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Like Hemingway’s other modernist writing, “The Killers” presents the events of the story through a third-person point of view that emphasizes dialogue and action. Rather than delving into the minds and perspectives of his characters, Hemingway lets the reader observe the suspenseful tale play out like a drama. 

Hemingway chose to write the story in a third-person limited point of view, but with a twist. At first, the reader stays with George as he deals with the two men who enter his establishment, and Hemingway describes only the conversations and sights that George is able to see and observe. For instance, the reader doesn’t know what’s going on in the kitchen until George enters it and sees how Nick and Sam are tied up and how Al is sitting. 

But rather than sticking with George for the whole story, the perspective shifts and follows Nick as he leaves the lunchroom to visit Ole Andreson, staying with him until he returns to George at the restaurant. This switch lets the reader follow the main thrust of this modernist story: the action. Without switching perspectives, the reader would only get half the story and miss out on some of the important tension-building, as well as informational, conversations that happen between George and Max, and later between Nick and Ole.

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