How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"Oh yes," said Arthur, "I thought that some of the metaphysical imagery was really particularly effective."
[…]
"Oh ... and er ... interesting rhythmic devices too," continued Arthur, "which seemed to counterpoint the ... er ... er ..." He floundered.
Ford leaped to his rescue, hazarding "counterpoint the surrealism of the underlying metaphor of the ... er ..." He floundered too, but Arthur was ready again.
"... humanity of the ..."
"Vogonity," Ford hissed at him.
"Ah yes, Vogonity (sorry) of the poet's compassionate soul," Arthur felt he was on a home stretch now, "which contrives through the medium of the verse structure to sublimate this, transcend that, and come to terms with the fundamental dichotomies of the other," (he was reaching a triumphant crescendo ...) "and one is left with a profound and vivid insight into ... into ... er ..." (... which suddenly gave out on him.) Ford leaped in with the coup de grace:
"Into whatever it was the poem was about!" he yelled. (7.22-30)
Arthur and Ford's analysis of Jeltz's poem is really a masterpiece of empty phooey. It sounds good—"metaphysical imagery, counterpoint, fundamental dichotomies"—but notice that all of this leaves great big holes that Adams wants us to notice: the two of them are clearly just making stuff up, what with all of those "er…" pauses, and they tend to use "this, that, the other" without ever saying what those refer to. This section isn't making fun of the poem so much as it's making fun of people who try to fake their way through poetry appreciation. If only they had Shmoop to help them!
Quote #8
"But listen," he shouted to the guard, "there's a whole world you don't know anything about ... here how about this?" Desperately he grabbed for the only bit of culture he knew offhand—he hummed the first bar of Beethoven's Fifth.
"Da da da dum! Doesn't that stir anything in you?" (7.97-8)
Culture can hurt people, we know (thanks, Vogon poetry and scrapbooking mania), but can it help at all? Here's Ford trying to convince a young Vogon guard that there's more to life than throwing people out of airlocks. But even Ford can't remember that much culture, so this line of reasoning doesn't work.
Quote #9
"Where's the sense in that?" he said. "None that I've been able to make out. I've been doing fjords in all my life. For a fleeting moment they become fashionable and I get a major award."
He turned it over in his hands with a shrug and tossed it aside carelessly, but not so carelessly that it didn't land on something soft. (30.9-10)
While we might think that Norway is the result of eons of geologic activity—plate tectonics, glaciers, ice ages, melting ice ages—now we learn that it's really just some art project for Slartibartfast. Not only is Norway a work of art, but it's a little bit of art wrapped up in a whole culture: awards and committees (probably) and Billy Crystal hosting awards shows (definitely). Notice that Slarty seems to think the whole award thing is kind of ludicrous, but he still makes sure that the award doesn't get dented.