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Chance and the Self-Driven Reality in Adams and Vonnegut

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Chance and the Self-Driven Reality in Adams and Vonnegut Chance and the Self-Driven Reality in Adams and Vonnegut Kelsey Londagin An Honors Thesis Presented to the Department of English University of Florida Dr. Terry Harpold Dr. Phillip Wegner December 5, 2016 Londagin 2 The absurdist science fiction of Douglas Adams and Kurt Vonnegut share the common theme of a universe in which events—and, seemingly, the plots of fiction—are left to chance. Characters living in this universe must decide for themselves how to live and act, rather than taking directions from a higher authority, such as governments, religion, or moral conventions. In Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, brute laws of probability govern the universe in such a way that it feels ungoverned and ungovernable. In Vonnegut's novels, despite chaotic senselessness visited upon protagonists, there is an undercurrent of hope. Douglas Adams’ novels draw much of their dark humor from repeated demonstrations of the inefficacy of human and non-human authorities. In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, (1980) the Great Prophet Zarquon makes his ‘second coming’ with only seconds to spare before the universe is destroyed. Later in the book, Zaphod and Trillian meet the ruler of the Universe, who is a man who is not entirely certain that anything exists at all beyond what he can perceive. Even local bureaucracies appear feckless: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) opens with the destruction of the Earth to make an (instantly obsolete) hyperspace bypass, mirroring a similar event with the local English government and the main character’s house. The lack of a government or spiritual authority prompts individuals to take authority for themselves from within; they must govern their own actions and be accountable for themselves. Arthur Dent sees the absurdity in the universe around him and understands that there is not any greater meaning to be gleaned, no real “Answer” to Life, the Universe, and Everything – at least, not one that makes sense or can be found comforting. Because of this, Arthur must and does create a life for himself. He will take this insane and absurd set of circumstances given to him and do for himself what he can. Londagin 3 Similarly, Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) is dropped haphazardly into a warzone for which he is not prepared, and suffers the effects of comparably absurd chance events. Billy, like Arthur, must do what he can to survive during a time of war, which in Vonnegut’s books appears as absurd and without reason as the universe that Adams describes. In Slaughterhouse-Five, however, there is a message of compassion and peace that is missing from Adams; the lesson to be learned from chaos in Vonnegut is that, simply, the madness of wars should one day lead to people not having them anymore. Alternatively, if one recognizes the meaninglessness of the world/universe but does not choose to take authority for him/herself, one risks slipping into unreflective nihilism. In that case, every individual action must be also meaningless, and all the larger powers either do not exist or do not affect or care about the life of individuals. This, however, is what both authors are trying to avoid by providing examples of individuals who have embraced nihilism as the response to chance. Marvin the Paranoid Android in the Hitchhiker’s Guide series demonstrates that an overly negative worldview and not believing in anything can lead to absolute misery. Bokonon in Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle (1963) has a comparable worldview, though he tries to make the best of what he has and make life better for other people. Bokonon is an interesting case, in that his words and actions end up helping others to some degree; he is, however, a hypocrite who does not believe that his own teachings apply to himself. Bokonon combines the aspects both of a religious leader and a dictator, in that he created the religion to give the people of San Lorenzo something worth living for, since they lived in extreme poverty. Bokonon is not, therefore, strictly a nihilist, because he does try to improve the world around him. In Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan (1959) a “Tralfamadorian” robot (different from the Tralfamadorians of Slaughterhouse-Five) is stranded on the moon Titan and prevented from Londagin 4 delivering a message of “Greetings” which happens to be a simple dot. The robot, not having been allowed to know the content of the message and having been told it was vital, signals home for a replacement part for his damaged spaceship. All of human history, the novel reveals, was created and contrived in order to bring the part that the robot needs. In this case, there is a meaning to life on Earth, a purpose for all humans to exist and civilizations to rise and fall: in order that this one, eminently absurd, task can be completed. The human characters of this novel react negatively to the knowledge that they (and all of humanity) were used to this absurd end, and some of them conclude that they would have been better off not knowing the real answer to why they existed, or any answer at all. My analyses of these works by Adams and Vonnegut will show how these authors use probability and chance, in conjunction with a human search for meaning in an absurd universe, to convey a message that, while there may not be any rhyme or reason to the universe, one must make the best of things, strive to show compassion for others, and make peace in a chaotic world: as the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy counsels, “Don’t panic.” Chance as a Governing Factor In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979), President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox’s stolen ship Heart of Gold operates on the principles of the Infinite Improbability Drive. This device, created spontaneously, has the power to manipulate the probability of ordinarily “impossible” events or extraordinary “coincidences,” and makes those events occur whenever the exact improbability level is achieved. This allows the ship to move mind- bogglingly fast throughout every conceivable point in the universe simultaneously, and it allows for several fantastic coincidences and plot-driving events to occur. For example, when Arthur Londagin 5 Dent and Ford Prefect are first picked up by the starship after having been shot into the vacuum of space, the probability of them having been picked up matches the phone number of the other human passenger already aboard the craft, which is also the probability at which the ship happened to be “going” when Arthur and Ford were found. The incredible coincidences involved in such a maneuver are conveniently—conveniently, that is, for Adams’s absurdist techniques— attributed to the Infinite Improbability Drive: if there is any chance of an event occurring, however improbable, the event will occur under that given improbability ratio set by the ship. Such a fantastical, coincidence-driven plot is oftentimes troublesome to these protagonists, but the comedic effect of these circumstances is worth the absurd means of putting them there. Using the properties of chance and probabilities as a (literal) absurdist engine of forward progression, the novels manage to defy the reader’s expectations in order to show the inherent meaninglessness of coincidences and other absurd events. The Infinite Improbability Drive is a brilliant solution on Adams’ part to bring absurdity into the novels, because it allows for any situation to occur. Adams can and does bend the rules of fiction without breaking them because he has the freedom to make any situation occur, and explain it with this device. The idea that this is an actual machine, logically (or perhaps illogically) found in the storyworld, justifies the absurdity of the plot; where the characters are actually going is dictated by absurd outcomes of chance. The rules of this fictional universe are determined and governed by an open, knowing abuse of the forces of chance. The characters of Adams’s novels have different ways of dealing with the implications of this irreducible, absurd reality of their universe. Marvin the robot, for example, sees life itself as pointless and not worth the bother of living, and adopts an overwhelming, universal nihilism. This is not the worldview that Adams intends for his readers to adopt, however; it is merely an Londagin 6 example of a negative reaction to the reality of a universe ruled by chance. Marvin’s incessant complaining and negativity are intended to deter the reader from taking things too seriously or being too downtrodden about the lack of a higher purpose or calling in life. Adams intends for Marvin’s example to illustrate that, although the universe is fundamentally absurd, one ought not respond to it robotically without reflection or perspective, because that only leads to nihilism and depression. Marvin feels like he is never living up to his full potential, because he has a “brain the size of a planet” (Adams 65) but is never asked to do more than simple, menial tasks. His depression leads Marvin to conclude, in a paranoid mood, that no one likes him and everyone is trying to get rid of him. Marvin is right, to a degree – Zaphod certainly does not like him, and would get rid of him given the opportunity – but Marvin also makes himself very useful to others. His depressive personality gets the travelers out of many a predicament. Even so, as Adams shows, no one is fond of a naggingly pessimistic robot. Arthur Dent, on the other hand, is the character that Adams uses as a model for a more appropriate reaction to the lack of a higher meaning in life.
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