When I was surfing on the Internet, I came across a video about
Ernest Hemingway is renowned as one of America's most notable authors in literature. He was born in Cicero, Illinois in 1899. He committed suicide in 1961.The short noir story,"The Killers" takes place in the town of Summit, Illinois. The story left me thinking not only about what would happen to "Ole Anderson," the former boxer, but also about Nick Adams. Nick's decision to help Ole, when clearly no one else would, surprised me. He seemed too innocent. I would have stopped the temptation to help, because my safety comes first. While this is common sense to me, Nick's behavior shows that he has little experience in this kind of world.
The story starts off with two men entering a diner called "Henry’s." They seem to be strangers, not knowing the hours of the small-town diner. They ask for dinner, when it's not being served. They order breakfast food, but they really want hard liquor. They aggressively insult George, Nick and Sam. George and Nick are "bright boys," and Sam is the "nigger." Soon, Al takes Nick and Sam to the kitchen and ties and gags them. Meanwhile, Max and George talk about the movies, but really Max confesses their plan: to kill Ole Anderson. The plan fails, as Ole Anderson never shows for dinner at "Henry's" at the expected time. The two men leave, leaving George, Nick and Sam untouched. Nick decides to visit Ole Anderson to warn him. However, he finds Ole Anderson lying down in his bed, fully clothed. Anderson responds to the warning without much fear. He knows he's down and is "through with all the running around.' (p. 75) Nick returns to "Henry's," where the event of the would-be killers is barely discussed. Nick decides that he needs to leave town, because he may end up Ole. Still, Nick, despite his fear, worries about Ole. George ends the story, saying "you better not think about it." (p.76)
Several questions are left unanswered in the story:
- Who hired the hit men?
- Why does Hemingway want the focus to be on Nick?
- What did Ole Anderson do in order to get himself in this horrid position?
- Why didn't anyone in the diner call the police?
- What ends up happening to Nick?
The author leaves the reader to answer these unexplained events. It lets us reflect on situations we experience, and to think twice before we get involved in conflicts as serious as these. The answers to these help us better understand the theme of the story.
Coming-of-Age Story
The themes of this story include the idea that people are born innocent and fearless until they face the fear of death. Like Nick Adams, people "come of age" when they confront life changing mistakes that they made. Maturity doesn't occur by itself, it evolves through negative life experience.
Racism
This theme continues with the character, Sam. He was known as the "Nigger" in the story and wasn't treated equally as Nick and George. Unlike Nick, Sam is most aware of how crude and ignorant human beings can be. As a black man, he has experienced racism his whole life. This is why he decides not to get involved with Nick.
What I Learned
What I learned from Hemingway's literature, story's aren't just about the plot and what takes place. Its what the authors trying to imply. What makes a DJ unique isn't the track he plays, it's how he mixes and delivers it to the crowd, just like a notable writer.
