The Killers – A Selection of Short Stories Notes

Q No:-01. The killers their victim in such a tight way that he become resigned to his fate discuss it?

Answer:

Al and Max are two professional murderers. They can kill any body for money. They want to kill a fellow named Ole Anderson a heavy weight boxer. They want to kill person only to oblige a friend of theirs. They are cruel, hard, rough and rude. They are clever and smart also. They are in search of their prey Anderson. They have been pursuing him in such a tight way that he becomes resigned to his luck. Both the killers reach Henry’s lunch room and wait there for more than two hours. They know it already that Ole Anderson used to dine there daily in the evening.

They show full mastery (control) of the situation. The staff of the restaurant is made hostage at gun point by Al and Max. They spread fear among all the three staff members of the restaurant. They also maltreat the staff of the restaurant. They wait Anderson from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm but he does not turn up. At last they decide to go away. So they leave the place and the hostages too.

Later on Nick Adam goes to inform Ole Anderson about the bloody killers. When he reaches there he sees Ole lying peacefully and quietly in his room. Although he has been a heavy weight boxer yet his nerves have been shattered now. He is lying on his bed with all his cloths put on. When Nick Adam tells him about the expected murderers, he does not show any surprise at the news.

The killers have been pursuing him in such a tight way that he has resigned himself on his fate. He has given up the struggle for life. In fact the aim of the killers is nothing to do. The killers have done their work well. They have killed his personality though he is still alive.

 Q No:-02. Bring out the Horror and suspense in the story

or

Explain that “The killers is a powerful story?

Answer:

The Killer is a story full of horror and suspense. Horror is present there throughout the story. The suspense is felt by the reader till the end of the story. The main theme of the story is full of horror and fear. Al and Max are two professional murderers. They are cruel and hard. They are clever and smart. They can kill anybody for money as killing the people is nothing to them.

They wanted to kill a fellow, named Ole Anderson. They wanted to kill the person only to please a friend of theirs. They were rough and rude. They were in search of their prey, Ole Anderson. Both killers reached Henry’s lunch room and waited there more than two hours. They knew that Ole Anderson used to dine there daily in the evening. They showed fully mastery of the situation. The staff of the restaurant was made hostage at gunpoint by Al and Max. They spread fear among all the three staff members of the restaurant. They also maltreated the staff of the restaurant. They waited the Anderson from 5 to 7 but he did not turn up. At last they decided to go away. So they left the place and left the hostages. Later on Nick Adam went to inform Anderson about bloody killers. Here the suspense of the story becomes clear to us. Anderson had become so fed up that he had then surrendered and resigned to his fate.

When we come to know the situation we feel shudder. The writer creates a powerful impact of death that remains in the minds of the readers. It makes the minds of the readers restless. Though no murder takes place, yet the effect created by the killers is worse than the act of killing. Thus the writer has created an atmosphere of horror and suspense very successfully.

 Answers of Short Questions:-

 Q.No.1. Who is Nick Adams?

Answer: – Nick Adams was the man behind the counter. He was an obedient and noble boy. He became greatly upset when he knew that Al and Max wanted to kill Anderson. He went to the house of Anderson to inform about the bloody killers. He reached at Hirsh’s rooming house where Ole Anderson lived.

Q.No.2. Who is George and what are his functions?

Answer: –  George was a waiter in the Henry’s lunch room. He was very dutiful, obedient and cooperative. He was a young man of good habits. He had sharp mind. He remembered the menu of the lunch and dinner by heart. He was very prompt in answering the question of the visitors. He repeated the menu of lunch and dinner from his memory and did not consult the menu card. This shows that he was very active and smart.

Q.No.3:- Who is Mrs. Bell?

Answer: –  Mrs. Bell was an attendant to look after the houses owned by Mrs. Hirsh. She was obedient and dutiful woman. She was very polite to the people. When Nick Adams asked her about the Ole Anderson, she told him very politely. She was noble and good natured lady. She took Nick to Ole Anderson’s room.

Q.No.4:- Who is Sam?

Answer: – Sam was a cook in Henry’s lunch room. He was a Negro. He was good cook. He had the gift of preparing good dishes. Many permanent customers visited the restaurant. It was all due to the good and delicious dishes which he prepared. He was a coward and timid person.