Lather and Nothing Else
Uploaded by konstantin on Sep 18, 2012
In this short story “Lather and Nothing Else”, the barber, the best in town who is a revolutionary meets a person he knows Captain Torres, the person who is against the revolutionaries came to get a shave. After a while the barber faces an obstacle. He picks up his best razor and chooses murderer or hero. In this short story “Lather and Nothing Else”, symbolism, conflict, and Irony are used to develop the theme.
One of the main literary terms in this story was irony. The barber thought that the Captain never knew he was a revolutionary but in the end it was the complete opposite. “They told me you would kill me. I came to find out if it was true. But it’s not easy to kill. I know what I am talking about.”(Tellez 346). This quote tells us, you never know what to expect, and the situation or statement might be the complete opposite.
The second main literary term in this short story “Lather and Nothing Else” is conflict. The barber faces a really hard problem that he has to overcome. If he should kill Captain Torres, flee his town and leave everything behind or become a hero. “And so, which will it be? Murderer or Hero? (Tellez 346). This quote tells us that we all have a choice and our heart and fate will guide us.
The third main literary term in this short story is symbolism. The razor is the most important in this story because the barber decides to be a murderer or hero. This was how he was going to determine his fate. “I was stropping my best blade”. (Tellez 346). “My fate hangs on the edge of this razor blade”. (Tellez 346). These quotes tell us that at some point in our lives we will face challenges. And we always have to overcome those problems.
All these three literary terms come to play in this short story. For example, the barber meets a roadblock and makes a choice, either to kill the Caption or not to kill, which is the conflict. In this short story “Lather and Nothing Else” conflict, symbolism, and Irony are used to create the main idea of this story.