Essay On Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

The legacy of the Zeitgeist is still felt to this day, despite being almost 40 years old. Due to the book taking place mostly in space there are very few things which, when pointed out, date the novel. In terms of prophesying anything, it seems that the Guide book is kind of like a smartphone in that all the information that you want to look up is at your fingertips. It can even read to you any writing that you want it to read. Other than that the rest of the technology seems very out there as of now. When looking at philosophies of thought, this novel could be cited in being part of the ideas of absurdism and that sometimes things happen because things happen. The novel suggest to the reader that sometimes you just have to experience the world for what it is and “Don’t Panic” (Adams 4).
It’s not afraid to take used overdone tropes and breathe life back into them; like taking a deflated balloon and filling it again with air. It takes these tropes and decides to switch them up a little bit so that they are unique and more relatable to the viewpoints of the people of the day. This means that the readers accept the story because it has just enough hints of familiarity that make it seem not so out-there. With that connection established, Adams was able to talk about the issues he felt the society of his time was facing and people were willing to respond. Ultimately however, Douglas Adams wrote the book to be funny and to be sort of out-there to get people out of their comfort zones. He took his skills as a writer and wrote what he felt was important to him. It just happened to be also what the populace of the time was currently thinking and feeling. The novel explored things in a way that had been done seldomly before. It’s unique in its voice and it’s an interesting voice to read. THis is why this novel has proven itself to be a zeitgeist for many