J.D. and the Great Barber Battle

By winning the barber competition, J.D finds the external validation that he has sought up until this point. Specifically, when he sees Henry Jr.’s botched high-top fade, J.D. becomes convinced that he is the better barber, and in this moment, his arrogance reaches its peak. However, his innate good nature reasserts itself when J.D. witnesses Henry Jr.’s sad and disappointed family and realizes that his victory has also resulted in a humiliating defeat for Henry Jr. This moment becomes the catalyst for J.D.’s later decision to work with Henry Jr., and the competition also gives him a new measure of perspective and helps him to view his own actions in a more adult way. For example, he realizes that his fledgling barbershop business is inconveniencing his family and is nowhere near as glamorous as he first expected it to be. His newfound understanding of these issues illustrates the importance of Facing New Challenges as They Come and suggests that he must learn to pivot to new solutions. When working on his own, J.D. is forced to use any spare supplies that he can find around the house, and his endeavors also result in discarded hair all over his backyard, which attracts unwanted birds. In addition, J.D. must also contend with the reality that if he is always working, he has very little time to enjoy the money he is making. Lacking a true understanding of sound business practices, he realizes that he and Henry Jr. will make a good team. Henry Jr. may not understand children’s current preferences or popular hairstyles, but he does know how to run a business and turn a profit, and he recognizes that having J.D. work for him will benefit his shop while helping J.D. Thus, the resolution of the novel demonstrates the value of setting aside differences and working together.

With these important life lessons, J.D.’s character arc comes full circle in these chapters, showing his new understanding of how to navigate The Tension between Confidence and Arrogance. When J.D. first discovers his talent for haircutting, he takes a simple pride in his abilities and in his desire to help his classmates feel better about their own appearances. However, when this talent is threatened, he becomes arrogant in the belief that he is the best barber in town. Yet in the aftermath of winning the barber competition, he finally realizes that there are more important things than being the best in a certain area. When he realizes that he doesn’t have to prove himself to everyone, he gains a valuable measure of perspective and learns to take a more moderate approach to his new calling. Even though he makes more money working for Henry Jr., J.D. is not motivated solely by the thought of profits. Instead, he realizes that with the better equipment at the barbershop, he can learn more about this new trade and can master a wider variety of styles, thus catering to the individual preferences of a broader client base. By pursuing this pat, J.D. gains a new measure of happiness in the knowledge that he is providing a service that his town didn’t have before. He knows that younger clients leave his chair feeling good about themselves, which advances his own experience with Taking Pride in Personal Accomplishments.

The final chapter of the book sets the stage for the next installment in the series and delivers additional support for the pragmatic approach of Facing New Challenges as They Come. J.D. originally believes that working for Henry Jr. is the final piece in the puzzle of his struggles, but he is soon forced to realize that this is a naïve assumption. When he discovers that his sister has gone into business and plans to compete with him, J.D. realizes that he can never assume that life will never throw him any more challenges. Now, if he wants to be known as the best provider of haircuts for kids, he needs to work on improving his craft. The final scene also shows that J.D. still has many life lessons to learn. Despite his new understanding about avoiding arrogance, J.D. still dislikes the idea of having competition, and his dislike is made even worse when his own sister is the one offering such a fundamental challenge to his goals and ambitions. After all of the time and energy he has invested in proving his own value in the barbershop arena, J.D. feels betrayed by the very idea that his sister would encroach on his territory. Jessyka’s support of his sister also demonstrates that loyalties can change. In Chapter 9, Jessyka promised that she would come back to J.D. when she got permission for J.D. to cut her bangs. However, now Jessyka seeks haircutting services from J.D.’s sister because the two girls are friends. Ironically, J.D. now understands how Henry Jr. felt in earlier chapters, because in this moment, J.D.’s sister has taken away one of his clients, and he now realizes how easily and quickly the business world can change.