Because of Hemingway’s minimalist writing style, the tone of “The Killers” comes off as depressive and cynical. Take the following passage, for example, which comes at the end of the story as Nick and George are discussing Ole Andreson’s impending death:
“It’s a hell of a thing.”
“It’s an awful thing,” Nick said.
They did not say anything. George reached down for a towel and wiped the counter.
“I wonder what he did?” Nick said.
“Double-crossed somebody. That’s what they kill them for.”
“I’m going to get out of this town,” Nick said.
“Yes,” said George. “That’s a good thing to do.”
Despite the fact that Nick and George are discussing how someone they know (and presumably care about) will soon die, they speak in sparse, emotionless language here, simply calling it “a hell of a thing” and “an awful thing.” While a different writer might have their narrator move into the minds of the characters and show how, in spite of outwardly presenting as unemotional, the characters are experiencing immense pain and grief, Hemingway’s narrator does no such thing. Because he doesn’t allow readers access the characters' inner thoughts and feelings, Hemingway ends the story with an alienated and disaffected tone. The characters are clearly alienated from each other—as they cannot share their true feelings with each other—and the narrator is alienated from them as well.
In addition, the fact that George casually blames Ole Andreson for his inevitable murder—saying that he “double-crossed somebody” without knowing that this is true—adds a cynical tone to the conversation. And rather than encouraging Nick to stay in Summit when he says he wants to leave after this experience, George simply says, “That’s a good thing to do.” There is no hope or care in his tone here and, because the narrator mostly disappears, George’s tone becomes the tone of the scene. While readers may expect him to encourage this young man to stick around, George refuses to play the hero, instead simply continuing to clean the diner as if this were a day like any other.
