A Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Analysis

For readers of Douglas Adam’s novel A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it is evident that nothing Adams writes is to be taken seriously. The world in this novel is full of absurdities that may not make sense to the reader, because they have no reason in being talked about. Adams strategically places ridiculous conversations and situations all throughout the novel for the characters to encounter, especially when they are not possible. Memorable absurd moments in the novel come when the humans are told Earth is about to be blasted, Ford and Arthur are picked up by the Heart of Gold, the disappointing Answer to the Great Question, Arthur’s encounter with Slartibartfast while on Magrathea, and Ford and Arthur’s run in with the police. One of the early absurdities occurs when Arthur and Ford are still on Earth before it explodes and the aliens makes an announcement over a PA system to let the humans know their planet is about to be demolished. Met with terror and outrage from humans due to the lack of notice, the aliens go on to tell the humans the plans for …show more content…
With such an extensive name, you would think the answer would be great and make you question all you have ever known. Adams, staying true to the theme of the novel, decides not to use that tactic, and instead make the answer something simple: forty-two. Considering the Magratheans spent seven million years developing the Deep Thought program only to be met with utter dissatisfaction for it’s answer, is not only upsetting to them, but it upsets the reader too. I felt extreme disappointment with the answer as well, and while I knew it was meant to contribute to the theme of absurdity and be funny, I found myself wishing Adams actually would provide a serious answer, despite it not fitting in with the novel. But of course, I did laugh at the answer so it was not totally