The Conscientious Barber in "Just Lather, That’s All"
In Hernando Tellez’s “Just Lather, That’s All,” the barber would have been a coward if he had killed Captain Torres. This is because the barber would not like to commit the biggest sin of his career, which was to spill a drop of the client's blood. To add more, murdering Captain Torres while doing his job conflicted against the barber’s code, which the shaver thought of it as a cowardly demonstration of a homicide. He accepted that murdering Torres would not decrease but increase his problems. Additionally, the barber realized that he would be distinguished as the executioner and would have no place to go to avoid the men who might chase him. Murdering the Captain would likewise uncover his true identity as an undercover agent for the rebels, and by ruining his disguise, he would never again be helpful.
Firstly, the barber portrays himself as being 'conscientious' and, in his reality, this implies he never spills a 'pearl' of his customer's blood. “Yes, I was secretly a rebel, but I was also a conscientious barber, and proud of the preciseness of my profession.” As stated in this quotation, he was proud to be a barber, and could not kill a person while in his “proud profession”. Murdering the Captain would, in this manner, was going to degrade his reputation in his community.
Secondly, the barber accepts that murder isn't right since it conflicts with his standards. “Damn him for coming, because I'm a revolutionary and not a murderer.” To add more, he distinguishes himself as a 'revolutionary' and in this case, he thinks it's very different from being a killer. The barber knew that Torres trusted him to give him a shave, even though he knew he was a rebel. This proves my point that the barber is not going to kill a person while doing his job which means a lot towards him.
Thirdly, the barber understands that killing the Captain would create a larger number of issues that would be harder to solve and escape. “Others come along and still others and the first ones kill the second ones and they the next ones and it goes on like this until everything is a sea of blood.” Rather than closing the content, for example, it would empower it to proceed. Some examples include, him running away from the situation would lead to worsening upon other things. Thus, instead of him facing the problem, he would run from them.
To sum it up, In Hernando Tellez’s “Just Lather, That’s All,” the barber would have been a “Coward” if he had killed Captain Torres. This is on the grounds that the barber might not want to submit the greatest sin of his profession. He acknowledged that killing Torres would increase his problems rather than decrease them. Also, the barber understood that he would be recognized as the killer and would have no spot to go to stay away from the men who may chase after him. Killing the Captain would reveal his actual way of life as a spy for the rebels.
