It is interesting to read of a character that is already awaiting their doom. Ole Anderson in the short story “The Killers” used to be a fighter, and I think that is part of the poetic nature of this story. He USED to fight, USED to be in the ring; Now he is most definitely not. Even Nick seems to acknowledge that this man is done for. He doesn’t try to help him further or get more involved, past going to his house of course. Throughout the beginning of the short story there is a build up of rising action that really does not come to fruition within the pages, but rather, between the lines. The reader knows that Anderson is going to die at some point, and probably some point in the very near future. A similar sort of anti-climax happens in “A Very Short Story” with an ending that just leaves the reader kind of disappointed, in my opinion.

In all forms of literature today, modern audiences want actions and reactions that have magnitude and weight behind them. We have almost a fast-food appetite when it comes to our art. We want it fast and we want it now, with little regard for what is actually inside the work. That is why I think that many of us, as well as students around the world, find Hemingway to be kind of boring. We aren’t use to waiting so much for something so dense and profound. While this is a shame to many, to some it is just the changing winds of taste in literature. I see it as a double edged sword. Many forms of current art and literature are gripping, compelling, and magnificent, but there is something that is being lost, and I would say it is patience from the reader.

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