Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
NowOkay, we're not going to lie: there are some things in Hitchhiker's Guide that scream 1970s. For instance, digital watches are cool in this book, which makes it sound like it was written in the...
Narrator Point of View
We almost wish there was a new word to describe the point of view for The Hitchhiker's Guide, something like talky-omniscient (because the narrator tells us so much) or joke-niscient (because the n...
Genre
Depending on which you want to emphasize, you could call Hitchhiker's a comic science fiction story or a science fiction comedy.Science FictionThe science fiction part of Hitchhiker's Guide is pret...
Tone
Here is the best memorial service you will ever see. It's Monty Python's tribute to Graham Chapman. (We can get away with this since Douglas Adams worked with the Pythons at some point; Adams actua...
Writing Style
Here's our rule of thumb: if you're reading a sentence by Douglas Adams and it seems pretty simple, then watch out, because he's probably going to twist it in some way. The classic example of this...
What's Up With the Title?
Before Lifetime movies and afterschool specials told us that hitchhiking was dangerous, a lot of people got around by sticking their thumbs out. Seriously, just watch old movies: people used to hit...
What's Up With the Ending?
The Hitchhiker's Guide ends by tying up several plots, but leaves us with a pretty clear impression that something else is coming. First, let's tie up those plots: in Chapters 32 to 34, Arthur, Zap...
Tough-o-Meter
Why is such a funny book so hard? We've broken down the reasons:(1) It's British. No, seriously. If you have a British edition (for some reason) and are not British (for some reason), then you will...