The restaurant at the end of the universe, by Douglas Adams

1496 Words3 Pages

PLOT SUMMARY AND THEME OF THE NOVEL: The plot of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams, commences when the diverse, disheveled, and, at least in the case of the paranoid android, depressed crew of the spaceship, The Heart of Gold, find themselves incapable of utilizing the ship’s infinite improbability drive to warp through hyperspace to escape the Vogon flagship’s attempts to exterminate the last of the human race due to the ship’s computer faculties being temporarily consumed by the simple task of figuring out to synthesize a cup of tea. After a desperate séance and a quick visit from a deceased ancestor, the flamboyantly tacky, ex-president of the universe, and captain of The Heart of Gold, Zaphod Bebblebrox, is unwillingly flung on a journey by an old friend, after the improbability drive starts working of course, to find the true ruler of the universe with his friends in tow. After witnessing the end of the universe over dinner, searching for the ultimate meaning of life, almost flying into the sun, and getting separated 2 million years in the past, the story ends with Zaphod meeting the nihilist ruler of the universe while Arthur and Ford are stranded on prehistoric earth with an excess of imbeciles and no hope of ever finding the meaning of life, the universe, and everything. The novel’s theme is that no matter how contradictory life may seem, it will always become more contrary than we could ever imagine. CHARACTERS AND POINT OF VIEW: The idiosyncratic cast of characters created by Douglas Adams drives The Restaurant at the End of the Universe through the intricate roads of plot and humor. The most eminent of all characters is the protagonist, Zaphod Beeblebrox. The two-headed, t... ... middle of paper ... ...is a story that combines science fiction and comedy into a raucous page-turner that is suited for older audiences. With badinage such as spending a year dead for tax reasons, and the Time Traveler’s Handbook of 1001Tense Formations, the humor and ideas present in this novel appeal more to adults. The zany, eccentric humor may not be for everyone. With the science fiction, futuristic background new opportunities for amusement arise. The jocose, light-hearted mood of this unique farce shows the audience that comicality can come from anywhere. Works Cited Hardy, Sarah Madsen. "What Happened to Maggie.” Short Stories for Students 5 (1999): 249- 252. Print. Morrison, Toni. “Recitatif.” Elements of literature, 5th Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2007. 154-160. Adams, Douglas. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. New York: Wings Books, 1989.

More about The restaurant at the end of the universe, by Douglas Adams

Open Document