Hitchhiker Roald Dahl Page

First published in the July 1977 issue of The Atlantic Monthly and later featured in the collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More , " The Hitch-Hiker " is one of Roald Dahl's most celebrated short stories for adults. It masterfully blends suspense, dark humor, and a sharp critique of authority. Plot Summary: A High-Speed Encounter

The hitchhiker goads the narrator into testing the car’s top speed (129 mph). As the car accelerates, they are promptly pulled over by a rude and bullying motorcycle policeman.

On the surface, "The Hitchhiker" is a simple tale. A writer (presumably Dahl himself) picks up a man on the side of the road. But beneath this simplicity lies a story about class, authority, and the quiet triumph of the "little man." hitchhiker roald dahl

The policeman represents the rigid, unyielding, and often cruel face of state authority. He cares nothing for the individuals, only for the rules. By contrast, the hitchhiker—though a criminal—is clever, skilled, and loyal to the man who gave him a ride. He uses his "villainous" skill to save the narrator from the "virtuous" law.

The story ends with a classic Dahl conversation. The narrator asks why the hitchhiker steals for a living when he could hold a respectable job. The hitchhiker counters by asking if the narrator’s job is all that different. The narrator writes stories (fiction/lies) for money; the hitchhiker takes things with his fingers. The hitchhiker argues that he is a "squib" man—a specialist. He views his talent with the same pride a surgeon views a scalpel. First published in the July 1977 issue of

From the moment the stranger enters the car, Dahl establishes a fascinating dynamic. The narrator is affluent, driving a luxury car; the hitchhiker is shabby, potentially a vagrant. Yet, the hitchhiker possesses an air of supreme confidence and a sharp, sneering intelligence. He critiques the narrator’s driving and questions the car’s speed, eventually goading the narrator into pushing the car to its limits.

Roald Dahl is best known for his whimsical and often dark children’s tales, but his short stories for adults reveal a master of the twist ending and a sharp observer of human nature. In “The Hitchhiker,” Dahl takes a seemingly simple premise—a writer picks up a hitchhiker on a long drive to London—and transforms it into a clever, suspenseful meditation on speed, class, and the subversion of authority. Through vivid characterization, a tightly wound plot, and a final, ironic twist, Dahl champions the cunning of the underdog over the brute force of the law, ultimately suggesting that true skill lies not in following rules, but in knowing how to break them. As the car accelerates, they are promptly pulled

This twist is made possible by the story’s most memorable element: the hitchhiker’s profession. He is not merely a vagrant; he is a “fingersmith,” a master pickpocket. Dahl elevates this criminal trade to an art form. The hitchhiker describes his skill with the pride of a concert pianist or a master painter, explaining the techniques of “stalling,” “taking,” and “palming.” His fingers, once described as scruffy, are now revealed to be “as sensitive as a doctor’s.” This re-framing is crucial. Dahl argues that his ability is not theft but magic, a form of performance art that humiliates the pompous and evens the score with authority. The final, brilliant detail—the hitchhiker producing the policeman’s notebook and then, with a flourish, his own tiny, meticulously crafted set of number-plates—cements him as a folk hero. He has turned the tools of state control into objects of jest.

The story begins with an unnamed narrator—a wealthy writer—driving his brand-new BMW toward London. Remembering his own difficult days of hitchhiking, he stops to pick up a small, "rat-faced" man.

The hitchhiker has stolen the evidence that could convict the narrator.