Religion And Atheism In Douglas Adams Hitchhiker S Guide To The Galaxy

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Theology - Miscellaneous, grade: A, University of Glasgow, course: Religion and Literature, 10 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Douglas Adams says about himself that he is not just a confessing atheist, but rather a radical atheist. This attitude leads us to the task of this seminar paper. It will examine some of the theological and philosophical elements, which appear in the text, and how the author's personal confession influenced their use. Furthermore, as a result, we will see in how far this piece of literature can be regarded as serious criticism of religion.

Inhaltsangabe:Introduction: The story of The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy is the story of Life, the Universe and Everything. Initially broadcasted as a radio series on BBC Radio 4 in 1978 it was such a success that its author, Douglas Adams, eventually ended up not only publishing the story with a slightly modified plot in book form but also creating four sequels until 1992. The story was taken up by other media which resulted in the creation of a TV series in 1981, stage shows, a movie in 2005, a computer game, comics, towels and a lot more. Today the H2G2 has reached a cult status that few other Science Fiction works boast. The plot of the HG is mostly confusing and full of curious ideas wherefore a complete summary is not possible at this point. However, the following paragraph will give the unacquainted readers an idea of the story. There are of course many problems connected with life, of which some of the most popular are: Why are people born? Why do they die? Why do they want to spend so much of the intervening time wearing digital watches? The Trilogy in Five Parts is the story of Arthur Dent and his quest for the answers to these problems. After the destruction of Earth the only surviving Englishman Dent hitchhikes through the width of time and space, finds out the answer to the ultimate question, dines at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, saves the world, falls in love with a woman whose feet cannot touch the ground, is worshipped by birds and sandwich-lovers, is enlightened by God s final message to His Creation and finally meets his fate on STAVROMULABETA. The ape-descendent Dent is accompanied by Ford Prefect, owner of a copy of the most remarkable book ever to come out of the Great Publishing Houses of Ursa Minor Beta: The Hitchhiker s Guide to the Galaxy an encyclopaedia that sells so well mainly because it has the words DON T PANIC written in large friendly letters on the cover. Other companions are Marvin, the paranoid android, Trillian, the sole surviving woman from Earth and Zaphod Beeblebrox, the former Galactic President. The author of this humorous work of Science Fiction was born as Douglas Noel Adams on March 11th 1952 in Cambridge, UK, and died on May 11th 2001 in Santa Barbara, California. Whilst studying English in Cambridge he joined the Footlights Society, a comedy group which is also closely connected to Monty Python. Adams initial career aspiration was to become a comedian yet he seemingly never [...]

The Salmon of Doubt is Douglas Adams's indispensable guide to life, the universe and everything. It includes short stories and eleven chapters of a Dirk Gently novel that Douglas Adams was working on at the time of his death, and features an introduction by Stephen Fry. This sublime collection dips into the wit and wisdom of the man behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, uncovering his unique comic musings on everything from his school-trousers to malt whisky and from the letter Y through to his own nose, via atheism, hangovers and fried eggs. These hilarious collected writings reveal the warmth, enthusiasm and ferocious intelligence behind this most English of comic writers; a man who was virtually an unofficial member of the Monty Python team. Douglas Adams on his passion for P. G. Wodehouse, The Beatles and the perfect cup of tea alone make this a must-have collection and a remarkable sign-off from one of the best loved writers of all time. Start from the beginning of the surreal Dirk Gently series with Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

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