National University of Modern Languages

Assignment II

Submitted to
Respected Miss Aneela
Submitted by
Samia Amin(19142) Shakil Ahmed (19158)
Umair Ali (MF-19508) Marathib Ali (19154)
Falak Sher( FB -2154)
Semester
BS English 8th B
Course
Popular Fiction
Topic Describe the plot of The Hitchhiker’s
Guide to the Galaxy in a single sentence. What is
this story about?
Overview
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is a beloved science fiction
comedy series written by Douglas Adams, which hilariously explores
the absurdity of the universe through the adventures of an ordinary
human named Arthur Dent and his interstellar companions.
As far as the plot of this novel is concerned, the main character named
Arthur Dent goes on a crazy journey through space when Earth is
destroyed, meeting strange creatures and searching for the meaning of
life.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, which was
first intended to be a radio play, was published as a book for the first
time in 1979. The legitimacy of authority, the absurdity of bureaucracy,
and the pursuit for the ultimate solution to the riddle of life, the universe,
and everything are just a few of the aspects of contemporary life that
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy investigates and parodies. The plot
of the novel is on the intergalactic journeys of Ford Prefect, a native of
Betelgeuse, and Arthur Dent, the final Earthman to survive, who left
the planet just before the Vogons destroyed it.
They meet up with Trillian, another former Earth resident and the
girlfriend of Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford's cousin and President of the
Galaxy.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has had a successful afterlife,
giving rise to multiple sequels, a computer game, a feature film, and
BBC television programmes. Adams wrote four more volumes in the
series on his own, and eight years after his passing, author Eoin Colfer
completed the story with a sixth book. Adams’s work has remained a
milestone in modern science-fiction writing, inspiring other writers in
the genre and maintaining a widespread readership. There are two
asteroids named in commemoration of Adams and his work, streets and
lecture series named in his honor, and “Towel Day” is still celebrated
every May 25th, more than twenty years after Adams’s death.

Plot Summary
The book tells the adventures of Arthur Dent, the last surviving
Earthman, and Ford Prefect, an alien from Betelgeuse stranded on Earth
for the past fifteen years, interspersed with entries from The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, the fictional creation of the book's author. On a
Thursday, as Arthur awakens with a hangover, the narrative begins.
He wonders why he overindulged at the pub the previous night as he
notices yellow smudges outside his window. He doesn't realise for a
while that the yellow blurs are bulldozers and that they have been
ordered to destroy his house. In order to make room for a new bypass, it
is being destroyed.
“For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he
was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much
—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had
ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But
conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far
more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A local official tries to reason with Arthur as he runs outdoors and

collapses in the line of the bulldozers. When his pal Ford Prefect arrives
on the scene, he persuades Arthur to accompany him to the bar. Ford is
aware of something that Arthur is not: the Vogons are about to destroy
the Earth, thus Arthur need not be concerned about his house. This
group of galactic civil servants has been dispatched to open a
hyperspatial shortcut.
Ford successfully escapes on the Vogon ship with Arthur and himself
before the Earth is destroyed. The Vogons, on the other hand, are
notoriously hostile and hate hitchhikers. Ford gives Arthur his copy of
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, an electronic book, so that he can
read it and understand what is happening. Sadly, the Vogons find them
and make them sit through the captain's reading of his poetry, which is
rated as the "third worst in the Universe"

“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he
sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were
enjoying it.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

After being led to the airlock, they are subsequently launched into "the
total vacuum of space" . They only have approximately thirty seconds
left when they are picked up by the Heart of Gold, a passing spaceship
that Zaphod Beeblebrox, the President of the Galaxy, recently stole. The
robot with depression Marvin leads the men to the ship's bridge. Ford is
startled to see Zaphod, his cousin, in charge.
Although Zaphod was known as "Phil" back then and lacked the extra
head and arm he possesses now, Arthur claims to have met Zaphod on
Earth (73). Arthur claims that Zaphod barged into an Earth party,
swooped in, and left with Trillian, his love interest. Trillian suddenly
enters the bridge. As stated by the author, "'this sort of thing [is] going
to happen every time we use the Improbability Drive'" . The Heart of
Gold, a type of miracle transportation that renders the construction of
hyperspatial bypasses pointless, is propelled by the Infinite
Improbability Drive. Thus, it was completely futile to destroy Earth.
Zaphod is on a quest to find the fabled planet of Magrathea, which
previously served as the centre of the designer planet industry. He is
unsure of the purpose of his quest and learns that he has cut out portions
of both of his brains in an effort to conceal his true motivations. The
Heart of Gold successfully lands on Magrathea, the planet that many
people think was just a fable, after narrowly avoiding several ancient
nuclear weapons. While Arthur and Marvin are left to "guard" the ship,
Zaphod, Ford, and Trillian set out on an exploration.
As they descend into the underground bunkers, a gas is discharged that
rapidly knocks out the first three, but Arthur comes across an elderly
man who leads him into the centre of Magrathea.
The elderly man, Slartibartfast, shares some really unsettling
information: Actually, a highly sophisticated species of pandimensional
creatures dressed as mice commissioned the creation of Earth, one of
their designer worlds. Earth was created as a type of organic computer
with the aim of calculating the mystery of life, the cosmos, and
everything. As Arthur learns, the answer, "forty-two" , was puzzling, so
this species had Deep Thought, their super-computer, create the
blueprints for an even more advanced computer to create the question. It
turns out that this is Earth.

“The Answer to the Great Question... Of Life, the Universe and

Everything... Is... Forty-two,' said Deep Thought, with infinite
majesty and calm.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The mice are eager to see Arthur, says Slartibartfast, and they track
down the rest of the group to give them an explanation of Earth's history.
Unfortunately, "'five minutes before the programme was
completed'" led to its destruction. As a result, the mice have created
Earth II, a new planet, but after learning that Arthur was there shortly
before the planet was destroyed, the mice conclude that his brain most
certainly has the answer. Arthur is averse to giving the mice access to
his brain.
Sirens blare, commotion breaks out, and it appears that he will have no
choice: Zaphod has been apprehended by the intergalactic police for
stealing the Heart of Gold. After escaping the mice, he, Arthur, Ford,
and Trillian are chased by the police, who are firing at them. All of a
sudden, the gunfire stops, and silence reigns. The police officers' life
support systems seem to have failed. Slartibartfast also departs without
his aircar. The four can get away and return to the ship.
They discover Marvin in a heap, depressed. He was communicating with
the police spaceship, and the craft, which was in charge of the officers'
life support systems, committed suicide.
In the Heart of Gold, the four humanoids and Marvin make their
getaway in preparation for lunch, a brand-new adventure. The
Restaurant at the End of the Universe, which will serve as the title of the
second book in the series, is where Zaphod instructs the spacecraft to go.

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