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Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy analysis
Analytical essay on the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy analysis
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Targets of Satire in The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams satirizes many targets in The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams came up with the idea for The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in a drunken haze in Germany while he was lying in a field with the stars spinning over him (Adams, Douglas 12) which explains the style of humor, and the satire in the novel, which does not appear to make sense at first, but eventually does. Adams almost forgot about his idea for the novel (Gaiman 7). The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy satirizes many targets, but especially government and religion.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy began as an idea that Adams had, believe it or not, hitchhiking through Europe (“Douglas Adams”). A friend loaned him a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe, and Adams had the idea for a Hitchhiker’s Guide to everywhere. After that, lying in a field in Germany, his mind made the leap to a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The radio broadcast of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy began in 1978, well before many of the ideas proposed in the novels were brought into reality, or even originated, barring the Hitchhiker’s Guide. As such, everything in the series is entirely random and, at least in contemporary eyes, entirely improbable (who, in that time, could even begin to imagine aliens who are actually friendly? Or that they all were almost the same as human society?), and that improbability forms the basis of the entire series. It allows for some scenarios that were just about impossible to happen, due to a device that Adams devised, the Improbability Drive, to make the improbable into the probable. These scenarios allowed for examination of institutio...
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... Galaxy. New York: Del Ray, 2002. 7-10. Print.
Gaydosik, Victoria. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 22 Nov, 2013.
Hamilton, Geoff, and Brian Jones. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” Bloom’s Literature. Facts on File, Inc. Web. 22 Nov, 2013.
Havey, Robert. “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Genre.” College of Literature, Science, and Arts. University of Michigan. Web. 13 Dec, 2013
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Dir. Garth Jennings. Perf. Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel. Buena Vista Pictures, 2005. Film.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Narr. Peter Jones. BBC Radio 4. 8 Mar, 1978. Radio.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. BBC Two. 5 Jan, 1981. Television.
Schlegal, Christian. Religion and Atheism in Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” GRIN Verlag, 2007. Print.
There is a direct link in Book I and Book IV of the Once and Future King from the animation and adventure that Wart experiences to the fall of King Arthur’s reign. The shift is long and detailed but in the end everything ties together. Although at points the plot is grim, White throws in a little bit of satire throughout every book, for example in Book II when the Orkney environment is harsh but then it is contradicted by the behavior of Sir Pellinore, Sir Grummore, and Sir Palomides. In Book III, it is very descriptive and tedious with a darker tone, but then also is offset by Lancelot’s adventures. It is evident that the tone changes drastically from Book I to Book IV but what I noticed, is that the same themes and ideas are expressed within these two books.
“How to poison the earth” by Linnea Saukko can be seen in two different aspects. The first one would be by looking at it in a literal way, in which it will make it a very harsh, inhumane and cold text. On the other hand, it could be seen as a satire, sarcastic and ironic text in which Saukko expects to catch the reader’s attention. Saukko exaggerates the sarcasm, and satire in her writing in order to make the readers realize and understand the main purpose of her essay, which is to warn readers about threats to the future of our planet.
Vonnegut uses satire that is both dark and humorous to pursue this point. A good example is found in the prelude of the book where he writes, "Nothing in this book is true. 'Live by the foma [Harmless untruths] that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.'"
The ultimate irony of the book is that no matter what religion you believe in, no matter what acts of goodness you perform, no matter what truth and beauty there is in small idiosyncrasies of life, nothing in the end can save everything from total ruin and pointlessness. The destruction of the world by ice-nine showed Vonnegut's tendency towards this pessimistic view of the world. No matter what any of the characters wished for or did, the world was destroyed all the same by some incredibly stupid and pointless force called fate, or God, who guided the entire human race through its futile and bloody history simply so one man could lie on the top of Mt. McCabe and commit suicide while thumbing his nose at God.
Stanley Kubrick’s sexual parody, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, illustrates an unfathomed nuclear catastrophe. Released in the midst of the Cold War, this 1964 film satirizes the heightened tensions between America and Russia. Many sexual insinuations are implemented to ridicule the serious issue of a global nuclear holocaust, in an effort to countervail the terror that plagued America at that time. Organizing principles, such as Kubrick’s blunt political attitudes about the absurdity of war and the satirical genre, are echoed by the film style of his anti-war black comedy, Dr. Strangelove.
Cat's Cradle is, "Vonnegut's most highly praised novel. Filled with humor and unforgettable characters, this apocalyptic story tells of Earth's ultimate end, and presents a vision of the future that is both darkly fantastic and funny, as Vonnegut weaves a satirical commentary on modern man and his madness" (Barnes and Noble n.pag). In Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut uses satire as a vehicle for threatened self-destruction when he designs the government of San Lorenzo. In addition, the Bokonists practice of Boko-maru, and if the world is going to end in total self destruction and ruin, then people will die, no matter how good people are and what religion people believe.
