The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

In this story, Dahl carries over two elements that he utilized in “The Boy Who Talked with Animals.” First, he uses another unnamed first-person narrator, but unlike the narrator in the first story, the narrator in “The Hitchhiker” is an active participant in the plot. He drives the car and presses the accelerator, bringing on the introduction of new character: the police officer. However, the narrator remains the more passive of the two men in the car—he chooses to drive fast as a result of pressure from the hitchhiker, whom Dahl centers in the narrative. Second, Dahl builds tension by delaying the reveal of critical character details; in this story, the hitchhiker’s name and occupation are hidden until the end of the story, after the police officer has left. Both techniques keep the story centered on the hitchhiker, the protagonist of the story. Although the narrator is eager to know the man’s story, his own past as a hitchhiker reminds him that the man’s personal details are not his business. His curiosity emerges throughout their conversation, building toward the reveal of the hitchhiker’s true profession.

Both the narrator and the police officer observe the hitchhiker with suspicion. The narrator repeatedly compares the hitchhiker to a rat, inferring that the man is sneaky and clever. The police officer tells him that he does not like his face. Both men make judgments about the hitchhiker based upon his status and social class. The reveal of that the hitchhiker applies a strict moral code to his “fingersmithing” (which directly benefits the narrator when the hitchhiker saves him from being ticketed) causes the narrator to view him in a benevolent light.

The hitchhiker’s moral code nuances the story’s exploration of Greed and Generosity. The hitchhiker explains that he steals from others, but he prickles at being identified as a pickpocket. He sees his position as more elevated and skilled than a mere thief: “Pickpockets is coarse and vulgar people who only do easy little amateur jobs. They lift money from blind old ladies” (38). Instead, the man prefers the term “professional fingersmith.” He applies his skills only to the wealthy, positioning himself as the Robin Hood of the racetrack. Dahl uses cognitive dissonance to challenge readers’ expectations. His description of the hitchhiker is consistent with the villain of a typical narrative. Dahl repeatedly compares the man to a rodent and emphasizes the shiftiness of his eyes. By the end of the story, however, the narrator views the hitchhiker as a hero—a man who dares to live outside societal norms and who lives according to a unique and, in his view, thoughtful and admirable code.