Essay On The Vanishing Hitchhiker
This legend was first documented in 1967 at the University of Utah, but could still be older. I was first introduced to this legend from our readings in The Vanishing Hitchhiker. This legend has narrative polish after being around for decades and it seems like a very plausible scenario. The legend goes that a woman is leaving a place late at night and a car begins to follow her on her way home. The other driver flashes their headlights during the drive, but the woman does not stop until she gets home. As she gets home, she runs for the front door and her husband comes out to figure out why his wife is in distress. As the mystery driver is confronted he tells the couple that he saw a person in the backseat of the wife’s car. The husband then
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The legend focuses on women, never men, being the target of the backseat intruder and places men in the role of protector, the other driver or the gas station attendant, or the invader. Women are portrayed as useless and need a man to warn and protect them. This also encourages women to not travel alone and to avoid staying out late. In the narratives that mentions the race of the rescuer or the man hiding, the woman is always scared of them. Since the women is always presumed to be white, this speaks to how society views people of color, as only capable of doing harm. Though having the rescuer as a minority may speak of improving racial relations, however that could be debatable. This story was possibly believable closer to the time it originated since it deals with how women should be living their lives. The 1960s was a time when women were gaining more freedom and this was a legend to be circulated to try and scare women into staying home, as they had been for generations. As time has progressed and women have gained freedoms that previous generations did not have, this story has become more of a story to tell around a campfire and has consequently become less relevant. Though women are still warned about being out late and watching their surroundings, the impact of this legend has
The legend focuses on women, never men, being the target of the backseat intruder and places men in the role of protector, the other driver or the gas station attendant, or the invader. Women are portrayed as useless and need a man to warn and protect them. This also encourages women to not travel alone and to avoid staying out late. In the narratives that mentions the race of the rescuer or the man hiding, the woman is always scared of them. Since the women is always presumed to be white, this speaks to how society views people of color, as only capable of doing harm. Though having the rescuer as a minority may speak of improving racial relations, however that could be debatable. This story was possibly believable closer to the time it originated since it deals with how women should be living their lives. The 1960s was a time when women were gaining more freedom and this was a legend to be circulated to try and scare women into staying home, as they had been for generations. As time has progressed and women have gained freedoms that previous generations did not have, this story has become more of a story to tell around a campfire and has consequently become less relevant. Though women are still warned about being out late and watching their surroundings, the impact of this legend has