The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The author of this book is Douglas Adams who was educated on Cambridge and studied English.
The title of the book is the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
There is no subtitle.
The story was first created as a radio series in 1978, and the book was first published in 1979.
My edition was : 2002 published by Gollancz
There are 178 pages (Pocket size).
The cover of the book is not very much related to the central theme. The text at the back is only a small summary, there are no special comments.
Summary
This novel is about Arthur Dent and what happened to him during his travels across the universe. It all starts when Arthur Dent is shocked when he finds bulldozers outside his house one morning, and they’re not coming over just for a cup of tea. They are there to demolish his house. His house needs to be demolished to make way for a new highway bypass. Initially Arthur resists by refusing to get out of the way of the bulldozers. Then his friend Ford Prefect shows up and convinces Arthur to get up and go with him to a pub because “it’s the end of the world”
Ford is right, ironically the entire planet is scheduled to be demolished by the Vogons to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. The entire planet is going to suffer the same fate as Arthur’s house. In this pub after a few drinks Ford tells Arthur that he is an alien. Ford is a galactic Hitchhiker who works for the “Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy” He was sent to earth to study the planet.
the “Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, is exactly what it says it is, it contains detailed data about almost if not all places in the universe.
Ford manages to contact someone aboard one of the Vogon spaceships and they get ‘beamed’ aboard. This is where Arthur’s wild adventure starts. Arthur and Ford soon found themselves to be unwelcome aboard the Vogon ship. They are tortured with some really, really bad poetry and then they’re thrown off the ship into deep space.
Because there is no air in space their addiction to oxygen is proving problematic.
They only have a few seconds to live..it seems impossible that they somehow are to be rescued, the chance that they will be rescued is as good as non-existant. This very small chance turns out to be their salvation. Just when they are about to die they are picked up by a spaceship which appears out of nothing, it is called the Heart of gold.
This ship is piloted by Zaphod Beeblebrox, who stole the ship from the Imperial Galactic Government, of which he himself is the president.
The ship uses an “Improbability Drive” Don’t ask me how it works..we don’t know. In fact noone knows.
This Improbability Drive, makes a space ship go faster than you could imagine. The first ‘thing’ Arthur an Ford meet aboard this ship was Marvin that was also known as Paranoid Android, because of his depression, and pessimism.
Marvin had a conversation with them and then led them to the president of the universe called Zaphod Beeblebrox which was a nephew of Ford Prefect. Zaphod had been the President of the universe for some time now, but basically did not have any power at all. Arthur and Ford also met a woman, who had been picked up by Zaphod, and listened to the name Trillian. She was also from Earth. After they had traveled for a while, they came on a planet called Magrathea. This planet people did not believe to exist, because it only appeared in stories, now seemed to exist. Magrathea had always been known as an ancient paradise, on which the highly evolved species once lived. This planet, that was dormant for thousands years now, appeared to be hostile towards Zaphod’s ship. An old defense system fired missiles at them and it was know most likely Arthur and his friends would die. But then they decided to use the Improbability Drive on the incoming missiles which turned them into a whale and potted petunia plant. Then they decided to land on the planet to go and investigate the planet. There Zaphod, Arthur and Ford decide to enter a tunnel and go and take a look at the planet. After a short period of time they met a man, called Startiblartfast. He explained to them that the inhabitants of Magrathea created the earth in order to find the ultimate question of ‘life, the universe and everything…” Millions of year ago a super-super-super computer named deep-thought had already discovered that the ultimate answer to “life, the universe and everything…” was “42” but it didn’t know what the question was.
The planet Magrathea had gone into stasis for many years due to galactic economic depression, no one had the money anymore to buy a custom-built planet. Arthur and his friends discover that Earth was apparently a huge computer, built to discover the ultimate question to which the answer was 42. It seems all the organisms on the planet were linked without them knowing it and their brains were like lots of little computers all working together, and it was very close to finding the answer, well actually the question. But because the Vogons demolished it the question was lost.
It then becomes apparent that the Magratheans did not mastermind the whole thing.
And it turns out that humans weren’t the smartest beings on the planet. In fact they ended up on 3rd place. The smartest beings on the planet earth were the mice, dolphins took 2nd place. Mice were actually interdimensional beings, they only APPEARED in our universe as mice but in fact they were much much more. They had contracted the magratheans to build Earth for them. Suffice to say the mice were not pleased that their super computer (the Earth) had been destroyed especially while they were so close to finding the ultimate question.
