'Shaving' Reflection

The short story “Shaving” by Leslie Norris, is not about shaving, but rather about a boy maturing into adulthood, although the author utilizes the coming of age tradition of shaving to show that the main character, Barry, is ready and able for this transition. The author intended for a deeper and more significant meaning of the term ‘shaving’, which would allow room for personal interpretation for each and every reader.  The way I interpreted this was that throughout Barry’s Father’s life the ‘hair’ he had been growing symbolized qualities and experiences that shaped his identity. When he is ready to let go, he will shave off these negative factors in his life and let loose. I get this impression from the passage, “He’s down today, feels depressed. He’s a particular man your father. He feels dirty with all that beard on him”. I took this as meaning that he was intolerant of the life that he has now, being sick and depressed, and that he wanted to eliminate these negative attributes and move on.

 Leslie is trying to say that death is inevitable, but the relationships one shares with another are everlasting. Also, throughout the story, the author shows the reader that coming of age isn’t always only at puberty, but physical and emotional change can happen at any time in life.  Coming of age is when one assumes the responsibilities of being an adult. One quote that gave me the impression that the relationship they share is everlasting is, “Barry was filled with unreasoning protective love. He lifted the razor and began to shave”. This showed me that no matter how sick or how upset people are, if you share a close enough bond there will never be a need for a reason as to why you love that person. Also, this shows that when one has this ‘unreasoning protecting love’, they will do anything for the other person even if they are no longer on this earth.

From this exchange and experience with his father it gives Barry a better understanding of his environment. Leslie also shows that ‘coming of age’ doesn’t always have to involve some celebration, but indeed it could be the opposite that one could grow from a tragic event in their life. This connects to Barry because his father is about to die, which is quickening his ‘coming of age’ because it is giving him awareness of the outside world and the realities that come with it. When Barry was done ‘shaving’, his father, the Author, uses the symbolizm “But now the window was full in the beam of the dying sunlight, and Barry stood there, illuminated in its golden warmth for a whole minute, knowing it would soon be gone”, to show that although his sunlight (his father) may be dying his soul isn’t. That he indeed is prospering and maturing from this event. The sun is an everlasting entity, and although it may seem like the sun is lifeless and depressing, when the sun has set it will always be in the heart of people because we, as humans, rely on the radiation of the sun. This connects to Barry because although he may be temporarily depressed about the passing of his father, he has relied on his father and is still reliant even after he’s gone because of the love they shared and the lessons he preached. This quote was a rhetorical question as it left the reader with unanswered questions. The reader doesn’t know if the father died and how Barry continued on with his life.