The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
-
What is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first book in Douglas Adams's popular comic science fiction series that mocks modern society with humor and cynicism. The novel's hero, Arthur Dent, is an ordinary Englishman who finds himself adrift in a random and absurd universe after the Vogons destroy Earth to make way for a hyperspatial express route.
First appearing as a 12-part BBC radio series (1978–80), it was followed by five books that sold millions of copies worldwide. These included The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), Life, the Universe and Everything (1982), So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984), and Mostly Harmless (1992). After Adams’s death in 2001, Eoin Colfer wrote a sixth book, And Another Thing…, published in 2009. The series has been adapted for television, theatre, comics, film, and a computer game.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and when was it published?
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was written by British comic writer Douglas Adams. It started as a 12-part BBC radio series from 1978–80 and then as a five-book series.
The books in the series are:
* The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
* The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980)
* Life, the Universe and Everything (1982)
* So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984)
* Mostly Harmless (1992)After Adams’s death in 2001, a sixth tale, And Another Thing…, written by Eoin Colfer, was published in 2009.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who are the main characters in the story?
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy features a memorable cast of characters.
- Arthur Dent: An ordinary Englishman who finds himself caught up in extraordinary events after Earth is destroyed.
- Ford Prefect: Arthur's friend and a researcher for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, who saves Arthur from Earth's destruction.
- Zaphod Beeblebrox: The two-headed, three-armed President of the Galaxy, known for his wild antics and his theft of the starship Heart of Gold.
- Trillian (Tricia McMillan): A human woman who was saved from Earth's destruction by Zaphod and accompanies him on his adventures.
- Marvin: A chronically depressed robot with a "brain the size of a planet".
- Slartibartfast: An elderly Magrathean planet designer who reveals the truth about Earth's creation to Arthur.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What happens to Earth at the beginning of the novel?
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Earth is about to be demolished by the Vogons to make space for a hyperspatial express route. Arthur Dent is saved from the demolition of his house and then the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, who reveals he is from a planet near Betelgeuse. They hitch a ride on a Vogon ship, where Ford gives Arthur The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and a Babel fish to translate alien speech. After being ejected into space, they are rescued by the Heart of Gold spaceship.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the significance of the number 42 in the story?
In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the number 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything, as calculated by the supercomputer Deep Thought after 7.5 million years. However, no one knows what the actual question is. This leads to the creation of an even more powerful computer, Earth, to determine the question. The story follows the protagonist Arthur Dent's adventures after Earth's destruction, as he may hold the key to finding the ultimate question.
1 Britannica SourceCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does the novel use humor and science fiction to explore big ideas about life and the universe?
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams employs humor and science fiction to satirize modern society through the experiences of its protagonist, Arthur Dent, who finds himself navigating a universe filled with randomness and absurdity. The series uses "biting humour and pessimism" to explore profound questions about life, the universe, and everything. It originated as a radio series before becoming a popular book series.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the first book (1979) in the highly popular series of comic science fiction novels by British writer Douglas Adams. The saga mocks modern society with humour and cynicism and has as its hero a hapless, deeply ordinary Englishman (Arthur Dent) who unexpectedly finds himself adrift in a universe characterized by randomness and absurdity.
Summary
Arthur Dent, whose house is about to be demolished for a planned road bypass, is lying down in front of a bulldozer when his friend Ford Prefect arrives and tells him that it is imperative that they go to the pub immediately. There Ford explains that he is actually from a planet near Betelgeuse and that another alien species, the Vogons, are about to destroy the Earth to make space for a hyperspatial express route. Meanwhile, Zaphod Beeblebrox, president of the Galaxy, and his human female friend Trillian steal the Heart of Gold spaceship. Ford and Arthur hitch a ride on a Vogon destructor ship, and Ford lends Arthur the electronic guidebook The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and gives him a Babel fish to stick in his ear to translate alien speech. The Vogon ship captain has Ford and Arthur ejected into space, but the Heart of Gold, which has an Infinite Improbability Drive, picks them up 29 seconds later. The drive makes it possible to traverse interstellar space almost instantly but also causes Ford to (briefly) turn into a penguin.
Zaphod sends his depressive robot, Marvin, to escort the hitchhikers to the bridge. Later that night, the Heart of Gold reaches its destination—the legendary planet Magrathea, which in the past built planets to order for wealthy customers but later disappeared. However, Magrathea, after sending a message that it is closed for business, fires missiles at the Heart of Gold. The ship’s computer is unable to take evasive action, but Arthur engages the Infinite Improbability Drive, and the missiles turn into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias; both fall to the planet’s surface. Everything seems fine, except that Trillian’s pet mice, Benjy and Frankie, escape their cage.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
On Magrathea, Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford explore the planet’s tunnels, leaving Marvin and Arthur to guard the entrance. Arthur encounters an elderly native of the planet, who introduces himself as Slartibartfast and explains that the populace is not dead but were sleeping until the economy improved. They are now engaged in building a second Earth, having been commissioned by mice, which are really hyperintelligent pandimensional beings, to build the first Earth. These beings had built a supercomputer, Deep Thought, to determine the answer to life, the universe, and everything. After a period of 7.5 million years, the computer declared the answer to be 42. The computer designed a more powerful computer, Earth, to find the question to which 42 is the answer. Earth had nearly completed its calculations when the Vogons destroyed it. Slartibartfast brings Arthur to meet the mice who commissioned the building of Earth, and they prove to be Benjy and Frankie. Zaphod and Ford suggest that Arthur may have some ideas about the Question, as his “brain was an organic part” of Earth, and Benjy and Frankie decide that they will buy Arthur’s brain and chop it up to look for their answer.
Arthur, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian are saved by the arrival of the galactic police to arrest Zaphod for the theft of the Heart of Gold. Marvin depresses the computer running the ship and life systems for the police into committing suicide, and the five travelers all escape to the Heart of Gold, after which they head toward the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
Series
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy first appeared as a 12-part series on BBC radio (1978–80). The five-book series that followed, which Adams called a “trilogy,” sold million of copies worldwide. The books were, in addition to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980), Life, the Universe and Everything (1982), So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (1984), and Mostly Harmless (1992); after Adams’s death in 2001, a sixth tale, And Another Thing…, written by Eoin Colfer, was published in 2009. The series has been widely translated and adapted for television, theatre, comics, film, and even a computer game.