The Hitchhiker

“The Hitchhiker” by Lucille Fletcher was a story that leaves the reader curious about what more there is to come. “The Hitchhiker” is a story about a man named Ronald Adams, who goes on a trip to California and has strange encounters which leads him to the discovery of death and bewilderment. Fletcher builds this effective suspense story by merging all the elements of the plot together throughout the entire story. The author does this by making Adams question his sanity with each encounter of a stranger, but never fully giving answers as to the identity of the hitchhiker.

The exposition of “The Hitchhiker” gives insight to the problems that may arise throughout the story. In the beginning, Adams assures the reader that he is sane by

When Adams is crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, a thin, nondescript man, with a cap pulled down over his eyes walks out into the street and in front of Adams’ car. “If I hadn’t swerved hard, I’d have hit him” (Fletcher 1002.) This event brought forth the problem that would continue. After Adams sees the man for the first time, he saw him three more times before deciding to pull into a gas station because he had a weird feeling about the situation with the man. While Adams is at the gas station he asks the mechanic questions that he thinks will give him the closure he needs to understand the mysterious man. “You ain’t seen anybody like that, have you?” the mechanic asks. Adams replies with “No. Oh no, not at all.

“I’d like to put in a call to my home in Brooklyn, New York” (Fletcher 1010.) After the call goes through, Mrs. Whitney is on the other line. “This is Mrs. Whitney” (Fletcher 1011). Adams is confused because he calls his mother’s house, and a woman that he does not know answers. The highest point of the story is when Mrs. Whitney informs Ronald that his mother, Mrs. Adams, is in the hospital from having a nervous breakdown. This leads to Adams discovering something about