1. Just Lather, That's All
1.1. Characters
1.1.1. The Barber
1.1.1.1. A professional barber who loves his job, who is also the supporter of the revolutionaries.
1.1.2. Captain Torres
1.1.2.1. The person who has been described as a notorious war criminal, the way he deals with the enemies has made him famous
1.2. Plot
1.2.1. Intro
1.2.1.1. Captain Torres walked in to the barber shop and asked for a shave, and the barber recognized him.
1.2.2. Rising
1.2.2.1. The barber sees himself as a strong supporter of the revolutionaries which the faction considers Captain Torres as an enemy, the barber didn't know if he should kill Captain since he had a great chance.
1.2.3. Climax
1.2.3.1. The barber questioned himself about what will happen after the killing and what are the responsibilities of a professional barber, eventually he decided not to kill Captain Torres.
1.2.3.1.1. Example: Third Page: And what of all this? A Murderer of hero? My destiny depends on the edge of this blade. I can turn my hand a bit more, press a little harder on the razor, and sink it in. The skin would give way like silk, like rubber, or like a strop. There is nothing more tender than human skin and the blood is always there, ready to pour forth. A blade like this doesn't fail. It it my best. But I don't want blood on my hands. Just lather, that's all. You are an executioner and I am only a barber. Each person has his own place in the scheme of things. That's right. His own place.
1.2.4. Ending
1.2.4.1. Captain Torres left the barber shop safely, he told the barber his purpose of coming to the barbershop.
1.2.4.1.1. Third Page: From his pants pocket be took out several coins to pay me for my services. And he began to head toward the door. In the doorway he paused for a moment, and turning to me he said, "They told me that you'd kill me. I came to find out. But killing isn't easy. You can take my word for it." And he headed on down the street.
1.3. Setting
1.3.1. Location
1.3.1.1. In a barbershop in Colombia
1.3.2. Time
1.3.2.1. Colombia Civil War
1.3.2.1.1. Noon
1.4. Conflicts
1.4.1. Character vs. Himself
1.4.1.1. The barber's internal conflict
1.4.1.1.1. Since he had an enormous chance of killing Captain Torres the person he hated, but he didn't know if he was suppose to do this. On the one hand, he hates Captain Torres, kill him is a revolutionary's responsibility; on the other hand, treat each customer equally is a professional barber's mission, also he had no idea what would happen if he really killed Captain Torres.
1.4.2. Character vs. Character
1.4.2.1. Barber vs. Captain Torres
1.4.2.1.1. These two characters have two completely opposite beliefs. although they didn't argue about this verbally, the invisible tension between these two characters was extremely high.
1.5. Theme
1.5.1. Killing is hard, revenge never ends
1.5.1.1. When the barber was making the decision about whether to kill Captain Torres, he believed "kill Captain Torres" could be classified as a revenge; however, unlike "killing", once the "revenge" started, it will never end.
1.5.1.1.1. Captain Torres said, "They told me that you'd kill me. I came here to find out. But killing isn't easy, you can take my word for it."
1.5.1.1.2. " I am a revolutionary and not a murder." said the Barber
1.5.1.1.3. "Others come along and still others, and the first ones kill the second ones and then the next ones and it goes on like this until everything is a sea of blood."
1.6. Literary Devices
1.6.1. Metaphor
1.6.1.1. "A little more lather here, under his chin, on his Adam's apple, on his big vein."
1.6.1.1.1. The author describe Captain Torres' vein as "Adam's apple", which shows the readers at that moment, how easily could the barber successfully killed Captain Torres.
1.6.2. Onomatopoeis
1.6.2.1. "I could cut this throat just so, zip! zip!"
1.6.3. Similie
1.6.3.1. "But I am trembling like a real murderer."
1.6.3.1.1. This could show us the barber's emotion when he was trying to make the decision that could totally change the rest of his life.
1.6.3.2. "The skin would give way like silk, like rubber, like the strop."
1.6.4. Symbolism
1.6.4.1. "I must have been very pale; my shirt felt soaked."
