Lather and Nothing Else

“His face looked burnt, tanned by the sun. I started to work carefully on the shaving soap. I scraped some slices from the cake, dropped them into the mug, then added a little lukewarm water, and stirred with the brush. The lather soon began to rise.”

This description of Captain Torres is the only sense readers get of either of the men’s appearances. The imagery of his sunburnt face indicates that Captain Torres has been busy in the sun and working to round up the rebels in an effort to bring them back to be publicly executed. The hardened features of Torres contrast with the softness of the lather the barber is preparing to put on Torres’s face. As the lather rises, so does the tension between the barber and captain.

“Through the schoolyard to look upon the four rebels hanging there, my path had crossed his briefly. But the sight of those mutilated bodies kept me from paying attention to the face of the man who had been directing it all and whom I now had in my hands.”

The descriptions of those who were publicly executed at Captain Torres’s hands provide a detail that helps to explain why the barber would consider murdering him. The details of the murder are grotesque and vivid, carried out at the hands of a violent regime.

“I paused to wipe it clean, and taking up the strop once more went about improving its edge, for I am a painstaking barber.”

The self-reflection about the barber’s profession helps readers understand his characterization. As someone who does things properly, he presents himself as someone moral and upstanding who takes pride in his work.