Ernest Hemingway’s notorious short story The Killers follows two contracted killers who enter an establishment looking for a Swedish aging boxer and in their endeavor patronize the workers of the establishment as well as the only patron. After hearing of their plans to kill the boxer, the patron, Nick Adams, is sent out to warn the boxer once the killers leave the establishment, but alas Ole Andreson would rather accept his fate and stay to face the killers. Adams then runs away from the town because he cannot stand the thought of what is about to occur. The use of heavily external focalization allows readers to sympathize with the characters as well as rationalize Adams’ reasonings for leaving the town without having the characters thoughts …show more content…
Given the heavily limited presence of the narrator in The Killers, the audience is forced to use the latter to understand the characters of the story. In The Killers, the protagonist, Nick Adams, a recurring character in Hemingway’s short stories, is left to face evil in the form of the antagonists, Al and Max, who are the namesake of the story. The narrator introduces the killers as holding onto old traditional standards as one can infer, on the basis of Al’s black overcoat, that they are dressed entirely in black, a known symbolism for evil as well as death. In this sense, the narrator is characterizing the killers as a walking omens of death based on their appearance. Furthermore, the narrator lets the characters’ speech speak for themselves as the killers can be seen as condescending men with a bitter attitude, due to the fact that they repeat numerous times, “Bright Boy,” referring to Nick Adams but also title George, the waiter of the diner the killers are harassing, as such even though he is obviously a man, in a form to belittle the duo. Moreover, they pay no heed to the consequences of their words, stating in brandish that they were contracted to kill the Swedish …show more content…
Hemingway was able to achieve this by using a heterodiegetic narrator that relied on direct discourse to make his readers work to see the true worth of his stories. Though, the overall plot of The Killers and even that of another of his work, Hills like White Elephants, seem overly simple with a short amount of characters having a conversation, they are much more than just that. Due to the external focalization and indirect representation given by the narrator, the readers find whole new reasons to the plotline. For instance, the simple conversation in Hills like White Elephants is actually about whether the female protagonist should get an abortion. In this direct circumstance, The Killers is a coming of age story for Nick Adams about his confrontation with evil and how he ran away from it because he was not yet ready to grow up just yet, given the actions he takes to try and save Andreson and his reaction to failing to save the man. To read Hemingway, one must learn to read between the lines as well as to concentrate on certain diction to find the true
The story “Catch a Killer,” was written by George Woods. It is a story about three main characters, Lieutenant Tawney who is a B.C.I. man, Andrew Morgan who leaves his house and goes to Batten’s house, and Craig Corso who is a mysterious man. Their behaviors, personalities, actions, and their thoughts affect the story “Catch a Killer”.
Last but not least, O’Connor confirms that even a short story is a multi-layer compound that on the surface may deter even the most enthusiastic reader, but when handled with more care, it conveys universal truths by means of straightforward or violent situations. She herself wished her message to appeal to the readers who, if careful enough, “(…)will come to see it as something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida.”
“Killings", written by Andre Dubus in 1979, involves several aspects such as revenge, morality, and murder. Elements, such as the story’s title, the order of events, and the development of the characters, are very unique. It successfully evokes emotion and suspense as the plot unfolds in sequence. Though it seems easily overlooked, the title “Killings” is very important due to the fact that the thrill of suspense is left in the mind of the reader. The title encourages readers to question who and what. It is also an intricate setting for the plot’s mood. It implies that a murder has taken place, but that is all the reader knows. The chronology of the story uses a style called "in media res”, a term used to describe the common strategy of beginning a story in the middle of the action or entering on the verge of some important moment (Meyer 2198). In this story, the readers are shown that murder not only takes a life, but it can also take away a living persons sense of self worth, their spirit.
The story goes into explaining the difference between an organized and independent killer. Primarily, this story is of an independent killer whose contract with a customer determines his price for killing. The independent killer works for himself and trains and learns how to become a professional killer so that when a customer seeks a hitman, they know the perfect person that will perform the execution. Based off the contract for the hitman, it is beneficial that the hitman does not know the motive for killing; because, it may inhibit execution because of morally justified behavior. In the story of the hitman Pete, focused on what the money for killing might bring- (such as good reputation and a certain lifestyle), and ignored what the killing of one person might do and also the reaction of the victim during execution. When Pete encountered his first execution, the look on the victims face is what haunted him until his second killing. Based off the look from his first killing, is what ignited his suppressed feeling of deviance and wrongful killing, starting his professional hitman
Hemingway’s narrative technique, then, is characterized by a curt style that emphasizes objectivity through highly selected details, flat and neutral diction, and simple declarative sentences capable of ironic understatements; by naturalistic presentation of actions and facts, with no attempt of any kind by the author to influence the reader; by heavy reliance on dramatic dialogue of clipped, scrappy forms for building plot and character; and by a sense of connection between some different stories so that a general understanding of all is indispensable to a better understanding of each. He thus makes the surface details suggest rather than tell everything they have to tell, hence the strength of his “iceberg.” His short stories, accordingly, deserve the reader’s second or even third reading.