1.6.4.1.1. The soaked shirt and paled face could show us how the barber felt when he was shaving for Captain Torres.
2. The Sniper
2.1. Plot
2.1.1. Intro
2.1.1.1. A Republican sniper was lying on the rooftop, who was almost got killed by an Free Stater sniper on the opposite roof across the street.
2.1.2. Rising
2.1.2.1. Since the Republican sniper had been shot in the arm, he used the trick tricked the Free Stater sniper.
2.1.2.1.1. "Taking off his cap, he placed it over the muzzle of his rifle. Then he pushed the rifle slowly upward over the parapet, until the cap was visible from the opposite side of the street. Almost immediately there was a report, and a bullet pierced the centre of the cap. The sniper slanted the rifle forward. The cap clipped down into the street. Then catching rifle in the middle, the sniper dropped his left hand over the roof and let it hang, lifelessly. After a few moments he let the rifle drop to the street. Then he sank to the roof, dragging his hand with him."
2.1.3. Climax
2.1.3.1. The Republican sniper successfully killed the Free Stater sniper, and the sniper was wandering who that guy was before the war.
2.1.3.1.1. "The republican sniper smiled and lifted his revolver above the edge of the parapet. The distance was about fifty yards--a hard shot in the dim right, and his right arm was paining him like a thousand devils. He took a steady aim. His hand trembled with eagerness. Pressing his lips together, he took a deep breath through his nostrils and fired. He was almost defended with the report and his arm shook with the recoil.
2.1.4. Ending
2.1.4.1. The Republican sniper found out that the guy he just killed was his brother.
2.1.4.1.1. "Then the sniper turned over the deadly body and looked into his brother's face."
2.2. Setting
2.2.1. Location
2.2.1.1. Dublin
2.2.1.1.1. On a rooftop near O'Connell Bridge
2.2.2. Time
2.2.2.1. Irish Civil War
2.2.2.1.1. Night
2.3. Theme
2.3.1. The war could change the balance of everything.
2.4. Characters
2.4.1. The Republican Sniper (Main Character)
2.4.1.1. Mostly Unknown, probably was a student before the war, smokes, drinks whiskey; could be considered as clever, knows how to use trick. Serve for the Republicans
2.4.2. The Free Stater Sniper
2.4.2.1. Mostly Unknown, the Republican sniper's "brother". Serve for the Free Stater.
2.4.3. The Old Woman
2.4.3.1. Unknown, an informer, got killed after she told the guy the in armored car where the Republican Sniper was.
2.5. Conflicts
2.5.1. Character vs. Character
2.5.1.1. The Republican sniper vs. The Free Stater sniper.
2.5.1.1.1. He had two options, one was to kill the enemy sniper; the another one was to give up, let the enemy decide whether to kill the Republican sniper himself or not.
2.5.1.1.2. They were trying to kill each other
2.5.2. Character vs. himself
2.5.2.1. The Republican sniper vs. Himself
2.6. Literary Devices
2.6.1. Personafication
2.6.1.1. " Around the beleaguered Four Courts the heavy guns roared."
2.6.1.1.1. This could show us the severeness of the Irish Civil War.
2.6.1.2. "The sniper could hear the dull panting of the motor."
2.6.1.2.1. The author used personification to describe the armored car as a "monster"
2.6.2. Smilie
2.6.2.1. "The distance was about fifty yards--a hard shot in the dim light, and his right arm was paining him like a thousand devils.
2.6.2.1.1. This could show us how the sniper suffered from the injury.
2.6.3. Symbolism
2.6.3.1. Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey.
2.6.3.1.1. The darkness and the pale face represent the severeness of the war.
2.6.4. Foreshadowing
2.6.4.1. When the sniper reached the lane way one the street level, he felt a sudden curiosity as to the identity of the enemy sniper whom he had killed. He decided that he was a good shot, whoever he was. He wondered did he know him. Perhaps he had been in his own company before the split in the army.
2.6.4.1.1. This foreshadows that the Republican sniper could possibly know the enemy sniper who he just killed.