Heart hammering, fingers trembling, with all thoughts of composure vanished….who knew words could make one feel this way? Hernando Tellez, the author of “Just Lather, That’s all” undeniably employs suspense techniques effectively that leaves readers overwrought. Foremost, the riveting internal conflict between the narrator and himself result in insuppressible jitters and apprehension from readers. This is demonstrated in the text when the narrator bemoans to himself, “Damn 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! What the devil! No one deserves to have someone else make the sacrifice of becoming a murderer.” ( Tellez 3 ). This quotation exemplifies …show more content…
Additionally, the author reveals little information about the characters which provides readers with the opportunity to contribute their own feelings. Without an explicit statement from the author about which character is “good” and which is “bad”, readers will be doubtful and unsure about what outcome they prefer. Furthermore, suspense is enhanced through Tellez’s intentional use of delay and foreshadowing. This is evident when the narrator states “On the other hand I, with this razor in my hands, stroking and re-stroking his skin, trying to keep the blood from oozing from these pores, can't even think clearly.” (Tellez 3) With the plot developing rapidly and the time limit of a shave involved, the lengthy, panicked process of decision making is amplified. The recurring use of the word “blood” represents the brutal reality and foreshadow the potential murder. As the narrator’s distressed state surges, the feelings are mirrored by readers until the feeling that they must know what happens consumes. Ultimately, it is clear that Tellez used utilized expertly in “Just Lather, That’s all, engaging readers and etching the memorable indictment they felt in their minds. Heart hammering, fingers trembling, with all thoughts of composure vanished…. there is no composure without
He took the life of not 1, not 2, but 13 innocent lives some of which were children who has not even been able to experience life yet. No human should be put in a situation where they fear for their lives or they get their lives taken because of someone's
The author uses intense imagery like, “...take the life of a man he had yet to meet.” (1) and dramatic words such as, “...a deep, slow breath, considering what he would have to do.” (1). The use of diction builds a suspenseful environment for the reader as it ignites curiosity in “...what he would have to do.” (1).
While this does not justify his actions, it does bring again to mind the question of what a victim truly is. Still, this is a challenging thought, as there are many elements to victims. When evils like this happen, the people who have lost their lives are always called victims, rightly so. While death is not the only element in building victims, it is one of the most prominent ways victims are
[these actions] at first [seem] innocent and even laudable; but it ends in such a monstrous horror of unnatural wickedness." This vivid, concrete, and emotionally loaded (nearly exaggerated language) provokes an emotional response within the audience and forces them to consider the consequences of Joan's actions if she is not properly
The government official walks into the rebel’s barber shop on a hot sunny day in the short story “Lather and nothing else”, by Hernando Tellez. The author makes the story exciting by creating a lot of suspense. The author of the story create suspense in order to draw the readers into the story and make them want to read on to teach them that war is bad and killing someone is extremely hard to do. He creates suspense by using motifs and by telling us the character's thoughts.
The demonstration of the narrator's imagination unconsciously leads his own thoughts to grow into a chaotic mess that ultimately ends in a death. By murdering, it’s his own way of finding peace. He is portrayed as being a sadist, sick man with an unnatural obsession for
In Hernando Tellez’s short story, “Lather and Nothing Else”, Tellez successfully creates suspense throughout the story, a story about a barber and his dilemma of whether or not he should kill his enemy, who also happens to be his client. The story is entertaining yet suspenseful from using a variety of strategies to create suspense throughout the story. Tellez uses two main methods throughout the story, first person point of view and the two main conflicts introduced in the story. Since Tellez uses first person point of view it makes the reader feel like they are the main character himself. The reader goes through the main character's thought process, making readers wonder what the main character is planning.
Completion to Admission The barber and Captain Torres have an intense relationship as Torres knows that the barber could kill him at an instant, and the barber knows that he has an opportunity to either be an avenger for his people or a coward murderer. Hernando Tellez keeps the reader interested from the start of the story until the end of the story by developing the characters well and by keeping the plot exciting. Lather and Nothing Else adds a taste of excitement that makes the reader imagine what could happen and how it could turn out to be. Tellez also makes some references to other media and literature like the barber could be related to a novice killer that is nervous and afraid.
Is It Suspenseful? All people have had an enemy at some point in their lives, and this enemy helped them make the right choices. In “Lather And Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez, a fictional short story that shows suspense. The barber thinks about the consequences of murdering Captain Torres. The barber is a rebel spy, who is there to spy on captain Torres, who is an enemy to the barber.
The short story “The Knife” utilizes various forms of diction to strengthen the quality of the text. He uses imagery in order to draw the audience into the story. Vivid phrases, such as “the tight click of clamps” and “the tough fibrous sheet” create a description that resonates with the audience. Selzer uses diction to create the tone and mood of the story. In the opening paragraph, his word choice suggests that the speaker is a murderer; in later paragraphs, it is implied that the speaker is a surgeon trying to save a patient.
This is shown when the characters in this novel speak out against a concept they know nothing about. Therefore, the literary terms an author uses can make an immense impact to the connections the reader makes to a novel, and help to shape a theme that is found throughout
Once the reader begins to question the lack of explanation surrounding the event, a suspenseful tone beings to grow. Due to the unexpected
Literary Analysis Suspense. It's what makes us sit on the edge of our seats at movies, or has us biting our nails as we read. It’s the backbone behind any classic horror film where the babysitter keeps getting unknown phone calls about checking the children and she asks the police to trace the call only to get a call back saying it's coming from upstairs.
Suspense by Edgar Allen Poe Suspense is a writing style that authors use to make it so a reader is ahead of the characters in the story. Edgar Allen Poe profoundly used this technique in his story “Tell Tale Heart”. The narrator is psychotic and is particularly tormented by an old man’s ‘evil’ glass eye. He was willing to do close to anything to be rid of the eye, including murder.
Téllez uses symbolism to get the correct message across and helps with details for the correct setting and mood, when the barber is having a monologue he details killing captain Torres his customer and antagonist: "From his throat a stream of blood would flow