Historical Context
"The Killers" was written in the 1920s when organized crime was at its prime during Prohibition. Chicago was the home of Al Capone. Hemingway himself had spent time in Chicago as a young man. When things became too dangerous for the mob they would retreat to the suburb of Summit, where "The Killers" takes place. Despite Hemingway's knowledge of organized crime he omitted much of that background from the story. Hemingway himself said, "That story probably had more left out of it than anything I ever wrote. I left out all Chicago, which is hard to do in 2951 words."
Read more about this topic: The Killers (short Story)
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