The Killers Analysis
The Killers by Ernest Hemmingway is an interesting story because it is heavily focused on an isolated incident driven largely by dialogue between the interacting characters. Dealing with the themes of innocence and appearance, this short story tells the tale of two men that walk into a diner. They begin to give George, the man running the place, and Nick Adams, the man sitting at the other end of the counter, a hard time. They taunt Nick and George, but initially do not appear to be any cause for concern. However, once the men finish their food, they order Nick behind the counter and they tie him up along with George and the other people present in the diner. The two men reveal that they are planning on killing a man named Ole Anderson, who tends to eat dinner in this diner quite often. After waiting around, Ole Anderson does not show up and the two killers leave rather abruptly. At this point, Nick decides to go over to Ole's house to check on him only to find him lying in his bed dressed. He admits that he knows he's going to die if he leaves his house, so he proceeds to lay there. When Nick returns to the diner, the other men seem to have completely forgotten about the incident that just occurred, leaving Nick stunned. Nick proclaims that he needs to get out of this tow, while George tells him its better to not think about it.
One of the prominent themes in this short story is innocence and how easy it is to lose. Nick is a different person at the beginning of this tale compared to his behaviors and actions at the end. It appears as though experience is the very thing that leaves the characters jaded, which explains why the older characters in the story are virtually unfazed by the events that take place. If anything, innocence is more associated with being nave, as Nick is the only character that is impacted by the events negatively. George, who is considerably older and has had more experience, takes this event at face value and is already aware of the horrors their town can have. Nick, on the other hand, is visibly changed by this event and feels the need to leave as quickly as he can. Thus, Nick proceeds to lose most of his innocence by the end of Hemmingway's story.
Another theme present in this story is that of appeara...
