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List examples of the "Iceberg theory" in Ernest Hemingway's "The Killers".
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Examples of the "iceberg theory" in Hemingway's "The Killers" include the minimalistic dialogue and lack of explicit background information. The story focuses on surface actions, like the hit men entering a lunchroom, but leaves deeper motivations and histories unstated. This forces readers to infer the underlying themes, such as the characters' fear, resignation, and the unspoken tension leading to violence.
The "iceberg theory" as proposed by Ernest Hemingway is a minimalistic approach to fiction writing: not much takes place on the surface but what does happen is rich with underlying themes. Hemingway referred to this theory in chapter 16 of his nonfiction book on Spanish bullfighting called Death in the Afternoon:
If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water.
Hemingway further expounded on this subject in his essay "The Art of the Short Story':
A few things I have found to be true. If you leave out important things or events that you know...
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about, the story is strengthened. If you leave or skip something because you do not know it, the story will be worthless.
Hemingway's short story "The Killers" is an excellent example of the minimalist approach implied by the iceberg theory. On the surface, the story is simple. Two hit men enter a lunchroom and order food. They tie up the cook and one of the customers (the recurrent Hemingway character Nick Adams) in the back, and wait with George, the manager, for a man named Ole Anderson, who they intend to kill. After they leave, Nick goes to warn Ole, but he does nothing. Nick decides to leave town.
This story is really about the various characters, especially Nick Adams, and their reactions to the stark evil displayed by the killers. Hemingway's minimalist approach is exemplified from the beginning in the dialog between the killers and George. On the surface, they are discussing items on the menu, but underneath, an ugly sort of tension is building that seems to be leading toward violence.
Nick and the African American cook don't say much during the confrontation, but their few words give the impression that they are terrified. When Nick warns Ole Anderson, he just lies on his bed without moving and doesn't say much, but it is apparent that beneath the surface there is an unstated background of running and hiding from these criminals. Finally, when Nick declares his intention to leave town, the dialog is brief, but it is implied that beneath the surface he is profoundly shaken by what he has just experienced.
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