Lather And Nothing Else Theme

Everybody wants to be more powerful, but what if you were given the power to decide whether someone lives or dies? In the dictionary, power is defined as the ability to do something or act in a particular way. It can be gained through a variety of sources such as, money or race, but one of the main sources of power we all share in common, roots from the decisions we make. Whether we know it or not, each decision we make can affect the lives around us. This could be seen throughout the stories, “Lather and Nothing Else” and “Gentleman, Your Verdict, where the decisions made by one impacted the lives of others.

In the story, “Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Telliez, a barber’s decision impacts the life of an executioner and himself. The …show more content…
The story narrated by Lieutenant Paull, describes how choosing to remain silent can impact the lives of others. In the story, Captain Oram is in charge of a submarine crew during a test run. Unfortunately, the submarine bumps into an unexpected mine causing it to crash into the bottom of the sea. With no chance of rescue arriving before five days, and only enough air to last twenty men two days. Commander Oram decides to save five lives, who will have enough air to stay alive till they are rescued, instead of allowing everyone on board the submarine to die after two …show more content…
At the beginning of the story, Oram tries to contact for help through the radio. While he is talking, Paull overhears Oram’s conversation and sees the commanders face going pale. This exhibits how Paull knew they were in a possibly un-rescuable situation, but chose to not question the commander’s following orders afterwards, hence allowing for Oram to continue with his plan to kill fifteen lives. After his radio conversation, Paull’s previous thought is confirmed, as he comes to learn that rescue will not be arriving for a week and is asked to send five married men to commander Oram. Before bringing the five men, Paull thinks to himself, “rescue was impossible for five days, more like a week, and they had air for less than two days.” His thought, exemplifies how he knew all of them could not survive for five days, which is why he might have slightly been aware that Oram was trying to save five lives who could survive for a longer period. Then, Paull watches as Oram draws lots and chooses four of the five married men. Soon after, Oram distributes drinks to his crew and announces that the married men receive their mugs last. While pouring the drinks, Paull notices Oram had, “a face as white as death.” This shows, that Paull was quite aware the Commander was going to be