“Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.”
Adams’ universe was one of intense pessimism. Anything that could go wrong probably would. The difference between his characters’ reactions highlight the problem with humans – we think we can change the bad things that happen around us.
Arthur Dent epitomizes the human reaction. At every turn, he is constantly seeking to understand what is going on. It isn’t until So Long and Thanks for All the Fish that he finally realizes his place in the galaxy. Thankfully, he simply accepts he can fly and lives blissfully happy to have a girl and his towel.
Ford Prefect on the other hand has been living on the short end of the galaxy’s stick for many years, and short of his surprise in meeting his semi-cousin Zaphod so improbably close to the Vogon ship that dumped them, he accepts pretty much everything as it comes.
Zaphod is the zenith of the universe simply because he cares enough to not care and therefore is the most powerful being anywhere. Particularly, Zaphod’s off-hand conversation with the space cops at the end of H2G2 points out that he simply accepts everything that comes down the pike, no matter how improbable or ridiculous.
Marvin on the other hand understands the universe, and that is why he is depressed. Although many bill him as the “paranoid robot”, I don’t see it. He is just depressed because he sees the randomness of the universe as aimed at him, whereas Zaphod knows it isn’t aimed at anyone in particular.
Trillian is just there for…well, I still don’t see what purpose Trillian serves…
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Monday, September 12, 2005
A Bad Idea
“In the beginning, the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad idea.”
The essential premise of Douglas Adam’s universe was that bad things happen and so do good things, but not necessarily in that order or even to the same person twice. Even those who have digital watches are just as likely to have their house bulldozed to make way for a bypass; never mind those who remembered to bring their towel!
Adams never attempts to avoid the existence of God; he just depicts the deity of his universe as one of us, to whom bad things happen just like the rest of us. At one point in H2G2, he actually has God just walking off the scene because he someone disproved his own existence.
There is no doubt that Adams was frustrated by the bewildering randomness of the universe, at least as he saw it, and he took those frustrations out by making a mockery of the universe he knew he was a part of.
The essential premise of Douglas Adam’s universe was that bad things happen and so do good things, but not necessarily in that order or even to the same person twice. Even those who have digital watches are just as likely to have their house bulldozed to make way for a bypass; never mind those who remembered to bring their towel!
Adams never attempts to avoid the existence of God; he just depicts the deity of his universe as one of us, to whom bad things happen just like the rest of us. At one point in H2G2, he actually has God just walking off the scene because he someone disproved his own existence.
There is no doubt that Adams was frustrated by the bewildering randomness of the universe, at least as he saw it, and he took those frustrations out by making a mockery of the universe he knew he was a part of.
How this works
Every week or so, possibly as long as a month at a time, but never less than once in my lifetime, I will post contemplations of the great Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by the late Douglas Adams. I hope to bring a unique perspective to this wonderful work of meaningful nonsense by presenting serious psychological explorations of his philosophical meanderings.
Like sheep in meadows do not eat red meat on Thursdays, let us begin...
Like sheep in meadows do not eat red meat on Thursdays, let us begin...
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