The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

“I sort of laid down on the ground and stared up at the stars, and it occurred to me then that somebody ought to write a hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy.” – Douglas Adams1

Summary When woke up one Thursday morning, he didn’t think that his best friend would be an alien who would help him escape Vogans, who destroy the Earth to build a hyperspatial express route, by onto their spaceship. Nor did he expect that he would soon join his friend’s sort of cousin and his cousin’s girlfriend on a quest to find a mythical planet. But then again, what was so predictable about Thursdays anyway?

About the Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was a British author best known for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Before becoming a popular comic writer, Adams received an education from where he wrote for the Cambridge .2 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy started as a concept for a radio series for the British Broadcasting Company in 1978 before being relaunched in various media formats such as a novel series, television series, and film. Besides his Hitchhiker series, Adams was also known for his writing for the popular British television series .2

Discussion Questions 1. What role does miscommunication have in the story? 2. What role does humor have in the story? 3. What are some of the technologies that Adams predicted? 4. If you had access to a Babble Fish, what language(s) would you like to understand? 5. Why do you think Adams made a towel the most essential thing for hitchhiker’s to own?

Activities 1. Write an entry for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for any character or event presented for which Adams has not already created an entry. a. “Curiously enough, the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias as it fell was Oh no, not again.”3 Present an explanation for this quote using any creative means.

Suggested Reading The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (consists of the complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series) by Douglas Adams

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne

Suggested Videos Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Season 1, episode 3, BBC Two , 19 Jan. 1981. https://bit.ly/2RCGz0r.

“Other Worlds.” Latham, Bethany, director. The Great American Read, presented by Meredith Vera, season 1, episode 7, Kentucky Educational Television, 16 Oct. 2018. Clip begins at 15:21 and ends at 18:24.

Audio Book Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Narrated by . Radio House Audio. 2014. Audio Disks. ISBN: 0804191859.

Praise for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy “Humorous science fiction novels have notoriously limited audiences; they tend to be full of ''in'' jokes understandable only to those who read everything from Jules Verne to . The ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' is a delightful exception.” – Gerald Jonas4

"Very simply, the book is one of the funniest science fiction spoofs ever written, with hyperbolic ideas folding in on themselves." – School Library Journal5

Selected Biographies Simpson, M. J. Hitchhiker: a Biography of Douglas Adams. Justin, Charles & Co., 2005. ISBN: 1932112359. Webb, Nick. Wish You Were Here: The Official Biography of Douglas Adams. Del Rey, 2006. ISBN: 0345476514.

Sources

Text

1Adamo, Susan. “Douglas Adams.” Starlog, June 1981, pp. 29–30. https://bit.ly/2E67crD. 2 "Douglas (Noel) Adams (1952-)." Something About the Author, edited by Alan Hedblad, vol. 116, Gale, 2000, pp. 1-6. Something About The Author Online, https://bit.ly/2NOjViq. 3“Chapter 18.” The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, Del Rey, 2005, p. 135. 4Jonas, Gerald. “Science Fiction.” New York Times, 25 Jan. 1981, p. 7007014. https://nyti.ms/2RMgzzv. 5Adams, Douglas. “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.” Barnes & Noble, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc., bit.ly/2yJWvoO.

Photographs

“Don’t Panic and Bring Your Towel.” Tee Public. TP Apparel LLC. https://bit.ly/2AjdAaY. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Book Cover.” Time. Time Inc. https://ti.me/2g1tTjR. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Poster.” PBS. PBS. 16 Oct. 2018. https://bit.ly/2RX2csu.

Novel Guide created by Rebecca McKenney, LIN Senior Capstone, Fall 2018.