The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Consider the role of bureaucracy and bureaucrats in the novel. How are they depicted? What is their wider significance?

Compare and contrast the various characters, who often work as foils for one another. How are Arthur and Ford similar or different? How does Zaphod’s character compare and/or contrast to both Arthur and Ford? What role does Trillian or Marvin play in this dynamic?

From governments to academia to police agencies, the book tackles the complex question of how authority functions and how the individual is affected by systems of power. What forms of power exist in the novel? How is power used or misused? How do different characters respond to it?

How does the author use science and technology to create his science-fictional world? How does Adams use his technological concepts to parody or illuminate aspects of his own era?

The Guide within The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy represents another layer of narration. What is the effect of meta-fictional elements in the book? What does the Guide represent, and how does it function narratively and thematically?

What is the impact of the Infinite Improbability Drive on the characters? On the plot? How does the author use this device to explore metaphysical conundrums?

How does the author critique consumer capitalism? How does he portray work?

Analyze the role of the mice and their society in the novel. What is their significance? Do they mirror humans and human society in any way? Why or why not?