Review this excerpt from "Lather and Nothing Else." I estimated he had a four-days’ growth of beard, the four days he had been gone on the last foray after our men. His face looked burnt, tanned by the sun. I started to work carefully on the shaving soap. I scraped some slices from the cake, dropped them into the mug, then added a little lukewarm water, and stirred with the brush. The lather soon began to rise. "The fellows in the troop must have just about asmuch beard as I.” I went on stirring up lather. Which is true about the pacing in this excerpt? The short, choppy sentences slow the pace and provide background information. The short, choppy sentences quicken the pace and create a sense of urgency. The long, detailed sentences slow the pace and provide background information. The long, detailed sentences quicken the pace and create a sense of urgency.

Hernando Tellez's "Lather And Nothing Else" is a short story about a revolutionary barber and his encounter with a customer who is their enemy, the General whose job is to remove anyone who revolts against his power. General Tortes has also just killed fourteen revolutionaries in the past few days.

And when he came to the shop to get a shave, the narrator/protagonist describes in a rather slow paced tone of the scene. He reveals how he had "four-days’ growth of beard" with a "burnt, tanned" face. He then went on to describe how he began working on the beard, and also conversed with the General about the work. He knows he can easily slit his neck while doing his work and kill the General instantly, but best decides not to be an executioner, even though he may be a revolutionary.

This long and detailed sentence of the scene slows the pace of the story while at the same time providing background information to the readers.