Kurt Vonnegut’s science fiction, short story, “Harrison Bergeron” satirizes the defective side of an ideal, utopian American society in 2081, where “everyone was finally equal” (Vonnegut 1). When you first begin to read “Harrison Bergeron”, through an objective, nonchalant voice of the narrator, nothing really overly suggests negativity, yet the conclusion and the narrator's subtle description of the events show how comically tragic it really is. Vonnegut’s use of morbid satire elicits a strong response from the readers as it makes you quickly realize that this scenario does not resemble a utopian society at all, but an oppressive, government and technology-controlled society. “A dystopian society is a
What the heck was Heller up to? That is a simple, yet daunting question. In the 1961 novel Catch 22 Joseph Heller was poking fun at not only the United States Army but the entire human race. He often would point out how there was a lot of disorientation in the army and how nine out of ten times no one would know what was going on. Heller being the former veteran he was probably had a few experiences with not knowing what was going on. He himself flew 60 missions and was a bombardier like the main character the novel focuses around Captain John Yossarian. Yossarian is the protagonist of the novel and is focused solely on himself. Heller uses copious amounts of satire to tell his story and explain the bewilderment in the army. He uses a lot of comic allusions to make peoples names mean different things, for instance Lieutenant Scheisskopf actually means shi*t head, and Lieutenant Colonel Korn’s name doesn’t necessarily have a meaning like Scheisskopf’s does but his name still has symbolism built in it. Heller has a twisted sense of humor and the way he went about telling his story made you laugh and often think of people that reminded you of the characters. He not only uses comic allusions to tell his story but often uses dark humor in instances you wouldn’t think are funny. Some of the dark humor Heller uses may be offensive to some but others may view it as comic relief. Throughout the novel Yossarian is trying to get “grounded” so he can go back home but there’s always one catch, catch 22. Catch 22 is a no-win situation, every time Yossarian would try to be grounded the doctor would always bring up this catch. It appeared multiple times throughout the storyline and seemed to follow Yossarian wherever he went. One could view ...
Kurt Vonnegut uses a combination of dark humor and irony in Slaughterhouse-Five. As a result, the novel enables the reader to realize the horrors of war while simultaneously laughing at some of the absurd situations it can generate. Mostly, Vonnegut wants the reader to recognize the fact that one has to accept things as they happen because no one can change the inevitable.
Boyle, Kay. "Astronomer's Wife." Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Fourth Edition. Ed. Judith A. Stanford. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. 619-623.
In “A Modest Proposal” several forms of satire are demonstrated throughout the story. Satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices. (Google) In "A Modest Proposal" Swift uses parody which is a form of satire. Parody is primarily making fun of something to create a humorous feel for it. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses parody to make fun of the people and children of Ireland, expressing the children as delicious food to be eaten.
Mad Magazine, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live. In our society, satire is among the most prevalent of comedic forms. This was not always true, for before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed form. Satire, however, rose out of necessity; writers and artists needed a way to ambiguously criticize their governments, their churches, and their aristocrats. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. Satire as an art form has its roots in the classics, especially in the Roman Horace's Satires. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political climate of the time was one of tension. Any criticism of government would bring harsh punishments, sometimes exile or death. In order to voice opinions without fear of punishment, malcontented writers turned to Satire. Voltaire's Candide and Swift's Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. By creating a fictional world modeled after the world he hated, Voltaire was able to attack scientists, and theologians with impunity. Jonathan Swift created many fictional worlds in his great work, Gulliver's Travels, where he constantly drew parallels to the English government.
Vonnegut’s story, “Harrison Bergeron”, satires society’s need for giving everyone a gold star. No longer is it required to win the race to receive a trophy, you only have to run it. Society worries that making a difference between the winners and losers that it may offend someone. In “Harrison Bergeron” they handicap those who are able to excel and often promote those who are not. It is shown when the announcer tries share the news bulletin. His speech impediment renders him unable to read it, but Hazel believed he should receive a raise just because he tried so hard. The ballerina then took over reading the bulletin but needed to apologize for her “unfair” voice. Today’s society often compels those who surpass others, to stop and wait for
“The year was 2081, and everyone was finally equal” (Vonnegut 133). This story is called “Harrison Bergeron” and is written by Kurt Vonnegut, and includes satire of many real societies that will supposedly influence the United States. This previous quote describes that the United States was finally perfect, but it could be argued as a communistic society. It is later stated that: “All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution” (Vonnegut 133). This explains how the Unites States has transferred to a society related to communism. This is an example of satire that is used to mock communism. A second inference that can be made about this “utopian” society is also mocks the person’s need for nobody to have
A little while after reading the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller and Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut, two questions came to mind. What is the connection the author is trying to make to our world, and what is the author trying to change in the world? These are all either a comic satire, or tragic satire. However, they all use sharp wit in order to discredit some of the most vile vices in our world, or just social convention for that matter. This is seen in Brave New World, the dilemma of society’s stability at the cost of civilization’s humanity and moral. In this novel about a dystopian world, Huxley portrays todays world, except backwards. The fictional World State is above everyones need, while in favor for everyone as a whole, and individual freedom is neglected. Joseph Heller’s preeminent target is the absolute power of a bureaucratic system. By exposing the remoteness of the elites(how remote human beings are about something that doesn't affect them directly), lack of free-will, and the sterility of language, Heller exposes a lingering virus that threatens societies humanity. These concepts are complementary to those of Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-5. In this novel about a dull-witted man, going to and fro in time, while doing nothing to change the world around him. This, in itself, is a statement about society, how dull-witted humanity is about war. In the end, Vonnegut’s makes an assertion about what one does after a massacre, or could only do. While many suggest that Vonnegut negate free will, others believe otherwise; after all, Slaughterhouse-5 is meant to belittle untimely death under horrific situations. Satire tends to leave readers with a serious after-taste, making them chuckle sligh...