The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy underlines a lot of present day issues, especially to do with politics, but hides them with comedic effect or the futuristic world. In the beginning of the story Dent wakes up to bulldozers outside his house ready to tear it down. Dent lies down in front of the bulldozers to ward them off. Dent’s situation is one that some have found themselves in. That one, out of the blue, it’s decided that the government wants to build a bypass and that must vacate immediately. Or that Dents actions of lying in front of the bulldozer is a similar action that protesters have used before. The beginning also shows how both the construction worker and Prosser turn the situation to their benefit. Prosser’s arguments always lead to how the tearing down of Dent’s house will be good for everyone, but who is really benefiting from this situation, the construction workers and Prosser. Prosser is more worried about his own situation than Dents. The phrase Don’t Panic is used a lot in the book and Dent even says that was the first helpful thing anybody’s said to me all day. This phrase is a reference to when politic figures often tell the viewers not to panic to devoid the attention away from explaining the issue or what they are doing to solve the issue. The planet Magrathea could be linked to the economic state of the UK and how Magrathea was once one of the greatest financial powers in the galaxy, similar to how Britain was once the most powerful nation during the colonial era. Until both went into a recession, manufacturing was shut down, similar to union strikes.