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In "Just Lather, That's All," what does Captain Torres want in the barber's shop?
Quick answer:
In "Just Lather, That's All," Captain Torres visits the barber's shop to test whether the barber, a rebel, would kill him. Though it initially seems he just wants a shave, his true intention is to see if the barber would act on the rumor of wanting him dead. The barber, despite having the opportunity, chooses not to kill Torres, reaffirming his own moral stance.
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 observations.
When we reach the final paragraph of the story, though, we realize Captain Torres's real motivation for going to the barber shop. This is made clear in his final line of dialogue:
"They told me that you'd kill me. I came to find out."
In other words, the Captain had been informed that the barber wished him dead and he came to see if the barber would carry out these intentions. (The two men belong to opposing political factions and are enemies.) The Captain's visit to the shop is, therefore, a test to determine the truth of this rumor.
In "Just Lather, That's All," why does Captain Torres visit the narrator for a shave?
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and so I have edited down your question accordingly. This is a great question though, and although we are not explicitly told the answer, I think we are able to infer a lot about the character of Captain Torres from what he does and says.
It is only at the end that we are given the "sting in the tail" of the story and we find out that Captain Torres knew about the barber's links with the rebels all the time. This is a shock because throughout the tale the narrator had thought that the Captain didn't know that he was on the rebels' side. The fact that Captain Torres went and allowed himself to be shaved to "find out" whether the barber would kill him shows that he is incredibly brave - insanely so. Perhaps his work has made him love taking these kind of life-or-death risks - they give him a thrill that he gets a kick out of. However, the fact that Captain Torres sat calmly throughout this process and then nonchalantly reveals his knowledge at the end, before walking out and leaving the barber be suggests that there are definitely hidden depths to this character that is otherwise presented as a bloodthirsty, violent and vindictive man:
How man of us had he ordered shot? How many of us had he ordered mutilated? It was better not to think about it.
Captain Torres's assertion that "killing isn't easy" presents him in a more human light and forces both us and the barber to reassess his character radically.