In their Freakonomics podcast titled, “Where Have All the Hitchhikers Gone?” Stephen J. Dubner and Stephen D. Levitt discuss the most probable reasons for why hitchhiking has dramatically declined almost to the point of extinction in recent years and how it has affected modern society through an economic viewpoint. The two main motives discussed for why the demand of hitchhiking has plummeted since the early-80’s are that Americans began to fear hitchhiking because they saw it as dangerous and because transportation became cheaper and more readily available. During the 60’s and 70’s hitchhiking was considered a matching market, in other words, there were always some people who wanted to hitch a ride and there were always people willing to
The reaction and effectiveness of this poster might have been different in today’s society because Americans take full advantage of carpooling. The creation of Uber and Lyft are methods Americans use to carpool. This poster marked the beginning of a new tradition in American culture. Carpooling since 1945 has been a method to save gas and money. Overall during my analysis, I was able to put myself in the mindset of an American citizen during this time period. In today’s society, this poster would be effective to Americans including myself because we actually take advantage of carpooling in our daily
“The Hitchhiker,” by Lucille Fletcher, narrates the unusual happenings Ronald Adams, the protagonist, experiences, while driving along the deserted and densely populated roads of the United States. Adams continually observes a hitchhiker, whom he first saw, having almost hit him, on the Brooklyn Bridge, and apprehends traveling on the highways, for fear this phantasmal man shall reappear. Struggling to grasp reality once receiving news of his mother’s breakdown after the death of her son, Ronald Adams, he reverts his attention to the hitchhiker, the realization of never having been who he thought he was, and being alone without protection from the traveler, both wrench his mind in two. Lucille Fletcher uses suspense to build the plot of, “The
Since the beginning of the United States the American people have been on the move. Public transportation has played a major role in the development of this nation and in bringing its citizens together. In the book “Divided Highways”, author Tom Lewis takes the reader on a journey of the building of the Interstates and the consequences(good and bad) that came from them. Lewis believes that the Interstates are a physical characteristic of America and that it shows “all our glory and our meanness; all our vision and our shortsightedness”(xiv).
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, space is a pretty messed up place. Visiting planets like Magrathea, the richest planet of all time; nearly being killed by the Vogons, and finding the answer to the universe are all some of the crazy adventures the group goes on. Adams really thinks outside of the box for this book, it is filled with chaos and lunacy, but also some romance. It is evident in this novel that the theme is love, which can be shown through the ridiculous adventures Arthur and Trillian journey on.
The drama in the story “The Hitchhiker” has a lot of different technical elements, such as sound effects and music. These elements affect the story because they bring the life to what he is saying. It’s giving us a way to imagine what he is doing and where he is going. When the music starts playing, it's foreshadowing. The music usually means that Ronald is about to see the hitchhiker on the side of the road and it is giving us a hint of how long it will be until he sees him. The music also gives us an idea of what he is thinking. The music starts getting faster when something good is about to happen. The music then gets slower when the story starts to calm down and isn’t very exciting. An example of when the music is slower is when Ronald
After hitchhiking across multiple countries, HitchBots’ hike was ended in downtown Philadelphia.“Created through a collaboration between McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and Ryerson University in Toronto, its inventors said they planned to have the robot hitchhike from East Coast to West Coast as part of a social experiment,”(The Recorder 1). They created a robot that would rely on the kindness of strangers to take it to it’s next destination. “It was designed to be unfailingly polite in its requests for help and could carry on a limited conversation,”(Carter 2).And could also share a number of factoids along the way. He had a GPS inside the body to allow his creators to keep track on him. But before HitchBot made his way onto the United States he had already traveled across Canada, the Netherlands, and Germany. Some strangers
The Hitchhiking Game describes an internal combat that focuses on internal character and the discovery of new selves within. Kundera presents to the audience a story about a young man and a girl who lose themselves while trying to portray someone they customarily are not. Throughout their portrayal of “happy-go-lucky” and “irresponsible” strangers, the young man loses trust in the girl and is never able to view her the same way again. Although the girl did not want to advance the game once she recognized his aversion towards her actions, he was too invested in the role he was portraying to turn back. He became disgusted with the “alien whore” she had become and at once stopped treating her with the respect and love he had before, and began treating her as an object of desire. It is apparent that Kundera believes we are very complex creatures that do not have a static and stable character. Kundera wrote, “perhaps it was a part of her being which had formerly been locked up and which the pretext of the game had let out of its cage.”(pg.123) I think this quote successfully encapsulates the way Kundera perceives our character and how divergent it can be.
