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Essay / “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” Review Written by Douglas Adams
Have you ever wondered what the meaning of life is? If so, it will be another 7.5 million years since Earth was destroyed 5 minutes before the answer is revealed. Luckily for human Arthur Dent, a lazy and comical average Joe, and his best friend Ford Perfect, a calm, cool and collective alien, they managed to hitch a ride on an alien ship. To survive, our “heroes” banded together with a group of fugitives wanted by the intergalactic government for theft. These beings include Zaphod Beeblebrox, the President of the Galaxy, Marvin, a very emotional robot, and Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend. Together, this group travels the universe to collect answers to the unknown while facing ever-present danger. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The strengths of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are its comedy and creativity. Death is an ever-present threat to this ragtag group of fugitives, so Adams provides comic relief. When planets are destroyed, people are killed, or even when sperm whales die, a joke is always ready to go. At the beginning of the book, moments before the destruction of Earth, a very depressing and frightening mood was evident as the alien ships rained down. In order to lighten the situation, Adams described the invasion using the following quote: “The ships hung in the sky like bricks” (Adams, 35). Later, we find Arthur and Ford facing almost certain death when they are trapped in a Vogon (alien species) airlock waiting to be released into space. At that point, comic relief came to save the day when Arthur and Ford have a conversation that included: "It's times like these that I'm stuck in an airlock in Vogon with a man from Betelgeuse ( Ford), and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I had listened to what my mother told me when I was young. “Why, what did she tell you?” “I don’t know, I didn’t listen” (Adams, 75). Very linked to the comic scenes of the book, very creative scenes help the scenario to unfold well. After waiting 7.5 million years, Deep Thought, a super computer, finally found the meaning of everything. Deep Thought was ready to reveal the answer and finally said with infinite majesty and calm that "the answer to the great question...of life, of the universe and of everything...is...forty-two" (Adams 180) . Discovering the “true meaning of life” forces the reader to think about the real answer. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy contains many elements that will entertain people of all ages. Overall, the storyline provides an entertaining, adventurous and comedic quick read that will satisfy the reader, especially teenagers. Douglas Adams has written more than 25 books. Most, if not all of his works fall into the science fiction genre with plots set in space. His most famous work, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was turned into a series that includes four other books titled The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, The Life of the Universe and All, So Long and Thanks for All fish, and Above all. Harmless. Although these sequels have their own unique plots, they make jokes and references to the original. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy became such a hit that not only was the novel turned into a series, but it was also recreated as a television miniseries and film. Unfortunately,..