A few mice confronted Arthur, they thought that the ultimate question was imprinted into Arthur’s brain just before the planet was destroyed, so they were eager to get inside his brain. Arthur wasn’t too pleased with the prospect of a few mice taking his brains apart because he liked his brains and he needed them. And having them taken apart tends to make it difficult for one to stay alive.
Arthur and his friends fled the planet of Magrarthea with their space ship the heart of gold. After all that action, Zaphod suggested they go for a snack at the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Analysis of Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy
Genre: The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy is a science-fiction comedy.
Theme of the book: It’s hard to describe an actual central theme in this book because of the typical and almost absurd humour which Britain’s are widely known for (for example Monty Python).
Irony is a big player in this book, as Arthur dent’s house first gets demolished to make way for a new freeway bypass, the very same day the entire planet suffers the very same fate as the Vogons demolish it to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. This book isn’t as much about exploring our galaxy then it is about drifting across it out of necessity because Arthur is effectively homeless. And is forced to take part in all kinds of crazy things simply because hasn’t anything better to do anyway. Friendship is also very important, if it wasn’t for ford Arthur would be lost. However the ultimate goal of the main characters is to (unknowingly to them) find the ultimate question that precedes the ultimate answer to the question of ‘life, the universe, and everything..)
Some
motives:
Powerlessness: Things are largely out of Arthur’s control, the destruction of his home and his planet are inevitable.
Unpredictability, it is very difficult for the reader to predict how events and situations are going to unfold and develop, since they often take a total and absurd turn for the unexpected.
Space travel: Space travel is big issue in the book and it’s what makes the whole book possible in the first place. It is often dangerous and can lead to unforeseen events.
Adventure: Arthur and his friends embark on one adventure after another, even though they don’t always intend to.
Questions and answers: The ultimate answer to ‘life, the universe and everything’ is ‘42’ but what was the question? This is the holy grail of the book.
Characters:
Arthur Dent: is only one of two humans still alive, his home has been demolished, his planet along with everyone on it was destroyed and his day has thus pretty much been ruined. Dressed in his bathrobe and totally dependant on his friend Ford prefect he discovers the galaxy is a very busy and crowded place full of wonder, absurdity and danger.
Ford Prefect: Ford prefect is from the Betelgeuse system and a hitchhiker, in fact he works for ‘the guide’. When he first came to the planet Earth he wanted to blend in with whatever species were dominant on the planet. He made a mistake though and thought cars were the dominant species on the planet, hence his name Ford Prefect, which is a car, a rather unsuccessful one I’ve been told. Ford is an experienced hitchhiker, all he needs is his guide and a towel. He’s the closest friend Arthur has.
Zaphod Beeblebrox: This two headed guy is quite the character, he lives fast for his own pleasure and wealth, which he can use to buy more pleasure. He is irresponsible and a free spirit. He cares for little other things then his own pleasure. Ow, and he is also the President of the galaxy. However in reality this doesn’t mean anything he has no real power.
But now that he has stolen the Heart of Gold he might as well be considered an ex-President.
Trillian: Trillian is also human Arthur knows her, from before planet Earth was demolished,. She was picked up by Zaphod Beeblebrox and became his girlfriend. Arthur might fancy her just a tad but who would dump the President of the galaxy for some shabby homeless guy?
Marvin the Android: Marvin is an android, a hyper intelligent robot if you will.
Marvin has a bit of a problem, namely, he is always very depressed and thus always pessimistic and quick to point out the downside of things. Even if it look’s like there’s no downside you can expect him to find one. Nothing can cure him of his depression. Arthur and his friends know this and thus don’t even try.
Time and Space:
I can’t pinpoint a date or year of when the Earth was demolished and thus the story started. so we’re going to go for ”late in the 20th century”
The entire story takes part in the galaxy, our own milky-way galaxy. It is a very big place however and thus Arthur and his friends visit only a few places, one of them being the planet Magrathea, home of a people who used to build custom planets. In fact this is where the Earth was built. And the Scandinavian Fjords appear to be a work of planetary art that won the artist many awards across the galaxy.
