The open razor lay, edge up, in the blankets. Hemingway succeeds in creating a moment of catastrophic reality. A moment of horror of death, an unpleasant sight not only for the reader, but for the son as well. The term of endearment 'Nickie' used by the father, acts as a softener whereby the father gets closer to the son as that moment, a technique of positive politeness that helps boost the morale of the son who has witnessed a lot for his age. The son needed to know that the father shared some of his feelings.
External focalization is apparent.
The son's inquiry on such an act of suicide is one of Hemingway's own, a device used to generalize the significance of the whole work and serves to heighten the reader's experience at certain moments. He couldn't stand things, I guess. No, I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends. The style is typical of Hemingway, the use of very simple words, direct and to the point.