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Describing the narrator of “Haircut”
The narrator in Haircut is an omniscient narrator. He assumes the position of knowing what happens to all other characters including their feelings. For example, he pretends to know the feelings of Hod especially after Jim left. Furthermore, he makes his comparison very confident of his unique abilities. He believes he knows what other towns are like and renders a verdict that no other town is happier as their town all over America (Blythe 48-49). The narrator proves to be very unreliable from his sentiments. First, when he justifies that their city was the best he says no town of its size in America. The scale he uses to measure the size of the city is vague. The narrator does not specify whether he measures the size of town depending on the geographical location or population. Even if he determines the scale, it is not practical that there will be cities of exact size; therefore, the comparison is irrelevant. The narrator is very unrealistic when pegs the joy of the town upon the availability of two people. He assumes that everybody else views Jim and Hod from his point of view.
“Up in Michigan”-Protagonist and the Antagonist
The protagonist in the story is Liz Coates; she represents the feministic duties in the society. However, the story is written in Liz’s point of view; she is displayed as an innocent girl who loves a man, but the romantic agendas diverge. Liz is obsessed with Jim Gilmore, yet Jim’s attraction on Liz is only the beauty of her hair.

Jim is the antagonist in the story because his value for a woman is questionable. The author uses the phrase she admired her hair to ridicule how insensitive Jim is. Furthermore, he rapes Liz and shamelessly insists on having sex with her despite the fact that Liz was against it (Ian Maloney 123-130). The narrator reveals that Jim falls asleep on Liz after the rape incident to emphasize the fact that Jim was shameless and had no regret for what he did. Sleep represents tranquil of emotions and a state where there is no worry.
Cat in the Rain
The narrator has employed many stylistic devices to illustrate the desire for a child and infertility in the story. For instance, he makes an inference to the word “rubber scape.” Rubber scape is an instrument people use to shelter from rain, so they do not get wet. In the natural world, the rain is a basis for productivity. The phrase is metaphoric since fertility is the definite lack in the American’s woman marital life. The husband and the maid discourage her from getting wet in the rain (Magee 12-15). The idea shows how the American woman is treated more like a child than a woman. The metaphor also relates to the fact that the woman cannot be productive because she is shielded from the source of production-“getting wet.” The metaphor emphasizes the theme of productivity in the story. The metaphor helps readers understand that the people will complain about what they lack yet the main reason for lack is the obstructions we place on the source of their provisions.
Relevance of Hand in the age of jazz
The age of this music was characterized by rebellion and fight for freedom in the society. The middle class in the African American society considered jazz music evil. In that era, people would want to talk freely about sex and homosexuality though the conservative society considered such debate unworthy for the ear. Expression was stifled, and positive expression would lead to alienation especially the feelings the community considered erotic (Emanuel and Geismar 332). Hands provide a scenario where a man-wing is alienated from the society because they deem his expressions evil. He leaves the school after being accused of molesting students. Parents considered it molestation how he expressed his affection for the students using his hands. Wing became alienated from the society beliefs to the extent of hiding his hands, which he also believed were evil. However, the writer brings understanding when wing realizes that religion uses hands for expression, and so was wings hand. The story applies to the age that considered some utterance evil to the extent of alienating from regular members of the society terming the evil.
Continuation of “UP IN MICHIGAN”
She looked backed and realized that Jim was, in fact, feeling warm and snoring annoyingly. Liz found it painful and walking away from Jim could be very appropriate, but the pain was worse than the cold outside. She wished she had the power to wake up the sun and call the day to her attention. This night must have been the longest night of loneliness. She felt lonely, yet the man she fantasized about was just next to her. She tried to call Jim, but the snoring was louder than her voice.
For the first time, she never felt as neat as she has always been. She wanted to run away, but she had nowhere to run. She wished Jim would hold her with his big hands, but he seems to love his sleep more. She walked out of the house wondering outside and gazing at the stars. The thought of losing her virginity was haunting her, and the worst thought was the idea of not being able to replace it. Liz no longer enjoyed the view of nature as she used to from the blacksmith’s home. In fact, the scene was now gothic to her.
The more she thought about herself, the more scared she becomes to face the morning she wished would come. An innocent thought then came to her;
“Maybe Jim would be happy to talk to me when he wakes up sober’. ‘Jim likes me”, she thought for a while.
Thoughts were racing Liz’s mind, each competing for her undivided attention but the challenge was the thought she could trust.
The morning she invested all her hoped in finally came. She ran to gaze at Jim. She wanted to be the first thing Jim would see the moment he wakes up. For the first time, she realized that his mustache and white teeth were disorganized when he sleeps yet he still liked them. Liz imagined enjoying the view of Jim’s face if he would wake every morning next to the charming blacksmith. She cleared her throat to call him with the sweetest voice he ever heard.
“Ahem, ahem Jim, wake up hon…” Liz was embarrassed to finish the romantic name.
For the first time, she felt shy and embarrassed at the same time. Liz was grateful no one was watching. She then thought to herself that Jim would be happier if he wakes up and finds her making the room tidy. Miss Coates embarked on cleaning the house and making sure everything was tidy. Jim was still asleep even after she had cleaned the entire residence. Liz went to the bathroom to shower.
The shower was rather cold, but she forced herself to like it. Suddenly Miss Coates felt the house was tensed and still. She dried her face, and when she turned around, Jim was standing right behind her. Before she could say ‘hi,’ Jim thundered with a question;
“Why are you in my house this morning?” her lips were dry with shock and amount of saliva would lubricate them. Before Liz could utter a word, Jim had dragged her out naked. She wondered where the multitude of the audience originated. They were all looking at her embarrassed face, and she wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
Work Cited
Blythe, Hal. “Lardnek’S Haircut”. The Explicator 44.3 (1986): 48-49. Web.Emanuel, James A. and Maxwell Geismar. “Sherwood Anderson: Short Stories”. Books Abroad 37.3 (1963): 332. Web.Ian Maloney,. “Ernest Hemingway’s Miltonic Twist In “Up In Michigan””. The Hemingway Review 27.2 (2008): 123-130. Web.Magee, John D. “8. Hemingway’S Cat In The Rain”. The Explicator 26.1 (1967): 12-15. Web.