The great changes in American society that came with the introduction bicycle in the late 19th century are often overshadowed by the influence of the automobile in the following decades. Today, bicycles are often seen as an alternative mode of transportation - a cleaner and more environmentally conscious form of travel. Because of this, it may be difficult to realize the incredible modernizing effects that bicycles had on American society when they were first introduced. Manufacturing and marketing techniques introduced by the bicycle industry were massive steps towards modern industrial practices. In addition, by making individual travel available to many people for the first time, bicycles changed the speed at which life flowed in much of America. Bicycles granted a degree of personal freedom of mobility to many for the first time, and their effect on the women's rights movement of the time was notable. Bicycles were used in war, by police, and by the postal service, among others. In countless walks of life, the availability of personal travel offered by bicycles had an incredible impact on American society.
In today's day and age, an increasing urgency must be put on the issue of transportation and its relation to society. Man owes it to himself to address the issue of transportation with practicality and, as one of the biggest polluters, ultimate discretion. One of the most practical and responsible forms of transportation available today is mass transit. However, a problem is present in American society in that mass transit is not as plentiful as it should be. Societies' across the globe are embracing mass transit much more quickly than Americans are. This problem can be remedied through proper education of the benefits of mass transit. Mass transit is the ideal future of travel for several reasons. Of note: “mass transit costs less to the community, needs less urban space, is less energy-intensive, pollutes less, is the safest mode, improves accessibility to jobs, and offers mobility for all” (1). Mass transit is also a highly flexible mode of transportation, with many different methods of travel available. Of note for these: metros, buses, carpooling, light rail, and waterborne transports. Proponents of mass transit claim it will find solutions to problems concerning the economy, the environment, and the energy crisis, as well as improving overall quality of life (2). Each of these ideas will be examined more in-depth.
The American economy has suffered many financial blows in the recent years, but none have such a drastic and heavy effect on the average American than the rising gas prices. A solution to the Gas Crisis, a new and formidable crisis involving the high cost for gasoline powered transportation, must have widespread results across American commuters to either increase the efficiency of drivers, drastically lower gas prices, or provide alternate modes of transportation, consequently allowing for American commuters to be able to efficiently transport themselves at a moderate price.
It’s fair to say that life on the road is something most people do not desire, as a way to live out their days; but a young man named Chris McCandless believed it was necessary to avoid the venomous grips of society. McCandless goes as far as to venture out to the rest of the United States and even crossing borders to achieve his true destination, Alaska. He shows us living such a life can hold many unique and wonderful experiences. Consequently, he also shows us the difficulties that most do not expect upon leaving for such a journey. Many speak about the advantages, like the freedom they enjoy, and the wondrous relationships formed along the way; but even so, some disadvantages outweigh the advantages, like the
with black cab companies, in which they were allowed to get a ride for a
Imagine sitting in the front seat of a car, watching a movie, eating popcorn and other good food, and running into other friends and family members. This was a common occurrence with drive-in movie theaters during the 1960s.Teenagers mostly went to the drive-ins because they would see how many people they could fit into a car trunk to lower the admission price. Families with younger kids enjoyed going to the drive-ins because it was a major convenience for them. For some people they went to the drive-ins to get away from their families and friends. Drive-ins were a popular form of entertainment during the 1960s.Drive-ins were designed to give people more room rather than be cramped in seats in a traditional
Some people believe that the benefits of the automobile far outweigh the consequences. These people enjoy their privacy and the convenience of the automobile. There are no schedules to keep track of. A person can come and go from a destination at their own free will. They also have the ability to travel and see scenery that people limited to public transportation cannot. Today there is about one car on the road for every person of driving age in the United States. People for alternative forms of transportation think that people who support cars should be penalized for using them. They believe that they should pay more taxes for the convenience of owning an automobile. In Europe, anti-auto policies are in effect and Europeans still buy cars. James Q. Wilson in "Cars and Their Enemies" gives the example, "Despite policies that penalize car use, make travel expensive, and restrict parking spaces, Europeans, once they can afford to do so, buy cars, and drive them" (306). Cars are just too convenient to get rid of.
On the contrary, using private car is the same convenience of travelling as public transport. When people are in a hurry, they can suddenly go ev...