Point of view
Adams uses the third person view, the narrator is often if not always omniscient and also very humorous, the narrator often explains things or foreshadows certain events. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of dialog though.
Style
You need to possess an extensive vocabulary if you want to understand every word of this book. Although there are some words we’ve never heard of, not understanding them does not seriously impede your understanding of what is happening. The book is very easy going, there are no confusing sentences or other difficulties which can get in your way.
Structure
The story is told chronologically and consists of multiple storylines, there is no real climax, however there are some startling revelations. The story varies a lot which keeps it interesting.
The author of this book is Douglas Adams who was educated on Cambridge and studied English.
The title of the book is the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
There is no subtitle.
The story was first created as a radio series in 1978, and the book was first published in 1979.
My edition was : 2002 published by Gollancz
There are 178 pages (Pocket size).
The cover of the book is not very much related to the central theme. The text at the back is only a small summary, there are no special comments.
Summary
This novel is about Arthur Dent and what happened to him during his travels across the universe. It all starts when Arthur Dent is shocked when he finds bulldozers outside his house one morning, and they’re not coming over just for a cup of tea. They are there to demolish his house. His house needs to be demolished to make way for a new highway bypass. Initially Arthur resists by refusing to get out of the way of the bulldozers. Then his friend Ford Prefect shows up and convinces Arthur to get up and go with him to a pub because “it’s the end of the world”
the “Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, is exactly what it says it is, it contains detailed data about almost if not all places in the universe.
Ford manages to contact someone aboard one of the Vogon spaceships and they get ‘beamed’ aboard. This is where Arthur’s wild adventure starts. Arthur and Ford soon found themselves to be unwelcome aboard the Vogon ship. They are tortured with some really, really bad poetry and then they’re thrown off the ship into deep space.
Because there is no air in space their addiction to oxygen is proving problematic.
They only have a few seconds to live..it seems impossible that they somehow are to be rescued, the chance that they will be rescued is as good as non-existant. This very small chance turns out to be their salvation. Just when they are about to die they are picked up by a spaceship which appears out of nothing, it is called the Heart of gold.
This ship is piloted by Zaphod Beeblebrox, who stole the ship from the Imperial Galactic Government, of which he himself is the president.
The ship uses an “Improbability Drive” Don’t ask me how it works..we don’t know. In fact noone knows.
This Improbability Drive, makes a space ship go faster than you could imagine. The first ‘thing’ Arthur an Ford meet aboard this ship was Marvin that was also known as Paranoid Android, because of his depression, and pessimism.
Marvin had a conversation with them and then led them to the president of the universe called Zaphod Beeblebrox which was a nephew of Ford Prefect. Zaphod had been the President of the universe for some time now, but basically did not have any power at all. Arthur and Ford also met a woman, who had been picked up by Zaphod, and listened to the name Trillian. She was also from Earth. After they had traveled for a while, they came on a planet called Magrathea. This planet people did not believe to exist, because it only appeared in stories, now seemed to exist. Magrathea had always been known as an ancient paradise, on which the highly evolved species once lived. This planet, that was dormant for thousands years now, appeared to be hostile towards Zaphod’s ship. An old defense system fired missiles at them and it was know most likely Arthur and his friends would die. But then they decided to use the Improbability Drive on the incoming missiles which turned them into a whale and potted petunia plant. Then they decided to land on the planet to go and investigate the planet. There Zaphod, Arthur and Ford decide to enter a tunnel and go and take a look at the planet. After a short period of time they met a man, called Startiblartfast. He explained to them that the inhabitants of Magrathea created the earth in order to find the ultimate question of ‘life, the universe and everything…” Millions of year ago a super-super-super computer named deep-thought had already discovered that the ultimate answer to “life, the universe and everything…” was “42” but it didn’t know what the question was.
The planet Magrathea had gone into stasis for many years due to galactic economic depression, no one had the money anymore to buy a custom-built planet. Arthur and his friends discover that Earth was apparently a huge computer, built to discover the ultimate question to which the answer was 42. It seems all the organisms on the planet were linked without them knowing it and their brains were like lots of little computers all working together, and it was very close to finding the answer, well actually the question. But because the Vogons demolished it the question was lost.
