On the Road

On The Road


“The Hitch-Hikers,” written in 1940 by Eudora Welty revolves around the helplessness of a salesman, Tom Harris. His profession gives him the freedom of traveling around places. Although he is free to go anywhere, his freedom turns out to be his helplessness. He is always on the road, always moving from somewhere to somewhere. As the narrator puts it, “on a long straight stretch of road, he slowed down for some hitch-hikers,” which specifies that he is usually on the middle of road or some place. Constantly traveling on the road indicates that his life is always in motion and not stable. The notion of on going, not stopping, and not stable points out the significance of helplessness in his life.
As a traveler, Tom doesn’t have a choice to stay at one place or have a steady life. He can’t stay at the place and with the people he like or dislike, which shows his helplessness. “That’s Mr. Tom Harris’s car, look at the out-of-state license and look...