story takes place in a barbershop in Columbia, a country that has had many military revolutions. The narrator is the owner, and he is shaving a man well known for his violence and his ability...
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Just Lather, That's All
In the opening paragraph of "Just Lather, That's All," the mood is fearful and tense. This is established, primarily, by the description of the trembling barber and the reference to the Captain's...
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Just Lather, That's All
A man enters a barber shop in a small village in Colombia. The man is Captain Torres, the local military authority who is dirty and tired from hunting revolutionaries for the past few days. After...
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Just Lather, That's All
In this story, the barber goes through a real mental struggle about whether or not he should kill Captain Torres. The barber considers his decision in terms of how he may be perceived by his...
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Just Lather, That's All
Killing a man by slitting his throat while he sits before you with eyes closed seems to be a pretty cowardly act to me. Accepting money for a service and then committing the act only makes it more...
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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...
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Just Lather, That's All
In "Just Lather, That's All," the central conflict is internal because it involves the barber and his dilemma over whether to kill Captain Torres. On the one hand, he wants to kill the Captain...
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Just Lather, That's All
In "Just Lather, That's All," the barber has a number of prominent character traits. Here are two of them: The barber is proud of his work and strives for perfection. He calls himself a...
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Just Lather, That's All
Initially, in "Just Lather, That's All," it appears that the Captain simply wants a shave: it is very hot outside and he has not had a shave for about four days, according to the barber's...
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Just Lather, That's All
Up to the last paragraph of the story, the reader is likely to have a very distinctive impression of the Captain. He has a taste for violence, and appears to enjoy his job. This is shown most...
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Just Lather, That's All
This is a masterful tale of suspense and tension, and so you will want to focus on how the character description builds tension and reveals the fear and terror that the barber is undergoing. But...
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Just Lather, That's All
Captain Torres knows that the barber is a member of the rebel group and has been warned that the barber will kill him if he goes in there. Torres seems to even invite the barber to kill him by...
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Just Lather, That's All
The barber eventually comes to the conclusion that he will not kill Torres because he discovers something very central about himself, his identity, and what he can and can't do. This epiphany also...
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Just Lather, That's All
Tellez set his compelling story in Latin America during a period of numerous military dictatorships that were opposed by rebel groups. Civil war plagued Latin America at this time, and individuals...
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Just Lather, That's All
The answer to this question can be found in the second paragraph, which is after Captain Torres enters the barber's shop and sits down for a shave, demanding the barber's services. Note what the...
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Just Lather, That's All
Telez tells his story from some of his own experiences with the civil unrest that lasted through most of the early 1900's in Columbia. This is where the setting is in the Story "Just Lather,...
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Just Lather, That's All
This excellent tale of suspense and tension naturally gives rise to a number of thesis statements. To me, the most natural and obvious one to focus on is examining the character of the barber in...
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Just Lather, That's All
Above all else, the barber did not want to commit the greatest sin of his profession--to spill a drop of the customer's blood. Killing Captain Torres while performing his barbering duties went...