Life, the Universe and Everything revisited (P18, Ch.END)

Blog Prompt: [18] Discuss your book’s title. Why is it called what the author chose? What would you call the book if you could choose a new title?

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After reading the book, I've come to the conclusion that the title really does fit the book. It's wacky, far-fetched, over-extending and preposterous but that's how the book really is. It's a fun, wild tromp through the universe with Arthur Dent and his companions. Throughout the book, Adams touches on the various subjects of life intricacies and how the universe, as Arthur Dent knows it, works.

Be it by voicing the thoughts of a vengeful, reincarnated antagonist or showing Arthur's panicky thought process thought by thought, Adams truly did a job well done narrating this novel, especially with the ending that gave one more exciting push as Arthur finally came to realize that the universal Hactar threat was not over during a simple game of bowling. Coincidentally enough, his bowling ball that was in mid-bowl was the weapon of galactic destruction that the genocidal supercomputer Hactar had created. Alas, this leaves us off with a cliff hanger and leads into another book within the series, which I anticipate, I will enjoy equally as much.

I like the title and agree with my previous post. I wouldn't change the title for anything else, since it represents the whole novel very well.

Symbolism and Irony (P17, Ch.31-33)

Blog Prompt: Comment on the elements of a story in your book.

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Symbolism is an element that is taken very lightly in 'Life, the Universe and Everything'. Much of the characters or events that happen within the book are very straight forward, which makes things easier for the reader to figure out. Such as Ford Prefect literally being a sofa in the very beginning of the book, since Ford has quite an affinity to furnishings.

Irony, however, is very abundant in the book. Douglas Adams uses irony almost every chapter to describe characters and events going on within the universe. An example of such would be the Krikkit people, whom were a very peaceful and understanding society, suddenly turned genocidal at the sight of other species to the point of building vast fleets of galactic warships for the mission.

The more you Lose, the more you Gain (P12, Ch.26-31)

Blog Prompt: [12] Guess as to why the author included some things in the chapter/book and left other things out. What would you have added or omitted? Why?

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Adams is a very spontaneous writer. Many fans and I love that side of him. I believe he leaves many things out of the chapters within the books he writes to perpetuate the feeling of surprise. You never can really tell what is going to happen next with Adams' works, especially with the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' series such as this.

During these chapters, Adams suddenly introduces the fact that the galactic threat is over because the time envelope that the Krikkit people are encased in had interfered with Hactar's evil influence over the Krikkit people that he had infected. This conveniently ends all ties and main dilemmas of the novel as the climax drops.

He generally leaves out large foreshadowing so that he does not stumble over himself later on in the later chapters, which is a smart move. Although he does use foreshadowing on a smaller time scale, in the same chapter for example. Adams also has a quaint habit of being very sarcastic towards a topic or half-hearted in a humorous way, which draws the attention of readers. It's a great contrast to more of the serious books that we have read during the marking period such as "The Motorcycle Diaries" or "The Invisible Man". Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way otherwise it would ruin the rhythm of the storytelling.

Hactar, a genocidal supercomputer (P4, Ch.20-25)

Blog Prompt: Write about something that happened in this chapter or the book that surprised you, and explain why it is so surprising.

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As the Krikkit people were seemingly about to resume their galactic genocide, they suddenly lost the bloodthirsty urge to destroy the rest of the universe. The way that this was explained however was one that made sense yet surprised me with it's sudden appearance. Douglas Adams writes in such a way that he does not reveal anything to the reader beforehand, hints or foreshadowing included. This adds to the surprise factor that many people love Douglas Adams for.

However, it does seem as if he was skimping just a bit on the storyboard planning and wrote what he had imagined that exact day on impulse. I don't hate it but at the same time it does urk me just a tad. I rather do enjoy the spontanity of his ideas but wonder at times, was he just rushed to meet deadlines and wrote the most convenient thing that first came to mind?

Here it Goes Again (P6, Ch.16-19)

Blog Prompt: [6] Make a prediction on what you think will happen in future chapters. What support can you find?

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In a recent chapter, Arthur Dent encounters a creature that has a deep hatred for him. Mainly because he has been killed by Dent in various reincarnations, such as the first time when he was a fly and Arthur swatted him to death. After a while of all these deaths by the same person, he built up a memory of his past lives and remembers the man whom was the cause of his death for so long, Arthur Dent. However, knowing Douglas and how he writes, he likes the idea of continuity in his books. Thus, I believe that some how in the future chapter(s), Arthur Dent is going to accidentally kill off the creature Agrajag, whom is trying to assassinate Dent.

Adams and the real World (P1, Ch.12-15)

Blog Prompt: [1] Tell what you like or dislike about the current chapter in the book.

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During Arthur's travels, he encounters a group of people known as the "Krikkit". These people were peace loving and self sufficient on their own planet until a space shuttle crash landed on their planet. The Krikkit reverse engineered the space shuttle in order to build their own and went out searching the universe in exploration. However, they did not like what they witnessed and vowed to destroy all the species in a genocidical mission very similar to that of early Catholic religious history.

There are many parallels to the crusades of the early Catholic vatican and the people of Krikkit. Both went out and ventured to unknown lands and did not agree with the rest of the world, resulting in their overall choice to wage war on everyone whom did not agree with them. I find some of Douglas Adam's ideas to parallel greatly with history which is a great resource for a writer.

Style is Everything (P11, Ch.10-12)

Blog Prompt: Comment on the author's style and use of language. Is it effective or ineffective? Does it add or detract from your enjoyment of the book?

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Douglas Adams has a very witty tone with his words and a sarcastic yet humorous view on his fictional universe and the inhabitants that live within it. Regardless of how terrible or horrendous or mind-boggingly life-threatening the situation is, the narration of Adam's works retains a sense of pure objectivity and blatant half-hearted interest regarding the entire ordeal. This is extremely effective with his storytelling and sets up a very good rhythm for the book, luring the reader to read more with interest and curiosity for what would happen next. To me, this adds to the enjoyment of the book. In fact, Douglas Adam's writing style is possibly one of the main reasons I enjoy the book.