Just Lather, That's All

The central conflict in "Just Lather, That's All" is whether or not the barber will slit the throat of the notorious Captain Torres as he sits defenseless getting a shave. Ultimately, the barber...

In this story, the Barber is secretly working as an informant for the rebels. Captain Torres, on the other hand, is tasked with bringing down the rebels and has already killed a great number of...

As has already been said, the razor is a very important symbol in the story. Among other things, one could say that it represents the changeable nature of power. Just as a razor can be wielded by a...

The story is an intense meditation on a moral dilemma: should the barber murder the murderer who has come to his shop for a shave? Told from the point of view of the barber, the tone of the story...

The barber is portrayed as a very moral man who undergoes a soul-searching experience but retains his standards. He has the opportunity to kill the man who is causing so many deaths of innocent...

In "Just Lather, That's All," the barber is very skilled at his profession and takes great pride in his work. This is shown by his preparation of the razor and shaving soap at the beginning of the...

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...

The actual events in "Just Lather, That's All" could scarcely be more minimal. A man goes into a barber's shop for a shave. The barber shaves him and he leaves. Everything else is in the barber's...

Captain Torres is rather imperious. He expects for his authority and commands to be obeyed without question. When he enters the barbershop, he issues an imperative, "Give me a shave." No ceremony...

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...

In the short story, "Just Lather, That's All," Captain Torres goes into the barbershop to see if the barber will attempt to kill him. The barber is a rebel, and the Captain has just returned from...

The razor is an important symbol in “Just Lather, That’s All” because of what it represents about the barber’s power. In almost any other situation, Captain Torres would be the one with the power...

In the short story "Lather and Nothing Else," also known as "Just Lather, That's All," by Hernando Tellez, an official named Captain Torres comes into a barber shop for a shave. The barber, the...

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...

One potential thesis statement about "Just Lather, That's All" could be about the main character, the haircutter who narrates the story. The thesis could make a claim about why the narrator chooses...

Hernando Tellez’s short story Just Lather, That’s All is supremely ironic in the “situational” sense in which “irony” can be defined. The reader expects the story to follow a certain path based...

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...

The short story "Just Lather, That's All" is mainly an interior monologue, a technique of narration that presents the thoughts that pass through the mind of the protagonist. This interior monologue...

The last paragraph is significant because it reveals Captain Torres's true nature. Until this moment, our perspective of the captain has been colored by the barber's inner dialogue. According to...

In the short story "Just Lather, That's All," Captain Torres, the leader of a military unit who is hunting down revolutionaries, comes into a barber shop for a shave. The barber is a member of the...

Hernando Téllez's "Just Lather, That's All" contains numerous instances of sensory language that evoke the job of a barber. In order to evoke the job of a barber in a reader, a reader must be...

The title phrase in this story means that lather is all that the barber wants on his hands. He does not want to become a murderer or, really, a rebel. He only wants to be left to pursue his trade...

The internal struggle of the barber in "Just Lather, That's All" by Téllez is the story's central conflict. The barber narrates his struggle making an important decision: should he kill his present...

The protagonist in the short story is the barber. Despite viewing himself as a rebel, he is unable to kill Captain Torres, his enemy. His reasons for not killing the captain are the result of his...

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...

Colombian author Hernando Tellez’s short story “Just Lather, That’s All” raises an age-old but still debated question regarding justifiable homicide. At sort of a micro level of discussion, this is...

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...

The supreme irony of the Hernando Tellez short story, "Just Lather, That's All," concerns the secret identity of the barber. When Captain Torres enters the barber's shop, he announces that he wants...

The barber and Torres belong to different warring factions. Torres is Captain of his faction. He has done some totally vicious things to the rebels in the barber’s group. When Torres enters the...

I would argue that he's neither. He sensibly realizes that, if he should go ahead and slit the Captain's throat, then the consequences for himself and his family are likely to be dire. Besides, the...

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...

In "Just Lather, That's All," Torres is clearly the villain, as demonstrated in the following three ways: Captain Torres is responsible for ordering the hanging of four men and then forcing...

Before coming to the barber shop, Torres had ordered four rebels to be shot. He then ordered the entire town to report to the patio of the school and to file before the bodies of the dead rebels,...

To answer this question, take a look at what the barber says on the subject of killing Captain Torres: I could cut this throat just so, zip! zip! I wouldn't give him time to complain and since he...

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...

When the Captain first approaches, the barber trembles with fear and, while shaving the Captain, most of his meditations are similarly fearful. However, immediately before he decides not to kill...

On the surface, there does appear to be a contradiction between the narrator's comments and his behavior. However, taken in light of his true goals as a revolutionary, we come to understand that...

This is an interesting question to consider in relation to this story, because actually, although the barber works hard to keep his inner feelings from being noticed by Captain Torres by trying to...

This question has been previously asked and answered on eNotes. Here is a link for you: http://www.enotes.com/just-lather-thats-all/q-and-a/what-characer-qualities-does-barber-captain-torres-104171

Both Captain Torres and the barber speak to each other as if they have no secrets from one another in the Hernando Tellez short story, "Just Lather, That's All." Torres has just returned from...

The day begins as just another day for the barber in the Hernando Tellez short story, "Just Lather, That's All," but things change dramatically, forcing him to make a life-altering decision....

Whether the barber should have killed Captain Torres is a question that heavily depends upon one's personal feelings on revenge. Some might argue the barber had a duty to kill the Captain and...

Captain Torres and the barber are both enemies. The barber is a secret rebel, the sort hunted by Captain Torres and his soldiers. The barber initially thinks that his secret has not been discovered...

I would have to say that the protagonist of the story (the barber) shows a bit of each in this story. But overall, I think it's more of cowardice. You could say that he is showing courage because...

This is the question that the barber ponders as he shaves the throat of the captain in Hernando Tellez's short story, "Just Lather, That's All" (aka "Just Lather and Nothing Else"). And what of...

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...