White Sands Essay

1475 Words6 Pages
Analysis of “White Sands” by Geoff Dyer The White Sands by Geoff Dyer is a story about a couple who is driving through the White Sands National Monument, near Alamogordo. They see a hitch-hiker, and decide to offer him a ride, yet moments later see a sign which says not to pick up any hitch-hikers. This causes a lot of awkward tension between everyone, and it doesn’t help when a spooky song starts playing on the radio, creating even more nerves within the couple. There are three characters in this story. There is the narrator, his wife Jessica, and the hitch-hiker. The couple is introduced straight from the beginning in the story, and the hitch-hiker is seen during the sixth paragraph. The couples seem to be ordinary people, just going along with their trip, and are friendly enough to offer a stranger a ride. They are cautious because they did take a good look at his presence, yet maybe are a little naïve because they don’t know what he could be hiding. The hitch-hiker is a young black male, and although he isn’t a mean individual, he does say some comments like, “I am not inclined to get out of the car”, which can make him a potential threat. The sign saying not to pick up hitch-hikers caused each of the occupants to feel tense, and the lyrics of the Doors’ song increases this feeling within the car. The narrator and his wife are driving South of Alamogordo when they spot a hitch-hiker on the side of the road. He was a black male, in his late twenties; he looked clean and had a nice smile. The hitch-hiker asks the couple where they are going and the narrator responds by saying El Paso, which seems to be in the area where he needs to go, so they let him come in. They all converse in small talk, asking a question about where everyone is from and a pleasant atmosphere has been made, but not for long. Just a minute later, a sign reading “NOTICE: DO NOT PICK UP
Open Document