"The Hitchikers" Eudora Welty

In 1940 door to door sales was a booming industry, cars were commonly owned which allowed men like Tom Harris, a travelling salesman and the main character in "The Hitchhikers," to travel to places where his merchandise was affordable and wanted.  In the early 40's, because of the war, unemployment was almost unheard of.  Even children like my grandfather were making money by collecting rubber, metal, and paper to sell to companies in support of the war.  America had a safer reputation in those days, and hitchhiking to destinations was common.  This false sense of security coupled by boredom and the fear of falling asleep leads Tom into picking up two drifters.  One of the drifters was talkative and carrying a guitar, the other quiet and stoic.  To try and explain this safer reputation that was in the U.S. at the time I am led to believe that since televisions were still a luxury and media didn't cover national stories with as much frequency people never heard of the murders, rapes, and other horrific crimes that were occurring in other areas.  Fear in strangers that were Americans was nowhere near the fear level that has been instilled in my generation.  My mother and father told me fear strangers and never ever pick up hitchhikers because they may just murder you.  Tom could have used this little piece of advice.  According to Eudora Welty's biography this story seems a little outside of her normal works.  Welty was known to write about childhood and love.  "The Hitchhikers" centers around a murder, a murder committed for no good reason.  Harris's reputation was also addressed, people that knew him seemed to love him.  I feel this love for Harris may be contributed to his constant travels, he blows into town, has some fun than fades away as quickly as he appeared.  .