Why The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy That Isn T Absurd?

Is there anything in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that isn’t absurd? The answer is, surprise, surprise… no. This quirky, fun, and overall discombobulated novel was written by Douglas Adams and published in 1979. Douglas Adams’s style of writing and humor shines through and makes a seemingly perfect universe seem the most improbable, absurd place that a person has the misfortune to be a part of.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a fun, buoyant adventure following the life of Arthur Dent as he narrowly escapes Earth’s destruction in the wake of a new space super highway being built in its place, hitching a ride with his seemingly human friend, Ford Prefect, on a spaceship belonging to alien bureaucrats who destroy planet Earth.
Turns out that Ford Prefect is in fact an interstellar researcher from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse and not from Earth as he usually claimed. But that doesn’t matter, because they’re about to die in thirty seconds! Turns out ugly alien bureaucrats absolutely hate hitchhikers. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Twenty-nine seconds tick by as Arthur and Ford get ready die.
Thirty.
Wait, why aren’t they dead yet?
Oh wait, look at that! In the most improbable circumstance ever, they get rescued by a flying spaceship. But not just any spaceship, it’s the Heart of Gold—the most technology advanced spaceship in the universe that has the Infinite Improbability Drive, meaning it could cross interstellar distances in a mere nothingth of a second without all the tedious mucking in hyperspace.
Huh, what a coincidence!
Meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, president, scratch that, ex-president of the universe (ever since he stole the Heart of Gold), Trillian McMillan, earthman just like Arthur Dent (who knew better than to stay at that miserable little planet and hitched a ride with Zaphod), and our ever optimistic Marvin, a super robot, as the five of them take a journey to the most improbable planet—Magrathea. Maybe this time, not even the infinite improbability drive can save them. Especially Arthur
Dent.
When I had first picked up a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I thought it would be just like any other novel—a conflict that seemed to dominate the book, a plot that made sense, characters who were smart and able to solve problems one way or the other and what not.
It turned out to be the complete opposite. If you want to read a book with smart characters, this is definitely not your choice. At every page, the characters seemed to do something really stupid or ridiculous, that it was hard not to face palm. Nonetheless, the silliness made me internally laugh. The storyline itself is almost secondary to the individual parts which make it up. While my curiosity was kept throughout the book, wondering what the answers to the mysteries would be, it was really the individual events that kept me going—aside from the blunt, concise, and slightly satiric humor, of course. The way Adams described the universe seemed humorous, but if you actually look past the comedy, the universe was actually boring and Adams used wit to keep it seemingly interesting and
absurd.
Absurdity. Again, is there anything in this book that isn’t absurd? In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the galaxy is a pretty messed up place, where very few things end up meeting our expectations—and most things turn out wrong. The existence of an Infinite Improbability Drive means lots of strange things happen. The universe is a pretty absurd place. Even the basic facts of your life might turn out to be a lie, like when the planet Earth turns out to be a giant computer operated by mice. This can be disheartening, but in Hitchhiker’s, you might as well laugh.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a classic. Though it was written in 1979, the humor and style of writing lives through now and is enjoyed by many. It is very light-hearted, so if you’re looking for a serious book about aliens destroying Earth, this is not the book. Nonetheless, the love for this book spans generations and will continue to be loved by children, teenagers, and adults alike.