Just Lather, That’s All
1. What kind of war is going on in the country where the story takes place? (K/U 1)
A civil war – there are people rebelling against their government.
2. In the plot of the story, there are two main conflicts. Identify and state the reasons for each conflict. (K/U 2)
Person vs. self: the barber has to decide whether to kill Torres or not.
Person vs. society: rebels (barber) vs the government (Torres).
3. The major crisis of the story occurs when the barber realizes that his “destiny depends on the edge of [his] blade”. The decision he makes at this moment can change his life forever. Give two reasons the barber tells himself for killing Torres and two reasons he tells himself for not killing Torres. (K/U 4)
The barber should kill Torres because Torres mutilated other rebels – revenge. If the barber killed Torres he would be a hero.
The barber should not kill Torres because he takes his job seriously and he wants to treat Torres like any other customer, and he would then be labeled as a murderer.
4. Give two different character traits of the barber and two for Captain Torres and support each trait with evidence from the story. (T/I 4)
The barber is calm/professional while shaving Torres, even though he’s dealing with difficult circumstances. The barber is proud, he takes his professional seriously and considers himself one of the best.
Torres is confident and brave because he went for a shave even though he knew he might get killed. Torres is curious because he went to the barbershop himself to see what would happen.
5. What is ironic about the ending of the story? Identify the type of irony. (T/I 2)
The ending is an example of situational irony because the barber was concerned about being exposed as a spy, but it turns out Torres knew the whole time.
6. The barber realizes he doesn’t “want blood on [his] hands. Just lather, that's all”. How can this quote be taken both literally and figuratively? (T/I 2)
The literal meaning of this quotation is that the barber doesn’t want blood on his hands because it’ll be messy and might get him in trouble.
The figurative meaning is that the barber doesn’t want a guilty conscience.
7. Write a thematic statement for the story? (T/I 2)
During times of war, be careful of who you trust.
During times of war, people do nasty things.
Things aren’t always as they appear – don’t jump to conclusions, don’t trust strangers.
8. What is the dominate mood? Provide two references that help support this mood. (3 K/U)
The mood is tense, suspenseful, anxious, because we’re always wondering what decision the barber is going to make.
**You will receive a mark out of 5 for spelling and grammar**