1. "The Hitchhiker" (Late 1930’s) PowerPoint by: Kevin Shue,
Jacob Stahlgren,
And Andrew Riviello

2. Lucille Fletcher March 28, 1912 — August 31, 2000 Born in Brooklyn, New York

3. CHARACTERS Antagonist Protagonist Minor Characters
Phantom Hitchhiker (Voice)
Protagonist
Ronald Adams
Minor Characters
Adams’s Mother
Orson Welles
Mechanic
Henry, a sleepy man
Woman’s Voice (Henry’s wife)
Mrs. Whitney
Hitchhiker Girl
Operator
Long-distance Operator
Albuquerque Operator
New York Operator

4. Exposition 6 Days/nights Route 66
Brooklyn, New York to Gallup, New Mexico
1930’s
Exposition

5. Complications Ronald barely misses hitting the man on the bridge
Picks up the girl hitchhiker in Oklahoma
When Ronald “hears” and “sees” the phantom
The girl Ronald picked up could not see or hear the phantom
When he talks to the mechanic at the gas station about hitchhikers
When Ronald starts to see the phantom more frequently (every other mile)

6. “HALL-OOO….HALL-OOOO….”
CLIMAX
WHEN RONALD DECIDES TO CALL HOME
“HALL-OOO….HALL-OOOO….”
-”Hitchhiker” page 663

7. Falling Actions Mrs. Whitney tells Ronald that he was dead
Ronald finds that his mother was in the hospital
Operator ends the call with Mrs. Whitney because of lack of money

8. Literary Devices

9. Mystery
Who is the phantom and why is it following Ronald?

10. The phantom following Ronald foreshadows his death.
Foreshadowing
The phantom following Ronald foreshadows his death.

11. Ronald thinks he is alive when he is really dead.
Situational Irony
Ronald thinks he is alive when he is really dead.

12. Diction
The way the people speak in the radio play shows where they were born and live.