"It has been said that although Hemingway's short stories are concise and simply written, they are laden with symbolic images and themes that are very complex.".
You can run but you can't hide. Hemingway shows that in this story with the journeys of Ole Andreson and Nick Adams. Anderson, who has lived enough for a lifetime, and Nick, one generation behind, is just discovering the world. They both want to get away from their problems, Andreson is physically running away while Nick, about to follow in his footsteps, wants to run away from his emotional conflicts within but somehow, somewhere, their problems will always catch up with them. Hemingway pieces this theme together with unnoticeable clues here and there that will add up to a brilliant story. All the reader has to do is read each word very carefully as if that word holds the meaning of the story and Hemingway will do the rest.
The introduction of the killers is where this story begins. The readers could tell from the small, almost non-existent details in the beginning of the story that they were gangsters. The fact the men ate with their gloves on to avoid leaving fingerprints and then they kept their eyes on the mirror behind the bar while eating. Then there is their rudeness, lack of manners, and their inability to have a conversation like a regular person without sarcasm and accusations. Al and Max dressed alike with the clothing such as silk mufflers, gloves, and tight overcoats, which makes people associate them with gangs. All this was given to the reader before their mission and identities were even made clear. Hemingway did not give this information straight out but he teased the reader by giving them limited details at a time. One might even say that when Al entered the lunchroom from the kitchen holding a catsup bottle, the ketchup represented blood. Since George, Nick and Sam were tied up in the kitchen, Al held their lives in his hands.
