The document analyzes an urban legend depicted in an image. The urban legend tells the story of an unsuspecting driver who is attacked by a man hiding in the backseat of their car. While the setting of a rural wooded area adds drama, most violent crimes actually occur in cities. The image depicts a man with a hook for a hand, playing on fears of being killed by a crazed killer like in the movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer." The lesson of the urban legend is to always check your backseat before driving due to the fear of an unknown attacker lurking.

1. -1 Based upon the lessons learned in class and my own ideas, I have developed my
definition of what an urban legend is. An urban legend is a story that catches your
interest through the use of emotion, drama, horror, or comedy, and usually contains a
twist in the storyline, and is meant to teach a lesson and or explain a fear or anxiety and
often evolves over time and cultures. An urban legend is told as the truth, although only
a small portion, if any at all, is true.
The picture provided depicts the urban legend in which an unsuspecting person,
usually a woman, is driving their vehicle, not knowing that someone is in their backseat
ready to attack and kill them.
From the picture one can assume the story takes place in a wooded, rural area.
The photograph plays on the idea that a crime of this sort can only happen deep in the
woods, even though most violent crimes occur in urban areas. Being in the forest of a
rural area is an example of how an urban legend uses the unknown setting to provide
drama.
The image of the man with a hook shows how the characteristics of a person and
the objects in the picture can illustrate horror in an urban legend. The man’s artificial
hand gives the viewer a mental image of how the victim will be killed. The outline of the
man wearing a fisherman’s hat gives us the image of a crazed killer as in the movie “I
Know What You Did Last Summer”. Even though most people have never heard of
anyone being killed by a fisherman with a hook for a hand, one can easily assume what is
about to happen to the driver. At the same time this image provides horror to the legend,
some may find the fisherman with a hook could provide comedy as well.
The lesson, or theme, one can conclude from the urban legend illustrated in the
picture is to always know your surroundings. To be more precise, always check the
backseat of your car before you get in or drive away because you never know when a
person, or a fisherman with a hook for a hand, will be there waiting to attack you.