Analysis of Characters Shaping in Ring Lardner’s Haircut

王雪

【Abstract】Haircut is one of Ring Lardners famous fiction. In this fiction， Lardner successfully shapes different， vivid characters， which leaves deep impression to the readers. This paper tends to employ the flat or round， static and developing characters in order to explore the techniques Lardner employed to describe characters.

【Key words】Haircut；characters shaping； flat characters； round characters

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Brief Introduction of the Story

Haircut was published in 1925 by Ring Lardner.In the story the listener indicates all of the readers who read the story. When the newcomer came to Whiteys shop， he told the story hubristically and the listener was silent. The protagonist was Jim Kendall. He was one of the frequent callers in Whiteys shop.Besides， Jim had three habits：tricks， drinks， and promiscuity. His tricks almost involve everyone surrounding him. After Jims accidental death， Whitey missed him because he thought that Jim was certainly a card. The whole story is irony and sarcastic.

2. CHARACTERS SHAPING IN HAIRCUT

In Ring Lardners haircut， he writes many characters： the barber Whitey， Jim Kendall， Doc Stair， Julie Gregg， and half-wit Paul Dickson and Hod， etc.

2.1 The Barber Whitey

The barber Whitey is the narrator of the story and a story participant.In this story， the narrator Whitey is a a flat or stock character.He is a ignorant， unreliable， low-educated and vulgar person， which can be proved by many evidences.He thought Jim was a comical person， a character and a card.However， through reading， readers can find that Jims wife wanted to divorce him only they wasnt no chance to get alimony and she didnt have no way to take care of herself and the kids， but Whitey though that Jim was kind of rough， but a good fella at heart.Take Julie Gregg as an example， shes been away to school and Chicago and New York and different places and they aint no subject she can talk on （Lardner 7），but Whitey kept distance with her and they dont have much communication due to different education. From the whole story， readers can understand that Jim was a rascal and had many disadvantages， but only Whitey always thought that Jim was comical and a card in the town. Jims death made Whitey lose lots of zing in town-life.

2.2 Jim Kendall

In Ring Lardners haircut， the protagonist is Jim Kendall who is also a flat character. He is consistent in his behavior.

From the story， there is a plot that Jim would write down the name and the name of the town wherever he got to.Hed write something like ask the shop owners wife about that book agent that spent the afternoon last week， or ask the shop owners Missus who kept her from getting lonesome the last time she was in somewhere. Last， he would sign “a friend”.He never thought about what really come of none of these jokes but for fun. Actually， these tricks he played were nasty， which may destroy others families.In addition， he was easily bearing grudges. Readers can see that one time Jims wife would go to whoever Jim worked for and asked them to give her his wages， but after she done this once or twice， he beat her to it by borrowing most of his pay in advance.Hence， he was irresponsible and immediately fought back his family.He was vengeful even towards the girl he pursued. He wanted Julie Gregg and worked his head off trying to land her （Lardner 10）.From Jims words， readers can see that Jim was a rascal and did not pay attention to morality.

2.3 Other Important Characters

Except from the narrator Whitey and the protagonist Jim Kendall， there are still many characters in the story playing roles to propel the movement of the story. They included half-witted Paul， Julie Gregg and Doc Stair.

Julie Gregg is other crucial character and she was also a victim of Jims tricks. She was filial to her mother and well educated， so she was different from other ordinary people in town. Whats more， she was blind when she fell in love with Doc Stair.Later， she believed the voice that Jim disguised to come to Docs door but caught by Jim， being a laugh-stock.

Whats more， another character is Paul Dickson.In the beginning， he was poor， half-witted and silly in many peoples eyes in town. Jim Kendall used to nickname him “cuckoo” and kept fooling Paul.At last，this half-witted boy killed Jim accidentally， but from this hint readers can see that Paul was not silly any more.

In this story Doc Stair is a vivid round character and developing character.The developing character undergoes changes in some aspect of character.When Doc first came to town， Paul seemed to feel like here was a real friend and he hung around Docs office most of the while.Whats more， he helped Jims wife and kids.Indeed， Doc Stair was a handsome， kind， friendly man.But one event changed Doc Stair was that he heard of the practical joke played on Julie.He tells Paul that “ a man like that ought not to be let live.”This sentence gives readers a prompt to infer the real causes of Jims death （Yan Yi 27）. It was cinch Doc went up in the air and swore hed make him suffer.One day Jim asked Paul to go duck-shooting with him， and Paul agreed.In a boat， Jim gave the gun to Paul， and Paul couldnt control the gun and fired at Jim.Finally Doc claims that Jims death is an accident and it is no use calling a jury. In the beginning of the story， Doc Stair was kind， handsome， and friendly， helping other in emergency. Finally， he revenged for Jim due to the nasty trick Jim played on Julie and him， using Paul to make a plan-murder and making it an accident.

3. CONCLUSION

In Ring Lardners Haircut， he successfully shapes many vivid characters.In Haircut， Lardner skillfully employs the flat and round characters， static and developing characters. Their behaviors push forward the movement of the story to reach the climax. Lardners works have his own literary value and need to read slowly to appreciate.

References：

[1]Lardner，Ring.Haircut.Cambridge：Read Books，2012.Print.

[2]顏藝.論《理發》中的不可靠敘述[M].南昌教育學院學報.11（2012）：26-27.Print.