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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 4 page paper that provides an overview of existentialist themes in Douglas Adams' "Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Narrative elements expressing the existentialist philosophy are explored. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFhhgtg1.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
critics, and popular among common readers. To be able to express such a broad appeal in spite of the limiting factors of genre fiction (factors imposed externally, of course) is
quite rare, and makes Adams text worthy of examination. A superficial look, however, makes the matter of its unqualified success all the more enigmatic: the text opens with the senseless
and untimely destruction of the earth. Nor is this apocalypse presented in an epic mode; rather, the destruction is wrought by the alien construction of a space highway and earth
just happened to be in the way. The main character, Arthur Dent, is the sole survivor of the planet. Nevertheless, in spite of a seemingly morbid and dismal premise, Adams
text manages to appeal to a broad readership because it uses the device of comedy to provide existential commentary upon the human condition, a state of affairs shared by all
readers. This paragraph helps the student look at the absurd humor in the book. To understand exactly how the text functions in this regard, one might look at the
brand of humor presented therein. Far and away, the tone of the book is one of absurdity and senselessness; jokes arise out of unexpected and irrational contradictions faced by the
main characters on virtually every page. The absurdity is not just a stylistic choice, however; it also fulfills a thematic purpose in that it explores the philosophical dimension of absurdity
(Van der Colff, 2008). In other words, the humor is absurd because the author hopes to reflect the absurdity inherent in the human condition as set forth by the existentialists
- one in which there is no ultimate discernible meaning of life, and in which meaning must be cultivated in individual lives (but even then, to no ultimate "purpose" or
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