How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Even the most seasoned star tramp can't help but shiver at the spectacular drama of a sunrise seen from space, but a binary sunrise is one of the marvels of the Galaxy. (16.25)
When Adams was writing, "a sunrise seen from space" wasn't a very common sight. (Back then, they still went gaga for photos of Earth from space, like this one.) Adams, though, lets us know that it's both amazing (it causes everyone to shiver, it's "spectacular drama") and also that it's not the most amazing thing in the galaxy. A binary sunrise (where there are two suns in a system) is even better—and that's something that we'll never see from our little solar system except in movies.
Quote #8
It is possible that her remark would have commanded greater attention had it been generally realized that human beings were only the third most intelligent life form present on the planet Earth, instead of (as was generally thought by most independent observers) the second. (19.11)
A large part of amazement in Hitchhiker's Guides comes from learning that we're wrong about… well, just about everything. So when we first learn that humans are only the third most intelligent life form on Earth, that's shocking. What's even more shocking is what we get at the end, after the long delay of that parenthetical remark: that everyone else already knew that we weren't the best.
Quote #9
"I should warn you that the chamber we are about to pass into does not literally exist within our planet. It is a little too ... large. We are about to pass through a gateway into a vast tract of hyperspace. It may disturb you."
Arthur made nervous noises.
Slartibartfast touched a button and added, not entirely reassuringly, "It scares the willies out of me. Hold tight." (24.12-4)
Sometimes, even having some experience with something isn't enough to make one comfortable with it. Case in point: Slartibartfast still gets a little awed by the hyperspace where they build planets. (If you're writing a paper on awe, you should look at the whole experience of "the infinite" that Arthur goes through in that hyperspace area.) This quote makes us think that something that's so amazing might just be a little scary, too.