The Killers By Ernest Hemingway

"The Killers," Ernest Hemingway's story about two hit men who come to a small town to kill a former prizefighter, Ole Anderson, was published in the March 1927 issue of Scribner's Magazine. Uncertainty is emphasized throughout the story., George, Nick, Sam, and Ole each have unique responses to the concept of “death”. Nick Adams is robbed of his innocence when he is forced to face this by the two men. Each character develops their own response in a setting filled with confusion, perhaps depicting Hemingway’s own uncertainty in real life.
The rite of passage, is experienced in various forms and ways in one’s life. Nick Adams, is presented with his, once the “vaudeville team” (pg. 219) entered the diner. As the threats to Nick’s life paced around the room awaiting their target, Nick was tied and muffled while George was not. “‘The n*gger and my bright boy are amused by themselves. I got them tied up like a couple of girl friends in the convent.’” (pg. 218). His voice was not of importance to the men, nor did they want to hear it. By doing so, Nick seems childish and
A feeling of confusion and uncertainty had been establish. “’I don’t know.’ Said Al. ‘I don’t know what I want to eat.’” (pg. 215). The man kept getting agitated once the waiter kept asking him what he wished to eat. “’The clock says it’s twenty past five,’ the second man said. ‘It’s twenty minutes fast.’” (pg. 215). Beside the specific clock descriptions. The readers are always unaware whether the time being discussed is the actual time or the late time. Which in addition, is another element of uncertainty. “’What are you going to do with us afterward?’ ‘That’ll depend,’ Max said. ‘That’s one of those things you never know at the time.’” (pg. 218). One of the assailants tells George that one’s future is never guaranteed or able to be foretold. This confusion overlapped with the various responses to death, shows Ernest Hemingway’s uncertainty in real