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Essay / Plot Summary of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The story begins with our main character, Arthur Dent, enjoying an ordinary morning at home, only to be abruptly disrupted by the presence of a bulldozer parked outside. outside, ready to raze his residence to build a ring road. Without hesitation, Arthur decides to stand in front of the bulldozer. Just then, Arthur's close friend Ford Prefect (who turns out to be an alien) arrives and insists that Arthur accompany him to a local pub. Arthur, determined to prevent ML Prosser, the manager, from destroying his house, engages in a heated argument with Prosser, who claims that the demolition was planned for nine months but had somehow escaped Arthur's awareness. Ford, through some persuasive maneuvering, convinces Prosser to assume the role of human barricade in front of the bulldozer. Ford nonchalantly informs Arthur that the fate of his house pales in comparison to the impending end of the world, which is expected to occur in just twelve minutes. As Arthur helplessly listens to the sounds of his house being razed, he rushes from the pub to the demolition site, while Ford cryptically mentions the importance of a towel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Shortly thereafter, Earth meets its untimely demise at the hands of the Vogons, all in the name of building an intergalactic highway - a revelation previously unknown to Earth's inhabitants but displayed prominently in Alpha Centauri. Ford and Arthur, hitchhiking on one of the Vogon ships, embark on a bizarre journey. Ford inserts a peculiar-looking fish into Arthur's ear, giving him the ability to understand and translate all spoken languages into English. Their journey takes a detour when they are captured by a Vogon officer, who escorts them to the imposing Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz, the overseer of this particular operation. Jeltz treats them to some of his terrible Vogon poetry before unceremoniously ejecting them into the cold expanse of space. Fortuitously, their journey takes an unexpected turn when they are accidentally picked up by the Infinite Improbability Drive, a device that propels them across the cosmos. chaotically until they reach their intended destination. Aboard this fanciful ship, they meet Zaphod Beeblebrox, the former President of the Imperial Galactic Government and a familiar face of Arthur's from a former party, as well as Trillian, another party acquaintance. There's also Marvin, a deeply discouraged but extraordinarily intelligent robot. Their quest then leads them in search of the mythical Magrathea, a planet that was once the richest and most famous in the universe, only to sink into legend and obscurity. As the group explores the planet, Arthur and Marvin remain on the surface while Zaphod, Trillian and Ford venture underground in search of untold riches, hoping to restore the galaxy to its former glory. Arthur, taking a solitary walk, unexpectedly crosses paths with Slartibartfast, a Magrathean who offers him a ride in his plane. During the journey, Slartibartfast begins to unravel the gripping story of how Earth unwittingly played a central role in the ten-million-year research program of a vast organic computer. The saga revolves around the Magratheans' creation of Deep Thought, a highly competent computer tasked with discovering the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. After seven and a half million years of contemplation, Deep Thought surprisingly provides an answer: forty-two. There.