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    This document provides discussion questions about Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers" and his elliptical writing style. It notes that Hemingway often omitted details a traditional writer would state directly, requiring the reader to infer meaning and tone from subtle clues. This elliptical style can intensify the story by engaging the reader's imagination and critical thinking. The document asks readers to consider several elements of Hemingway's style that contribute to the meaning of "The Killers," including plot, dialogue, point of view, syntax, symbolism, contrast, understatement, and sparse descriptions. It highlights how Hemingway builds tension through implication of violence without depicting it directly. Readers are prompted to analyze what the

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    This document provides discussion questions about Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers" and his elliptical writing style. It notes that Hemingway often omitted details a traditional writer would state directly, requiring the reader to infer meaning and tone from subtle clues. This elliptical style can intensify the story by engaging the reader's imagination and critical thinking. The document asks readers to consider several elements of Hemingway's style that contribute to the meaning of "The Killers," including plot, dialogue, point of view, syntax, symbolism, contrast, understatement, and sparse descriptions. It highlights how Hemingway builds tension through implication of violence without depicting it directly. Readers are prompted to analyze what the

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    11 views1 page

    The Killers Notes and Questions For Discussion and Writing

    Uploaded by

    sialzada9995
    This document provides discussion questions about Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Killers" and his elliptical writing style. It notes that Hemingway often omitted details a traditional writer would state directly, requiring the reader to infer meaning and tone from subtle clues. This elliptical style can intensify the story by engaging the reader's imagination and critical thinking. The document asks readers to consider several elements of Hemingway's style that contribute to the meaning of "The Killers," including plot, dialogue, point of view, syntax, symbolism, contrast, understatement, and sparse descriptions. It highlights how Hemingway builds tension through implication of violence without depicting it directly. Readers are prompted to analyze what the

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    “The Killers” by Ernest Hemingway: Notes and Questions for Discussion and Writing

    Hemingway’s stories are most famous for the simple yet powerful style he pioneered, often referred to
    as an “elliptical style” because of the omission of information that a more traditional writer would
    convey to the reader directly. (Ellipses are the punctuation mark [...] used to indicate missing text.) The
    reader must infer such information as the meaning and tone of the story, and the emotions of its
    characters, from carefully placed clues because the narrator does not provide rich descriptions to make
    these aspects of the story obvious. When skillfully executed, this style can give the story greater
    intensity and vividness, in part because it demands the use of critical thinking skills and engages the
    reader’s own imagination to fill in many details.

    Carefully consider how the following elements of Hemingway's elliptical style contribute to this story's
    meaning:

    • Plot: What information do the developments in the story convey?


    • Dialogue: the flow, style, and content of the exchanges between the characters
    • Point of view: How would you describe the narrator’s point of view, and how does it contribute to
    the stylistic effect of the story?
    • Syntax: sentence structure (How is it distinctive?)
    • Symbolism: the deeper meaning of some objects and images
    • Contrast: including moments of absurdity expressed by a contrast between what is expected and
    what is actually said or what actually happens
    • Understatement: the opposite of exaggeration—What is its effect?
    • Sparse descriptions: What details are given by the narrator (and emphasized by the terseness of
    the description), and what critical information do they reveal?

    In "The Killers," pay special attention to diction and to the ways in which Hemingway builds up the
    tension of the scene. What's remarkable about this story is that although no violence actually occurs,
    the tension caused by the implication of violence is enough to make the story powerful and chilling.
    How does Hemingway accomplish this?

    What do you think is the point or meaning of the story?

    © 2014 C. Brantley Collins, Jr. | Camilla’s English Page

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