Vocabulary
Foreshadow
Miscellaneous
Plot
Literary Element
100
Adams assured his mother that he would be just fine on his road trip. What does ASSURED mean?
A guarantee, promise
100
Which event foreshadows the appearance of the hitchhiker?
Mother tells Adams not to pick up strangers.
100
What is the central conflict in The Hitchhiker?
Ronald is haunted by the same hitchhiker over and over as he travels across the country.
100
Adams is going on a road trip, where does he plan to end up?
In California
100
What element of suspense is used when Adams says goodbye to his mother?
flashback
200
The junction of the highway and train tracks is exactly where Adams's car broke down. What does the word JUNCTION mean?
A point where two or more things are joined
200
"Adams: ...Unless I drove 85 miles an hour over those endless roads-he waited for me at every other mile. I would see his figure, shadowless, flitting before me, still in its same attitude, over the cold and lifeless ground, flitting over dried up rivers, over broken stones cast up by old glacial upheavals, flitting in the pure and cloudless air..."(460-468). What is being foreshadowed?
These lines suggest that Adams's future is cold, empty, lifeless, and a future without hope or even life.
200
The Hitchhiker takes place during what time period?
1940s
200
What does Ronald Adams realize after he picks up the girl who was hitchhiking?
He realizes he is the only one that can see the hitchhiker.
200
Who is the narrator of the story?
Ronald Adams
300
The foreshadowing that occurred on the Brooklyn Bridge had a very sinister mood. What does SINISTER mean?
Giving the impression that something harmful or evil is happening or will happen.
300
While speaking with the mechanic, Adams learns that there was not "a drop of rain all week"(130) and that a hitchhiker on these roads would be a "sight for sore eyes"(141-142). What do these two statements foreshadow and why?
That the hitchhiker might not actually exist because when Adams saw the hitchhiker he was drenched with rain and the mechanic explains that there are never hitchhikers on Route 66.
300
What does the phantom hitchhiker symbolize?
Death
300
At the end of the play, Adams realizes that six days earlier he what?
Died in a car accident on the Brooklyn Bridge.
300
What type of figurative language is being used in the following lines: "He was as drab as a mud fence"(180)?
Simile
400
Route 66 was very monotonous because of the long stretch of highway with desolate surroundings. What does MONOTONOUS mean?
Lack of variety and interest; sameness
400
Adam swerves to avoid a hitchhiker on the Brooklyn Bridge and there is a terrible skidding sound (90-92). What does this foreshadow?
Adams learns that he dies in a car accident on the Brooklyn Bridge (540-542).
400
Where is Adams at the beginning of the story?
Gallup, New Mexico
400
What does Adams believe while he's stuck on the train tracks?
The hitchhiker is leading him to death.
400
What type of figurative language is being used in the following lines: "The peaceful Ohio fields, brown with the autumn stubble, lay dreaming in the golden light"(171-172)?
Personification
500
"Adams: ...Unless I drove 85 miles an hour over those endless roads-he waited for me at every other mile. I would see his figure, shadowless, flitting before me, still in its same attitude, over the cold and lifeless ground, flitting over dried up rivers, over broken stones cast up by old glacial upheavals, flitting in the pure and cloudless air..."(460-468). What does flitting mean as it is used in this passage?
to move lightly and swiftly
500
What does the scene with the girl hitchhiker (lines 287-308) foreshadow about Adams's road trip?
That he will most likely die before reaching California because the hitchhiker is trying to kill him and Adam is now tired and desperate for evidence.
500
The hitchhiker appears at many points during Adams travels. At one point the hitchhiker appears at a detour sign. What does this sign symbolize in the story?
The detour sign symbolizes an unexpected turn for Adams life.
500
What does Adams do to prove that he is sane?
He states facts about himself.
500
The hitchhiker constantly following Adams around is an example of what type of conflict?
An external conflict
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