Preview

Argumentive Paragraph: The Cowardly Barber

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Argumentive Paragraph: The Cowardly Barber
Argumentive paragraph: The Cowardly Barber In the story, “Just Lather, That’s All” by Hernando Tellez, the barber would have been a coward had he killed Captain Torres because, when he killed the captain he was unarmed. Secondly, he would have to flee leaving all he had behind. Lastly, he would have been vulnerable. The barber was weak and afraid of killing captain Torres and to be called as the murderer of the captain. The barber would have been a coward because; he killed the captain when he was unarmed. As soon as the captain entered, “he took off his bullet – studded belt that his gun holster dangled from. He hung it up on a wall hook and placed his military cap over it” (48). The barber knew that the captain was unarmed and as per his …show more content…
Secondly, the barber would have been a coward because he would have to flee leaving all he had behind. He was well aware that he would have to run and thus he made a statement, “I would have to flee, leaving all I had behind, and take a refuge far away” (51). He would have to run, saving himself from Torres’ people. As he would have killed the captain cowardly, he had to hide his face from the society. He would have to find places to hide himself from Torres’ people. He might also have to lose his job. Furthermore, the barber would have been a coward because, he was vulnerable. He was weak and afraid of killing captain Torres, especially with his eyes open. Thus, when the captains’ eyes were closed, he whispered, “I could cut his throat just so – Zip, Zip! I would not give him time to resist and since his eyes were closed he would not see the glistening blade and my glistening eyes” (50). The barber would have thought that as the captains’ eyes were closed he might not come to know about his thoughts. The barber would even not give him the chance to perform any such actions which would create problems for him. Thus all such thoughts of the barber, about killing the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The barber relationship with Captain Torres is an unstable and dangerous relationship. The tension between the two at that extent creates a setting of discomfort and distrust .the reader have a clear understanding of the type of atmosphere or mood the barber and Torres face. This allows the reader to think…

    • 389 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Just Lather, That’s All” by Hernado Tellez, the barber, the protagonist of the story, is faced with a dilemma when he must determine whether it is right or wrong to commit murder. With his “destiny depend[ing] on the edge of [his] blade,” Tellez suppresses the barber’s final decision from the reader until the end of the story, in order hold their attention. Additionally, the indeterminate ending prevents the plot’s intrigue from dissolving by leaving much to the reader’s interpretation. There is no closure to the situation; because of the barber’s final decision, the captain’s exit from the barbershop arouses as many questions for the reader as does his arrival at the beginning of the story. This generates additional fear for the barber…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Opinion Essay Rough Copy The barber shouldn’t kill Torres. At the end of the story Torres tells the barber everyone thought he would be killed if he came to get his beard cut. The barber is clearly a well known man.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mark Crossman, Appellant v. The Brick Tavern, Inc. et al, Defendants, Tribune Publishing Co., Respondent…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ioannides and Tellez both talk about how altered our decisions become at times of war, and how the unexpected conquers the expected and it is then that the truth of one’s identity (protagonist) is unveiled. In Gregory “When the order came, it was like a thunderbolt” (Paos Ioannides 3), the author wishes to emphasize on the irony of the friendship of an inmate and the soldier, and how he gets to choose between friendship and duty to his country. This quote highlights how reality struck the author because he knew it was a do or die situation. In the end he does what he thinks is best for him and shoots Gregory. When the author says “You see, this Gregory was such a miserable little creature, such a puny little thing, such a nobody…” (Paos Ioannides 2), he’s portraying his altered side, his true reality because later in the text he declares Gregory as his friend. He tries to justify his actions by altering his thinking about Gregory. In Lather and Nothing Else the protagonist deals with the situation in a similar yet different way. The quote “you came so that I could shave you. And I’m doing the job honourably….I don’t want to stain myself with blood. Just lather, and nothing else” (Hernando Tellez 3), shows how the author analysed the consequences of killing the captain which costs him his career- his most valued possession, hence he chose his career over rebellion, though the captain was his enemy, he could have simply avenged the deaths of his fellow rebels and he wouldn’t have to live with the fact that he could have killed…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    happen if he pursued his goals. The Barber thinks, “Murderer or hero? My destiny depends on the edge of this blade.” at this point we can understand how his choices will be the hinges to his destiny. In the end the Barber’s decision to spare Torres’ life impacted him discovering that Torres had a secret of his own.…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    You are what you eat is an old saying that was told from generation to generation for millions of years. I don’t think Caesar Barber has heard of it. Caesar Barber was a normal maintenance worker in New York City. After eating 4-5 meals a week at fast food restaurants such as Burger King, Wendy’s, Mcdonald's, Friendly’s, etc… he had a life-changing experience (due to a weight gain of 100 pounds bringing him to a total of 300 pounds). A heart attack. In result of his heart attack, he sued the fast food companies. I think he does not deserve the money because he knew it was addictive. He knew it was bad for you, but he just kept on eating it anyway.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are certain requirements a novel has to follow in order to be considered a “timeless classic”. Two required criteria are powerful themes and dynamic characters. Providing complex themes forces the reader to think and provides a takeaway from the book that they can find useful in reality. Dynamic characters allow the reader to expect change which keeps them hooked in. “To Kill A Mockingbird” is without a doubt a timeless classic because of the meaningful messages it provides and its dynamic character who undergoes stark changes by the end of the novel.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For decades, historians have debated the purpose of the United States Constitution. Some, such as Charles Beard claim that the constitution is an economic document meant to secure power in the hands of the wealthy. Others, most notably Henry Commager have challenged Beard’s analysis and claim that the Constitution was drafted with political motives instead. To make his point, Beard primarily discusses the writers of the constitution, and only assumes what the document itself will say. Commager makes a more convincing argument since he uses both the Constitution itself and the framers’ words as evidence.…

