# The Killers explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Ernest Hemingway.

## What happens

Two hitmen, Al and Max, enter Henry's lunchroom in Summit and intimidate the staff—George, Nick Adams, and Sam the cook—while they wait to kill Ole Andreson. After the hitmen leave, Nick warns Ole, who resignedly refuses to flee, and Nick decides to leave town, disturbed by the inevitability of the violence.

## Themes in this chapter

### American Identity and Disillusionment

The small-town setting of Summit is invaded by urban gangsters, highlighting the loss of innocence and the pervasive threat of violence in American life.

### The Search for Authenticity

Nick's confrontation with senseless violence and his decision to leave town reflect a search for meaning and authenticity in a world where evil is arbitrary and inescapable.

## Character check-ins

### Nick Adams

Witnesses the hitmen's arrival, is forced into the kitchen, and later warns Ole Andreson before deciding to leave Summit.

### Ole Andreson

The intended victim; he is warned by Nick but accepts his fate and refuses to run.

### George Gardner

The lunchroom counterman who is coerced by the hitmen and later advises Nick to leave town.

## Key lines

> I can't stand to think about him waiting in the room and knowing he's going to get it. It's too damned awful.

Nick is overwhelmed by the horror of Ole Andreson passively awaiting his murder.

_Captures Nick's emotional response to the futility and dread of the situation._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/the-killers
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_15_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters