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The Killers | Introduction

‘‘The Killers,’’ Ernest Hemingway’s story about two hit men who come to a small town to kill a former prizefighter, was first published in the March 1927 issue of Scribner’s Magazine. Hemingway was paid two hundred dollars for the story, which was the first of his mature stories to appear in an American periodical. His original title for the story was ‘‘The Matadors.’’ Hemingway included the story in his 1927 collection Men Without Women, and it also appears in The Nick Adams Stories (1972). ‘‘The Killers’’ remains one of Hemingway’s most anthologized stories because it is representative of Hemingway’s style and the subjects that would occupy his work throughout his career. These subjects include the meaninglessness of human life, male camaraderie, and the inevitability of death, and Hemingway explores them using his signature short sentences, slang, and understatement.

Hemingway claims to have written the story in a frenzy of inspiration on May 16, 1926, before lunch. Like many of his short stories, ‘‘The Killers’’ features Nick Adams, a typical Hemingway hero, one in a long line of Hemingway’s fictional selves. Hemingway introduced Nick Adams in his first collection of stories, In Our Time (1925). Nick is an adolescent in ‘‘The Killers,’’ and critics have argued that Nick’s experience with the hit men marks his initiation into adulthood and his introduction to evil and violence.

The Killers Summary

Section 1
‘‘The Killers’’ begins with two men walking into Henry’s lunchroom and discussing what they want to eat. Max and Al bicker over what menu items are available with George, the counterman who had been talking with Nick Adams, the only other customer. Some confusion occurs over the correct time. The clock says 5:20, but George tells the men it is twenty minutes fast. The men finally order eggs with ham and bacon and then taunt Nick and George, sarcastically calling them ‘‘bright boys’’ and making fun of their small town, Summit. Al and Max order George to tell the cook, Sam, to come out of the kitchen, and then Al takes Nick and Sam back into the kitchen. They call Sam ‘‘nigger,’’ a much-used epithet for African Americans in 1920s’ America.

Max announces that they are at the lunchroom to kill Ole Andreson, a Swede who usually eats dinner there at six o’clock. It is obvious the men have been hired, as Max says they have never seen Ole before. ‘‘We’re killing him for a friend. Just to oblige a friend,’’ Max says. Al and Max continue with their banter, taunting Nick and Sam. At one point, Al says, ‘‘The nigger [Sam] and my... » Complete The Killers Summary