Stephen King Fans discussion

Discuss this short story below!

Temporary insanity? Perhaps the hitchhiker story is something Monette concocted in his head, hoping that denial would exculpate him from the wrath of guilt. As long as he believes his lie to be true, he is merely the Good Samaritan who has committed only a venial sin - safe, tolerable for the moment - but reality doesn't stay away very long, does it? No, in fact, it's always there, but so is the opportunity for it to be severely warped.

What I love about Stephen King is that you can never just take his writing at face value; there's always something more beneath the surface, but we don't always want to see it. The short stories in this collection are dark reflections of life.

Good way to look at it Jilly! I think the hitchhiker really thought he was doing something good, but the fact that he might have been mentally unstable probably didn't help with that. I find it interesting that the priest was so casual about the whole thing, meaning they seemed like friends but didn't the guy say it had been years since he went to confession?

He probably made up the hitchhiker story on the spot while in the confessional booth. I say this because, initially, it took him a while to speak, but after he looked at the word "Mute" again on that file card in front of him, his story seemed to flow...

I find it interesting that he told the priest the hitchhiker robbed him of his "peace of mind."

So did the main character kill his wife and her lover do you think?

Yes, that's what I'm led to believe. What do you think happened?

I took it literally, I thought the hitchhiker fakes being mute and deaf so maybe people will take sympathy on him and give him a ride and then listened to this guy's story and decided to take care of business for the generosity he showed picking him up.

I considered that interpretation too. That's the beauty of his stories though - they often leave you wondering what really happened.

Im not sure either ladies like you both im not sure I guess it could be either one take your pick!

I thought that it was him until he told the priest that the police said his albiet was "airtight". But like any of King's short stories he leaves the reader wondering.

This story was also one of my favorite stories from the book. I, too, took it as literal and that the hitchhiker was just faking being deaf/mute. I was sure about half way through that he was faking and that something bad was going to happen because of it.

I too thought it literal, but oooooh now that I think of it, it would almost be a better story if the main guy set up the hitchhiker for "his" fall. Thats why discussions like these are great, they bring new situations to light!!

Interesting. I never considered the possibility of the husband being the guilty party until it was mentioned here......I don't know what to think. I love that it leaves you wondering. Who actually committed the murders? Hmmm?

I tend to think the word mute on the confessional card points toward the husband's guilt. Anyone smart enough to come up with a story like that could fake an alibi. I would also suspect it was for his daughter's sake that he needed an alibi so tight. If not for her, I don't think he would have cared. As far as the priest's attitude... I would guess they hear quite a bit they need to take with a grain of salt. If they took everything they heard, in the confessional, as truth, they wouldn't get much sleep!

One time I went to confession and on my way out the priest told me to pray for him. Like my sins were so bad he was going to be stressed out by them so I should pray for him or what? I still don't get what he meant by that!