The Killers
"Well," said George, "you better not think about it."
The Story
Two guys walk into a bar and sit down to eat their lunches. Then the bartender says, "Sorry, but you can't eat your own food in here." So the two guys look at each other and swap lunches.
OK, not that funny, but "The Killers" is actually about two guys who walk into a 1920s diner, their goal: to kill a man. Written in 1927, the story takes place in high-crime Prohibition era Chicago. These are the days of Al Capone's The Chicago Outfit. In a way, the story also chronicles "The Lost Generation," a term coined for those who grew up in World War I when the horrors of modern warfare left an entire generation "lost" and unsure what they believed in.
Not everything is what it seems in this brief episode. You'll have to read closely, because Hemingway's iceberg theory is put to use here perhaps more than in any other story; of "The Killers," Hemingway said, "That story probably had more left out of it than anything I ever wrote."
Questions to consider
In what ways are things unclear or uncertain in the story? What mix-ups or sources of confusion can you find? How does this story portray "The Lost Generation"? How are Americans portrayed? How does the Hemingway code hero qualities show up?
Chicago, IL
The Real Ole
Ole Andreson is modeled after Ole Anderson, a boxer murdered apparently for not throwing a fight. Click below to read the original Miami Daily News article from 1926 on Ole's murder.
The backstory
While "The Killers" alludes to a real boxer, it also sounds very connected to a story Hemingway wrote when he was 16. Click below to read the explanation, then come back to read the prequel next.
The prequel
Hemingway's story, "A Matter of Colour" is a likely prequel to "The Killers" as it refers to "the Swede" (Andreson?) hired to fix a boxing match but fails to kill the black boxer who is his target.