Ring Lardner Haircut

The real meaning of “Haircut” by Ring Lardner, is to conveyed and understand the situation in the small town by the barber. The barber is insensitive and imperceptive, His recounting of the crude jokes told in his barbershop, and his appreciation of those jokes shows his insensitivity. He speaks of Jim as being the life of the town who is sorely missed rather than as the sadistic, violent, and insensitive bully he really was. Jim Kendall, the main character, is portrayed in a sympathetic light as simply a prankster who was a bit rough. But Jim was, in fact, cruel, a deadbeat, a drunkard, and a womanizer. The theme is portrayed by the oblivious cruelty perpetrated by Kendall, and the shock at the end when it becomes apparent that Paul Dickson
deliberately killed Kendall. The barber, although he has access to all the facts, fails to put these details together or to realize that the shooting was anything but accidental.