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Just Lather, That's All

by Hernando Téllez

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Student Question

What is the relationship between the narrator and Captain Torres in "Just Lather, That's All"?

Quick answer:

The relationship between the narrator and Captain Torres is complex and evolves from one of fear and power imbalance to grudging respect. Initially, the barber fears Torres, a ruthless executioner. However, during the story, both characters recognize their distinct roles—Torres as an executioner and the barber as a professional. By the end, Torres respects the barber's decision not to kill, revealing he knew of the barber's rebel ties but chose not to act on it.

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I think that the best way to describe their relationship with each other is to say that they are, for the length of this story, at least, dependent on one another.

Clearly, Captain Torres is at the mercy of the barber.  There is no way he could prevent the barber from killing him if he wants to.  But the barber is just as much at Torres' mercy, though he does not know it quite so clearly.  Torres could clearly have him executed if he wants to -- he knows (as we see at the end of the story) that the barber is a rebel.

I think that, at the end of the story, the relationship is one where Torres has the upper hand.  In a way, he has proven that he is the cooler, braver man and I think they both know it.

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In "Just Lather, That's All," what is the relationship between the narrator and Captain Torres?

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is clear that at the beginning of the tale the narrator is terrified of Captain Torres - he is forced to "conceal his emotion" and knows well the kind of ruthless individual he has before him, having witnessed what he has done to his fellow rebels before. And yet, it is clear that by the end of the story, both characters seemed to have formed some kind of grudging respect for the other. The narrator is faced with the dilemma of whether he should kill the Captain or not, and in the end concludes:

But I don't want to be a murderer. You came to me for a shave. And I perform my work honourably... I don't want blood on my hands. Just lather, that's all. You are an executioner and I am only a barber. Each person has his own place in the scheme of things.

The narrator therefore seems to identify that both he and Captain Torres have their own "place in the scheme of things" and that they both have different expertise. This evidence of grudging respect is seen by Captain Torres as well, for at the end of the story, in a surprising twist, he reveals that he knew the narrator was in league with the rebels, and yet he lets him live.

Therefore when we think about the relationship between the narrator and Captain Torres, we are shown a relationship that is based initially on power and fear, yet it comes to be characterised by a kind of grudging respect and realisation about the place that each occupy in the world and how hard it is to be a murderer.

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