Hemingway presents takes the several literary styles to present this short story. Hemingway’s use of Foreshadowing, Pathos, Imagery and Personification allows the reader to enter the true context of the frustration and struggle that the couples face. Although written in the 1920’s it the presents a modern day conflict of communication that millions of couples face. At first glance the beautiful landscape of the Barcelonian hillside in which Jig refers to frequently throughout the text appears to have taken the form of White Elephants. The Americans’ response to Jigs’ observation was less than enthusiastic as he provides a brief comment and continues on with his cerveza. This was but the first of the many verbal jousts to come between Jig and the American. The metaphorical inferences in those verbal confrontations slowly uncover the couple’s dilemma and why they may be on the waiting for the train to Madrid.
Poe’s first-person narration style in “The Cask of Amontillado” allows the reader to experience a different type of story, from an unusual perspective. By making a killer the narrator, and by making him familiar with the audience, we can see the situation in different darker light. Rather than focusing on the actual physicality and action that takes place in the story, Poe focuses on the thoughts and emotions of the main character, thus making for a more intimately disturbing story for the
... seemingly simplistic. Hemingway discovered a way to demonstrate the complexity of the human spirit and identity through simplistic diction, word choice, and sentence structure. The story is only a small part of the deeper inner complex of the narrative. The short story allows a fluidity of thoughts between the individual and the characters without ever actually describing their thoughts. With no ending the story is completely left to interpretation providing no satisfactory ending or message.
The writing expertise of Hemingway and Faulkner, commonly referred to as Hemingwayesque and Faulknerian, are both styles that seem to parallel off of one another. One of the best ways to understand Hemingway is to read Faulkner, and vice versa. The obscurantism of Faulkner and the attentiveness of Hemingway foster their syntax and diction, as well as their similarities and differences. Faulkner displays Gothic remnants in Absalom, Absalom!, while Hemingway creates a more minimalist prose. Hemingway and Faulkner, as seen in The Sun Also Rises and Absalom Absalom! both possess uniquely different writing styles, while being able to hold the ability to parallel off of eachother's themes and diction.
Throughout the 20th century there were many influential pieces of literature that would not only tell a story or teach a lesson, but also let the reader into the author’s world. Allowing the reader to view both the positives and negatives in an author. Ernest Hemingway was one of these influential authors. Suffering through most of his life due to a disturbingly scarring childhood, he expresses his intense mental and emotional insecurities through subtle metaphors that bluntly show problems with commitment to women and proving his masculinity to others.
Hemingway, considered to be a modernist writer, makes his readers work by implementing the well-known theory of omission, which “Hills Like White Elephants” is a perfect example of. As he stated in 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, […].’ (259). It seems that Hemingway assumed the reader would know what is being omitted, nevertheless many features of “Hills Like White Elephants” have already been covered by various critics. At the end of the story the reader is forced to unravel the most...
When a writer picks up their pen and paper, begins one of the most personal and cathartic experiences in their lives, and forms this creation, this seemingly incoherent sets of words and phrases that, read without any critical thinking, any form of analysis or reflexion, can be easily misconstrued as worthless or empty. When one reads an author’s work, in any shape or form, what floats off of the ink of the paper and implants itself in our minds is the author’s personality, their style. Reading any of the greats, many would be able to spot the minute details that separates each author from another; whether it be their use of dialogue, their complex descriptions, their syntax, or their tone. When reading an excerpt of Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast one could easily dissect the work, pick apart each significant moment from Hemingway’s life and analyze it in order to form their own idea of the author’s voice, of his identity. Ernest Hemingway’s writing immediately comes across as rather familiar in one sense. His vocabulary is not all that complicated, his layout is rather straightforward, and it is presented in a simplistic form. While he may meander into seemingly unnecessary detail, his work can be easily read. It is when one looks deeper into the work, examines the techniques Hemingway uses to create this comfortable aura surrounding his body of work, that one begins to lift much more complex thoughts and ideas. Hemingway’s tone is stark, unsympathetic, his details are precise and explored in depth, and he organizes his thoughts with clarity and focus. All of this is presented in A Moveable Feast with expertise every writer dreams to achieve. While Hemingway’s style may seem simplistic on the surface, what lies below is a layered...
Hemingway's Personal Life and its Influence on his Short Story "Hills Like White Elephants" "Hills like White Elephants" is not the normal story where you have a beginning, middle and end. Hemingway gave just enough information so that readers could draw their own conclusions. The entire story encompasses a conversation between two lovers and leaves the reader with more questions than answers. Ernest Hemingway was a brilliant writer. People that study Hemingway's works try to gain insight and draw natural conclusions about Hemingway and his life.
Hemingway’s writing style is not the most complicated one in contrast to other authors of his time. He uses plain grammar and easily accessible vocabulary in his short stories; capturing more audience, especially an audience with less reading experience. “‘If you’d gone on that way we wouldn’t be here now,’ Bill said” (174). His characters speak very plain day to day language which many readers wouldn’t have a problem reading. “They spent the night of the day they were married in a Bostan Hotel” (8). Even in his third person omniscient point of view he uses a basic vocabulary which is common to the reader.
Evidence of professionalism on the part of the two killers, Al and Max, is that they both wear a uniform? They wear overcoats. that are too tight for them, gloves to prevent finger prints, and Derby hats. This might be for intimidation, to suggest they are. gangsters or something similar, or it could be that they are not so.