Knight, Knave, and Squire: Wyatt is the collected, stoic knight Billy is the hot-tempered knave and George is the naive, yet occasionally insightful squire.

Kill 'Em All: By the end of the film, George, Billy, and Wyatt are dead.

Then again, he was played by Dennis Hopper. Hippie: Your little heart is set on that, uh ?

It's Always Mardi Gras in New Orleans: See Road Trip Plot.

Hot Springs Episode: In the Southwest, Wyatt and Billy play around in one with some of the local female commune members.

Reputedly an Odd Couple due to Real Life Writes the Plot, with Fonda as the Straight Man and Hopper as the Cloud Cuckoo Lander best friend.

Heterosexual Life-Partners: Wyatt and Billy.

As Wyatt goes to get help, his bike gets shot and blown up.

The Hero Dies: Billy is shot by a redneck trucker.

Hard-Drinking Party Girl: George is a male example.

Good Ol' Boy: The southern locals don't take kindly to long-haired city boys riding through their communities.

Going to See the Elephant: Wyatt and Billy go on a quest to discover America, with New Orleans as the ultimate elephant.

They are both killed in the end by a trucker, seemingly for kicks. At best the bikers are just harmless drifters but the people of the towns they visit regard them as menaces.

Genre Deconstruction: The film deconstructs the biker genre.

That Downer Ending doesn't come entirely out of nowhere.

While in the brothel in New Orleans, Wyatt leans against a fireplace with 'The paths of glory lead only to the grave' written on it, notices a painted scroll saying that a man's death sets his reputation, and then we see something burning at the side of the road for a few seconds.

Around a campfire at night, George explains that people are scared by the heroes' sense of freedom, and that it makes them dangerous.The redneck shoots him and then Wyatt dead.

Flipping the Bird: A redneck hassles Billy from a truck.Then they head out on their bikes to 'Born to be Wild'. Establishing Character Music: Our heroes are introduced during a drug deal set to Steppenwolf's 'The Pusher'.Then the action moves to the Deep South, the horizon gets a lot closer, and the threat level gets a lot higher. Our hippy biker heroes get hassled by the cops, but they also meet friendly and cooperative people. Environmental Symbolism: The film starts in the open landscape of the south west USA.Downer Ending: The film ends with a textbook example of Diabolus ex Machina when Wyatt and Billy are killed by a group of rednecks just when they decide to leave the drug business behind and live a life of luxury.Diabolus ex Machina: A most triumphant example as our heroes are about to embark to Florida to start their life of luxury, and then, some hillbillies shoot them.Deep South: Portrayed as xenophobic and violent.Cult Soundtrack: One of the first rock-based soundtracks, including songs by Steppenwolf ('Born to Be Wild', 'The Pusher), The Band ('The Weight'), The Byrds ('Wasn't Born to Follow'), Jimi Hendrix ('If 6 Was 9'), and Roger McGuinn (' Ballad of Easy Rider').The group of men openly talking about beating up the Yankee hippies include local law enforcement. Billy, Wyatt and George go into a diner in the Deep South.After George gets Billy and Wyatt out of the small-town jail, he thanks the police, and something passes from his hands to theirs.Conspiracy Theorist: George Hanson is fairly certain that aliens already live amongst us, and that they are not revealed by our government because of the general panic that would ensue.

Billy easy rider