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The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; chapters 6-10

#112: Oct. - Dec. 2012 (Fiction)
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MaryLupin

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Re: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; chapters 6-10

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giselle wrote:I like your interpretation, that the name suggests relationships. I was on a somewhat different thread, trying to link the Heart of Gold ship to god somehow ... a sort of perverse analogy, tongue in cheek, where, like the all-seeing, all knowing god, the 'heart of gold' spaceship is everywhere and (ironically) its name suggests caring about people (which is, of course, impossible for a spaceship, but might be possible for a god, at least some people think so ...) Hmm, now that I write this down I'm not sure it makes sense, but oh well, there you have it.
Actually, I think we're coming at the same point from different directions. I do think the ship is a kind of perverse god - with all its sighing doors - but it's a god that is a bit more honest in that it was built to serve us and no one makes the mistake of thinking otherwise. Except of course, since it is much more powerful than us, itdevelops its own agenda - like bring Ford and his semi-cousin back together and the 2 earthlings. I do think that DA is pointing out the perversity of the things we create with our imaginations (i.e. gods) - that they take over in some ways. I also think that he's saying we are of the material universe and the rules that guide the anomalies and probabilities of matter also guide us. That we are not special.
Last edited by MaryLupin on Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I've always found it rather exciting to remember that there is a difference between what we experience and what we think it means.
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Re: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; chapters 6-10

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Thanks Giselle and Mary that your posts on the ship gave me a new perspective on the ship and the author's intent. This is my first time reading Adams and I'm enjoying his humor so far there are some things I had not really pieced together until reading your posts.

Like in the first thread, I have to point out my favorite section in these chapters.
England no longer existed. He'd got that--somehow he'd got it. He tried again. America, he thought, has gone. He couldn't grasp it. He decided to start smaller again. New York has gone. No reaction. He'd never seriously believed it existed anyway. The dollar, he thought, has sunk for ever. Slight tremor there. Every Bogart movie has been wiped, he said to himself and that gave him a nasty know. McDonald's, he though. There is no longer any such thing as a McDonald's hamburger. He passed out. When he came round a second later he found he was sobbing for his mother.
I love this part because DA makes it clear what most people value, not their country, no cities, other people--money and fast food. Out of all of the earth these were the two things that mattered to him money (partially), but really the food. I think today this is still true for many people. They value their families, but they are not really concerned with worldwide events, other countries or even other cities. It is sad in a way, but shows that even many years later his work is still relevant, in addition to making us smile.
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giselle

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Re: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; chapters 6-10

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I think its easy to see DA writing as purely comedy, and it is very good comedy IMO, but what is surfacing as we go through this Hitchhikers Guide discussion is that these are more than just funny books .. I guess we could say that Adams is .. more than just a pretty face!!
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