hand, if he chooses not to take advantage of the power of the razor, he will have a clean conscience. Yet he might be losing an important opportunity or regret this moment later in life. Here we see how the razor is an extremely powerful tool in this story.

The way that the razor flips the power dynamic also holds deeper meaning regarding the story’s themes. Consider how Captain Torres is notorious for murdering rebels. The barber is an informant for the rebels, which means that yielding the razor gives the rebels the opportunity to strike back. However, the barber’s choice not to use the razor develops the story’s message about cyclical violence. The fighting would not stop if the barber chose to use the razor; instead, the razor would only add to the vicious cycle.

There are several possible symbols in Hernando Tellez’s short story “Just Lather, That’s All.” The razor is an obvious possibility, given its significance in the narrative. Additionally, one could view the process of shaving itself as a symbol, a process meticulously described by the narrator, the barber, as he discusses the intricacies of preparing soap, sharpening the razor, applying the lather, and shaving his customer’s beard.

The customer in “Just Lather, That’s All,” of course, is Captain Torres, a notoriously brutal army officer responsible for innumerable human rights violations in the guerrilla war ravaging this fictional but realistic—certainly modeled on the author’s native Colombia—town. As the barber prepares for and shaves Captain Torres, he describes in minute detail the process of shaving, with obvious pride in his work. He is a professional. More than that, he is an artist, viewing every step of the process as though he is producing a work of art. As the barber shaves the army officer, he undergoes an internal debate regarding the moral and practical propriety of slitting his customer’s throat. In the end, he chooses professionalism over militancy, which makes the story’s conclusion appropriately ironic.

If one must choose an element of “Just Lather, That’s All” on which to focus for its symbolic meaning, the titular substance, lather, is an appropriate selection. The lather assumes an importance in Tellez’s narrative that forces the reader to contemplate its significance. Tellez devotes considerable time to the barber’s contemplation of how he would go about killing Captain Torres. He considers the interaction between razor and skin and the blood that would drain from his victim’s neck. The razor is the instrument, and the physical properties of skin are described in detail, but the process of removing the lather through the strokes of the razor provides for a compelling element of symbolism. The lather is the narrative. As it is removed from the captain’s skin, a barrier between barber and murderer is eliminated. The lather serves as insulation. It also, however, represents the barber’s innocence. The razor is depicted as an instrument of shaving, but also as a means of killing. The lather, in contrast, is benign, its presence demonstrative of the barber’s moral compass. As he thinks to himself, “I don’t want blood on my hands. Just lather, that’s all.”

Lather represents the barrier between characters. As it is systematically removed, the relationship between characters is strengthened.

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 Captain Torres. Throughout the story the meanings that the barber gives to the tool of his trade change and show his conflicting emotions, on the one hand being something that he uses to "rejuvenate" Captain Torres, but on the other hand, being something he could use to end his life. Note what the barber says about his razor:

My destiny depends on the edge of this blade. I can turn my hand a bit more, press 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 than human skin and the blood is always there, ready to pour forth. A blade like this doesn't fail. It is my best. But I don't want to be a murderer, no sir.

The razor is thus a very complicated and important symbol to the barber whose importance determines the ending of the story and the decision that the barber eventually makes regarding his responsibility and what he should do.