The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

An interstellar search for meaning

Apr 11, 2009 Daniel Hineline

From the oddly inventive imagination of Douglas Adams comes the first in a series of intergalactic tales of sci-fi adventures: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Adams’ novel is, for lack of a better word, strange. Not in a bad way. The negative aspects of the novel do not come from content, but from delivery. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a surprisingly original work and beautifully and intelligently written.

Synopsis of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Arthur Dent, an average Earthman, finds out one day that his good friend, Ford Prefect, is not from where he says he is. He also finds out that Earth is scheduled for destruction to make way for an intergalactic bypass. With the help of Ford, Arthur is saved before the Earth is destroyed, and together they journey across the galaxy, hitching rides with various space ships, and learning of otherworldly phenomena from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Douglas Adams’ quirky characters

In their adventures they meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed, neurotic president of the galaxy; Trillion, Zaphod’s girlfriend and (by the name of Tricia McMillan) someone Arthur tried to hook up with at a cocktail party months prior; and Marvin, a chronically depressed robot.

Adams’ character issues

As imaginative as the book is, beyond plot, the novel seems to fall flat on its face. None of the characters in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are very likeable. Every single one of them is cruel, cranky, and just plain mean to everyone. In order to get into a book, the reader has to identify with someone, but if not a single person is positive about anything, it’s really rather hard to do so.

Adam’s novel vs. Jennings’ movie adaptation

In comparison to the motion picture based on Adams’ novel that came out in 2005, the character issue is clearly resolved. Garth Jennings’ adaptation of the novel displays everyone in a much different light. It’s hard not to love even the characters you are supposed to despise, like Zaphod, played by Sam Rockwell. It helps to have a lovable cast comprised of Martin Freeman (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), Zooey Deschanel (Yes Man, Elf), Mos Def (16 Blocks, Be Kind Rewind), and Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin the robot. They all have their quirks, but are all endearing in some form. The audience is much more likely to relate better this way and care what happens to each of the characters.

The Originality of Hitchhiker’s Guide

Adams is a very interesting author. The ideas he comes up with are so originally odd, but in the novel, some things are just a little too random and questionable. It seems as if Douglas Adams threw a bunch of possible topics ideas into a hat and drew them out at random. What do towels, sperm whales, and a bowl of patunias have in common? Who knows? The movie keeps these outrageous correlations to a minimum, but still shows Adams’ creativity very well. For example, the entries addressed by The Hitchhiker’s Guide in the movie are word for word how Adams intended them in his novel.

What’s the point of The Hitchhiker’s Guide?

The biggest problem beyond character construction is that the book is mainly just a jumble on nonsense, devoid of any kind of theme or deeper meaning. The irony to this is the characters in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are in search of a deeper meaning to life.

The copyright of the article The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fiction is owned by Daniel Hineline. Permission to republish The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams