The Effect of Absurdity in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is a very unique book and has many different elements that set it apart from other science fiction novels. The story has interesting and relatable characters and the writing style is humorous and clever. However, what really makes this story stand out is the absurdity of some of the things the characters encounter while they travel through the universe after Earth is destroyed. “The Hitchhiker series depicts a universe at whose heart is improbability and coincidence rather than the relentlessly consistent, logical laws (even if they do vary from our current state of science) central to conventional science fiction” (Currier).
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An example of this is when Ford and Arthur first board the Heart of Gold and they are waiting to be taken up to see the captain of the ship. After Ford turns into a penguin and Arthur loses his limbs, Arthur states, “there's an infinite number of monkeys outside who want to talk to us about this script for Hamlet they've worked out” (Adams 84). All of the absurdity in the story is especially hard for Arthur because he is the only character that has not been in space before. Throughout the book, Arthur is trying to come to terms with the fact that the Earth is gone and that aliens exist, and all of the bizarre events and people are making it much harder. Even though many of these illogical situations are dangerous, a few of them helped the characters, or even saved their lives. For example, if the Heart of Gold hadn’t happened been there to rescue Ford and Arthur after being kicked out of the Vogon ship, they would have died in less than thirty seconds. But, the Improbability Drive allowed Trillian and Zaphod to be at the right spot to save them. “Characters are constantly trying to explain the sense of their actions, ignoring the chaos around them” (Hitchhiker’s). Due to these coincidences and absurd events, the characters are always on their toes and trying to makes sense of the world around
An example of this is when Ford and Arthur first board the Heart of Gold and they are waiting to be taken up to see the captain of the ship. After Ford turns into a penguin and Arthur loses his limbs, Arthur states, “there's an infinite number of monkeys outside who want to talk to us about this script for Hamlet they've worked out” (Adams 84). All of the absurdity in the story is especially hard for Arthur because he is the only character that has not been in space before. Throughout the book, Arthur is trying to come to terms with the fact that the Earth is gone and that aliens exist, and all of the bizarre events and people are making it much harder. Even though many of these illogical situations are dangerous, a few of them helped the characters, or even saved their lives. For example, if the Heart of Gold hadn’t happened been there to rescue Ford and Arthur after being kicked out of the Vogon ship, they would have died in less than thirty seconds. But, the Improbability Drive allowed Trillian and Zaphod to be at the right spot to save them. “Characters are constantly trying to explain the sense of their actions, ignoring the chaos around them” (Hitchhiker’s). Due to these coincidences and absurd events, the characters are always on their toes and trying to makes sense of the world around