And it turns out that humans weren’t the smartest beings on the planet. In fact they ended up on 3rd place. The smartest beings on the planet earth were the mice, dolphins took 2nd place. Mice were actually interdimensional beings, they only APPEARED in our universe as mice but in fact they were much much more. They had contracted the magratheans to build Earth for them. Suffice to say the mice were not pleased that their super computer (the Earth) had been destroyed especially while they were so close to finding the ultimate question.
A few mice confronted Arthur, they thought that the ultimate question was imprinted into Arthur’s brain just before the planet was destroyed, so they were eager to get inside his brain. Arthur wasn’t too pleased with the prospect of a few mice taking his brains apart because he liked his brains and he needed them. And having them taken apart tends to make it difficult for one to stay alive.
Arthur and his friends fled the planet of Magrarthea with their space ship the heart of gold. After all that action, Zaphod suggested they go for a snack at the restaurant at the end of the universe.
Analysis of Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy
Genre: The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy is a science-fiction comedy.
Theme of the book: It’s hard to describe an actual central theme in this book because of the typical and almost absurd humour which Britain’s are widely known for (for example Monty Python).
Irony is a big player in this book, as Arthur dent’s house first gets demolished to make way for a new freeway bypass, the very same day the entire planet suffers the very same fate as the Vogons demolish it to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. This book isn’t as much about exploring our galaxy then it is about drifting across it out of necessity because Arthur is effectively homeless. And is forced to take part in all kinds of crazy things simply because hasn’t anything better to do anyway. Friendship is also very important, if it wasn’t for ford Arthur would be lost. However the ultimate goal of the main characters is to (unknowingly to them) find the ultimate question that precedes the ultimate answer to the question of ‘life, the universe, and everything..)
Some
Powerlessness: Things are largely out of Arthur’s control, the destruction of his home and his planet are inevitable.
Unpredictability, it is very difficult for the reader to predict how events and situations are going to unfold and develop, since they often take a total and absurd turn for the unexpected.
Space travel: Space travel is big issue in the book and it’s what makes the whole book possible in the first place. It is often dangerous and can lead to unforeseen events.
Adventure: Arthur and his friends embark on one adventure after another, even though they don’t always intend to.
Questions and answers: The ultimate answer to ‘life, the universe and everything’ is ‘42’ but what was the question? This is the holy grail of the book.
Characters:
Arthur Dent: is only one of two humans still alive, his home has been demolished, his planet along with everyone on it was destroyed and his day has thus pretty much been ruined. Dressed in his bathrobe and totally dependant on his friend Ford prefect he discovers the galaxy is a very busy and crowded place full of wonder, absurdity and danger.
Zaphod Beeblebrox: This two headed guy is quite the character, he lives fast for his own pleasure and wealth, which he can use to buy more pleasure. He is irresponsible and a free spirit. He cares for little other things then his own pleasure. Ow, and he is also the President of the galaxy. However in reality this doesn’t mean anything he has no real power.
But now that he has stolen the Heart of Gold he might as well be considered an ex-President.
Trillian: Trillian is also human Arthur knows her, from before planet Earth was demolished,. She was picked up by Zaphod Beeblebrox and became his girlfriend. Arthur might fancy her just a tad but who would dump the President of the galaxy for some shabby homeless guy?
Marvin the Android: Marvin is an android, a hyper intelligent robot if you will.
Marvin has a bit of a problem, namely, he is always very depressed and thus always pessimistic and quick to point out the downside of things. Even if it look’s like there’s no downside you can expect him to find one. Nothing can cure him of his depression. Arthur and his friends know this and thus don’t even try.
Time and Space:
I can’t pinpoint a date or year of when the Earth was demolished and thus the story started. so we’re going to go for ”late in the 20th century”
Point of view
Adams uses the third person view, the narrator is often if not always omniscient and also very humorous, the narrator often explains things or foreshadows certain events. This doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of dialog though.
Style
You need to possess an extensive vocabulary if you want to understand every word of this book. Although there are some words we’ve never heard of, not understanding them does not seriously impede your understanding of what is happening. The book is very easy going, there are no confusing sentences or other difficulties which can get in your way.
Structure
The story is told chronologically and consists of multiple storylines, there is no real climax, however there are some startling revelations. The story varies a lot which keeps it interesting.
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