Name: ______________________________
Lather and Nothing Else
Multiple choice
1. Why does Torres have a lengthy growth of beard?
a. He didn’t know the barber was in town
b. He was afraid the barber would kill him
c. He has been out in the country hunting for rebels
d. He has an injured hand and can’t shave
2. What does the text tell you the words nothing else in the title refers to?
a. No blood
b. Lots of blood
c. No killing
d. No shooting
e. None of the above
3. The barber describes two kinds of things in detail: what he is doing as he shaves Torres and
what he is thinking at the same time. What effect does each of these descriptions have on the
suspense of the story?
a. No effect at all.
b. It heightens the suspense.
c. It lessens the suspense.
d. It causes the suspense to be flat.
4. When does the climax of the story occur?
a. When Torres enters the barbershop
b. When Torres leaves the barbershop
c. When the barber decides not to kill Torres
d. When Torres begins to put the lather on
5. One of the reasons the barber decides not to kill Torres is
a. They would hunt him down
b. He needs more customers
c. Torres explains his actions against the rebels
d. He wants to leave the rebel side
6. What does the barber think about his reputation?
a. He is a coward.
b. He is a good barber.
c. He is a spy for the rebels.
d. He is a nervous and clumsy barber.
7. Judging from the barber’s actions in the story, which of the following could the
revolutionaries count on him for?
a. To assassinate a political leader.
b. To plant a bomb in a government building.
c. To give them information about troop movements.
d. To risk his life to rescue captured revolutionaries.
8. Why is Torres calm throughout the story?
a. He thinks the barber is on his side.
b. He knows the barber is an honorable man.
c. He knows how difficult it is to kill someone.
d. He has not considered he is in any danger.
9. If a customer in the barbershop, and not the barber, had told this story, what would be
missing?
a. The political background.
b. The barber’s inner conflict.
c. Torres’s last words to the barber.
d. An accurate account of events.