    • 584 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lather or Blood

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Just Lather, That’s All” tends to set confliction in the minds of its readers. “The day he ordered the whole town to file into the patio of the school to see the four rebels hanging there, I came face to face with him for an instance. But the sight of the mutilated bodies kept me from noticing the face of the man who had directed it all, the face I was about to take into my hands,” said the barber. This quote shows the barber’s realization and emotion over the situation. “On the other hand I, with his razor in my hands, stroking and restroking his skin, trying to keep blood from oozing from these pores, can’t even think clearly. Curse him for coming, because I’m a revolutionary and not a murderer. And how easy it would be to kill him. And he deserves it. Does he? No! No one deserves to have someone else make the sacrifice of becoming a murderer. What do you gain by it? Nothing,” he thinks. This shows precisely the confliction and confusion of the barber’s emotions on the subject of murder.…

    • 768 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The next day, Huck receives a scolding from Miss Watson because of his dirty clothes, but the Widow Douglas does not reproach him at all. Miss Watson explains to Huck that, through prayer, he can have anything he wants. She makes Huck pray for the next few days, and Huck does not understand why the fishhooks he prays for never arrive.…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The barber would have killed Captain Torres for the sake of the revolutionary group he was part of. However, there were risks that came with killing the captain: "I would have to flee, leaving all I have behind, and take refuge far away, far, far away. But they would follow until they found me." (Tellez, 16) Jack on the other hand, was mainly driven with the force of his own selfish reasons to be highly regarded among the boys, to get another chance at being leader. As seen in these stories as well as in human nature, a selfish motive is usually more motivating than a motive to help others; Jack decided to kill, while the barber decided not to because of the risks that were…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Dew Breaker

    • 595 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dany lost his parents at the age of six. He had built up a lot of anger and he wanted revenge on the man that murdered his parents. Dany learned of the whereabouts and occupation of his parents’ killer, he says, “The man who had killed his parents was now a barber in New York.” (p.105). So he went to look for him and he found out a detail from some guys, he says, “Some guys from work had told him that a barber was renting a room in the basement of his house.” (p.105). He is trying to get through his most traumatic part of his life by revenge. He talks about how he saw his parents, “The smoke was so dense he could barely his parents, his mom was slumped over his father on the ground.” This was his great trauma that was so hard for him to overcome. Over the years he had so much anger towards this man, the barber, that he wanted to just kill him. So he did so much to try and get as close as possible to him. He tried to see the barber very often he say, “He visited the barbershop regularly for haircuts.” (p.106). He did this so that he could just study the barber, he just wanted to be close to a this man that took so much for him. Dany really wanted the barber to recognize him he says, “He never turned down the shaves, for he thought it would give him a chance to have a closer look at his face, to remember him.” (p.106). He wanted the barber to know who he was. He wanted him to know who his killer would be and the reason why Dany had so much hatred for the barber. The barber though never showed any signs of remembrance of this man he would shave. Instead all he saw was a man that was difficult to shave because he would shake and sweat off the shaving cream. Finally Dany had his opportunity to get his revenge on…

    • 595 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    LUCA Argumentative Essay

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Evolutionary biologist, William Martin, tried to determine the Last universal Common ancestor or LUCA. Given that bacteria and archaea are thought to be the earliest domains, Martin and his team classified the known protein-coding genes of both archaea and bacteria. They examined the sequence of the genes to determine the ancestral gene, of which the particular genes came from. From this process, they narrowed down the genes from about six million to three hundred thirty five genes that were likely to exist in LUCA. The probable genes make up LUCA and the life requirements, such as energy production, that are not coded in the genes are thought to be aided from the environment. The research is significant because LUCA is thought to be the most…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If the only way to save your life was to blame an innocent member in your community, would you? In The Crucible, Arthur Miller expresses the acts of finding a scapegoat through John Proctor and Reverend Hale juxtaposed to Abigail, the girls and some of the accused. Many of the accused “witches” admit to being a witch and save their own lives by offering the names of other witches in the community. If the accused claim they are not witches, they will be hanged for witchcraft, but if they confess and desire God’s forgiveness, their lives will be spared. “HALE: You have confessed yourself to witchcraft, and that speaks a wish to come to Heaven’s side. And we will bless you Tituba.” (Page 43).…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics