Ghostly Hitchhiker Comprehension Worksheet
Radio Drama Literary Assessment
The Hitchhiker
Lucille Fletcher (1941)
20 Comprehension Questions
Student:
Date:
Period:
Score:
/ 20
Directions: Read each question carefully regarding Lucille Fletcher's radio play. Select the best answer for each question and clearly fill in or circle the corresponding letter bubble.
- What is Ronald Adams's destination and primary reason for his cross-country journey?
A Driving to Hollywood, California, for work
B Moving to Chicago to start a new business
C Traveling to Florida to visit an ailing relative
D Fleeing New York to escape legal trouble
- What specific warnings does Ronald's mother give him before he departs Brooklyn?
A Avoid the desert heat and inspect his tires
B Never drive at night and stay in licensed hotels
C Always keep his gas tank at least half full
D Do not pick up hitchhikers and take care on bridges
- Where does Ronald first catch sight of the mysterious hitchhiker?
A Outside an all-night diner in New Jersey
B Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge in a damp drizzle
C Near a toll booth on the Pennsylvania Turnpike
D Beside an abandoned gas station in Ohio
- What unusual physical detail about the hitchhiker unnerves Ronald throughout his trip?
A Fresh water droplets cling to his cap in the hot sun
B He wears winter gloves and snow boots in summer
C He holds a glowing lantern in broad daylight
D A dark scar stretches entirely across his face
- What single personal belonging does the hitchhiker consistently carry?
A A cardboard sign marked "WEST COAST"
B An empty metal gasoline canister
C A small, cheap overnight bag bundled under his arm
D A folded leather briefcase with brass locks
The Hitchhiker Comprehension Assessment Page 1 of 4
Part I: The Cross-Country Pursuit
Questions 6 – 10
- Why is Ronald so deeply disturbed when he sees the same hitchhiker along the Pennsylvania Turnpike?
A The man called out Ronald's home address
B The man was riding inside a police cruiser
C It was impossible for a pedestrian to outrun his fast automobile
D Ronald recognized the man as an old schoolmate
- How do roadside attendants and store owners react when Ronald asks if they have seen the hitchhiker?
A They report seeing dozens of hitchhikers on the turnpike
B They look at him suspiciously and insist no one hitchhikes there
C They warn him that the man is a wanted fugitive
D They claim they gave the identical man a ride earlier
- What dangerous event occurs when Ronald deliberately attempts to run down the hitchhiker?
A He skids into a deep ditch and breaks his front axle
B A highway patrol car corners him and writes a citation
C The hitchhiker dissolves instantly into a cloud of smoke
D His car engine stalls directly on tracks in front of a speeding train
- Why does Ronald pick up a female hitchhiker in Oklahoma, violating his mother's rule?
A He wants someone to pay for tolls and buy dinner
B He is desperate for companionship to prove he has not lost his mind
C She promises to guide him through hazardous mountain roads
D She claims to have witnessed a crime on the turnpike
- What causes the female passenger to flee Ronald's car in absolute panic?
A Ronald suddenly swerves to hit a phantom figure she cannot see
B Ronald brandishes a weapon and demands she surrender her money
C The car runs out of gasoline in an unlit canyon
D Ronald confesses that he escaped from a correctional facility
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Part II: Psychological Descent & Craft
Questions 11 – 15
- How does Ronald Adams's physical and psychological condition deteriorate as he travels west?
A He stops caring about reaching California and looks for work
B He becomes aggressive and starts challenging local sheriffs
C He becomes haggard, insomniac, obsessed, and paralyzed by dread
D He convinces himself the encounters were mere desert mirages
- Because *The Hitchhiker* was written for radio, which dramatic technique primarily reveals Ronald's mounting fear?
A Letters to his mother read aloud by a narrator
B First-person internal monologue paired with eerie audio effects
C A third-person detached announcer describing highway scenery
D Interviews between highway police officers and local doctors
- What literary device is exemplified by repeated references to the Brooklyn Bridge accident, rain, and coldness?
A Satire
B Comic relief
C Understatement
D Foreshadowing
- From which specific town does Ronald stop to place a long-distance phone call to his mother?
A Gallup, New Mexico
B Amarillo, Texas
C Flagstaff, Arizona
D Pasadena, California
- When the operator connects the long-distance call to Brooklyn, who answers Ronald's home telephone?
A His mother, who sounds delighted and relieved
B A police sergeant investigating Ronald's disappearance
C A strange woman who explains she is looking after the home
D The hitchhiker, who whispers softly over the connection
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Part III: The Climactic Revelation
Questions 16 – 20
- What explanation does the woman on the telephone provide about Mrs. Adams's whereabouts?
A She moved south after selling her Brooklyn home
B She is hospitalized with a nervous breakdown brought on by grief
C She boarded a cross-country train to find her son
D She was taken into protective custody by federal agents
- What shocking truth is disclosed regarding Ronald Adams during the telephone conversation?
A His vehicle was stolen by an escaped mental patient
B He has a twin brother who vanished in California
C He died six days earlier in a car crash on the Brooklyn Bridge
D He was reported missing by his employer five days ago
- Considering the play's twist ending, what did the recurring hitchhiker personify?
A Ronald's guilt over leaving his dependent mother
B A restless ghost haunting the American highway system
C An undercover detective observing highway travelers
D Death / Grim Reaper, waiting for Ronald to accept his demise
- Why was the female passenger in Oklahoma completely unable to see the hitchhiker?
A The roadside was pitch black and she wasn't paying attention
B The phantom was visible only to Ronald, who was already deceased
C The hitchhiker was crouching behind a wire fence
D She suffered from poor vision and lacked corrective lenses
- What profound realization marks Ronald Adams's final lines at the conclusion of the broadcast?
A He realizes he is dead and questions who and what he has become
B He plans to flee across the border to escape prosecution
C He wakes up in his Brooklyn bed, realizing it was a nightmare
D He resolves to turn his automobile around and drive back home
Critical Thinking Note
Notice how Lucille Fletcher utilizes auditory cues—the repetitive clicking of the car wheels, the sound of rain, and the phone operator's flat voice—to transition Ronald Adams from denial into tragic realization.
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