haircut

A detailed Summary of haircut

In Ring Lardner's "Haircut" the narrator's attitude toward Jim Kendall and his pranks slowly reveals the backbiting nature of small-town life and of the narrator himself. The setting of the short story is a small town barbershop. Most people have heard the saying, " when you live in a small town everyone knows your business." This short story stands true to the saying.

As one can find out from reading "Haircut" Whitey, the narrator, tells the readers a whole lot of gossip about the people of the town. An individual has to wonder if everything Whitey says is the truth. One day Whitey is giving a total stranger a haircut and goes into a flashback about Jim Kendall's jokes and his "accidental shootin'"(103).

Jim Kendall was known as the joker of the town. He played heartless and cruel jokes on people despite the outcome. Jim was not much of a family man either. One time he invited his wife and children to the circus and he never showed up. Whitey says, "she'd of divorced Jim, only she seen she couldn't support herself and the kids and she was hopin' that some day Jim would cut his habits"(98). Jim never did change and just kept on with his jokes but eventually the joke would be on him.

Hod Meyers is Jim's best friend. They do alm

Jim was a master at disguising his voice to sound like someone else. Jim waited until he had the Doc voice down pack before he carried out his joke. One night Jim called up Julie and acted like Doc Stair. He asked Julie to please come to his office that he had something important to tell her. The Doc always keeps a light on in his office so it looks as if he is there. The Doc was really in Carterville, not in his office. Julie rings the doorbell on Doc's office door and there is no answer. She rings the doorbell about "seven or eight times" (102) and there still is no answer. Meanwhile Jim and his gang took a hiding spot to watch Jim's joke take place. Julie realizes that she has been tricked; and runs downstairs. Jim and gang chase Julie "all the way home, hollerin'" (102) and laughing at her. Julie did not show her face in town for a long time. Jim and his gang made sure that everyone in town found out, except for Doc Stair. If Paul would not have heard Jim gloating, the Doc might have never found out. The Doc was so mad that he "swore he'd make Jim suffer" (103).

Blythe, Hal, Charlie Sweet. "Barber of Civility: Chief Conspirator of 'Haircut'." Studies in Short Fiction. (Fall 1986): 8 pars. Gale Group

Crushes in small towns contain many of the same people. Julie Gregg is Paul's crush and he tags "along with her to the different stores" (100). Julie is kind to Paul and "made him feel like he was welcome" (100) to tag along with her. Julie is "wild mad over the Doc" (101). Her face lights up when they are together and Julie is always making "excuses to go up to his office" (101). Don't forget about Jim and how he too was wild about Julie. Once Hod found out about Julie's crush on the Doc, he rubbed it in Jim's face. Hod tells Jim that, "the Doc had cut him out" (101). Jim did not let this bother him because "he was plannin' one of his jokes" (101).

Lardner, Ring. "Haircut." Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Rober

Some common words found in the essay are:
Doc Stair, Jim Kendall, Joe Barnes, Jim Doc, Meanwhile Jim, Jim Jim, Haircut Whitey, Julie Paul, Doc Paul, Paul Dickson, doc stair, jim gang, 101 jim, short story, 99 doc, blythe hal charlie, wife told, days jim, doc paul, hod meyers, jim doc, hal charlie sweet,

Approximate Word count = 1328
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English