Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy Quiz

Arthur’s view of life is very dull. He thinks it’s boring, and doesn’t see the excitement in life. He desires to know why he is alive and living a life, and can’t just let it go be occupied with other things. He says after Slartibartfast explains the story of the ultimate question: “All through my life I’ve had this strange unaccountable feeling that something was going on in the world, something big, even sinister, and no one would tell me what it was” (195). In comparison to Slartibartfast, he can’t get over the meaning of life and just keep himself occupied.

“I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle […]” (197), Arthur quotes. I believe he hasn’t found a hobby in life, compared to Slartibartfast, who really enjoys making fjords. Slartibartfast quotes: “Doing the coastlines was always my favorite. Used to have endless fun doing my little bits with the fjords […]” (156).  In my opinion I believe it is important to have something you enjoy and admire.

Slartibartfast thinks that we should just live life and enjoy every moment, and that we shouldn’t waste time on finding the question to something when the chances of finding it is so ridiculously close as you can get to impossible, that they shouldn’t waste time on it. Slartibarfast quotes: “But I always think that the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote that the only thing to do is to hang to the sense of it and just keep yourself occupied. Look at me: I design coastlines. I got an award for Norway.”(196).

Even though Douglas Adams doesn’t mention it, it feels like Arthur isn’t very open for new things, and likes to keep to himself. He is a bit of an “Everyman”, and isn’t very special or different. He says: “[…] has the world always been like this and I’ve been too wrapped up in myself to notice?” (26). Slartibartfast is very different, and has a major talent for designing coastlines, and he is very protective of them too: “Those glaciers are works of art! Elegantly sculpted contours, soaring pinnacles of ice, deep majestic ravines! It would be sacrilege to go skiing in high art!” (201).

As a conclusion, I think Arthur’s and Slartibartfast’s personal outlooks are very different in the way they look at life. Arthur doesn’t think his every day is in particular exciting, and doesn’t seem to care much about it either. Slartibartfast is very different, and I don’t think he just sits and waits for a change in life if you are unhappy, instead works to make a difference. An example is that he decided not to stand and wait for the “Ultimate Question”, and thought that he should do something with life instead. This is the difference between Arthur Dent’s personal outlook and Slartibartfast’s.