The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Excellent Random Title (prompt 18)

The title, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe," is an excellent title. In order to match the book's tone, it had to be something funny and relatively ridiculous. It also catches the reader's attention very effectively, and turns out to be a rather large part of the story itself.

The real restaurant at the end of the universe is a restaurant contained in a time and matter protective shield that exists at the very end of the universe (think apocalypse). Patrons must travel through time to the very last moments of existence to eat at this restaurant, and while eating enjoy the show the universe puts on as it is brought to an end. Arthur, Zaphod, Trillian, and Ford are brought to this restaurant when Zaphod tells the computer to bring them to the closest place to eat. The computer then jumps through time to the restaurant at the end of the universe (which happens to exist in that very location millions (and millions and millions) of years later. While there, the group sees a turning point in their trip. They abandon their starship and begin traveling to their final destinations (for this book anyway). For this reason, the title is very well planned.

If I were to rename this book, I would frankly have a very hard time. I would try to match Adams' sense of humor while still keeping the title relevant to the story. The best I can come up with is, "Who's the Nutter In Charge Here??" My title isn't as good as Adams', but I think it has potential. The true ruler of the universe turns out to be a mentally ill man kept locked away in a shack on a remote planet protected by a massive improbability field. This title also conveys the sense of aimlessness and confusion often felt by the characters throughout the book.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Misleading Motives (prompt 7)

My predictions from prompt 6 were pretty far off. I predicted that the book would be an adventure story of the group trying to find the true ruler of the universe. It ended up being the opposite. 

Rather than try to find the true ruler of the universe, Zaphod tried to run away. The book ended up being an adventure story of the group trying to avoid finding the ruler of the universe. Although in the end they fail (and successfully find the true ruler of the universe), the vast majority of the book seemed to be random wanderings around the universe (which I was very okay with). 

My predictions were wrong because I put too much faith into Zaphod's determination, and not enough into his lazy and self-serving attitude. A responsible and curious person would have searched for the one true ruler of the universe as he was supposed to, but that didn't adequately entertain Zaphod. I should have seen those aspects of Zaphod's personality and adjusted my predictions accordingly.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Confusing Improbability (prompt 2)(chapter 27)

In this one page chapter, Zaphod and Trillian rematerialize in a completely random place in the universe after jumping into an unprogrammed teleporter to avoid certain death. Against all odds, they end up on the starship Heart of Gold. They had previously abandoned this ship, and it is now in the possession of the man trying to force Zaphod to find the one true ruler of the universe. 

So, I have to wonder, how did they end up back on the ship? The starship Heart of Gold has a one-of-a-kind improbability drive that causes the most improbable things to happen when engaged. However, this was not mentioned. All that is said is Zaphod and Trillian happen to reappear on the ship. The occupant of the ship never engaged the drive, so I don't understand what is going on. This is probably the only down side to Adams' writing style. I think he sometimes uses his humor and this improbability drive to make ridiculously impossible things happen to move the plot along, and here I think he overdid it.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Loner Hitchhikers (prompt 3)(chapter 26)

In chapter 26, Arthur and Ford find themselves stuck on a ship full of millions of useless members of society that is heading for a pre-programmed crash landing on a remote planet. While on the ship and after crashing, Ford and Arthur remain isolated. Instead of helping the crew unload the millions of frozen people from the ship, they start to look around. And, as soon as they can, they leave to try to find a way off the planet.

This suggests to me that Ford and Arthur see themselves as either better than or completely separate from these people. Since they aren't from the same planet, Ford and Arthur feel no obligation to help save the lives of millions of frozen people. (Eventually, the ship sinks into a swamp with millions still frozen on board.) Perhaps as a result of their travels, Ford and Arthur feel as if they belong to a class of their own. 

For Arthur, this is a little more understandable. His planet is destroyed and he still hasn't gotten used to the galactic new world he now lives in. He clearly feels isolated from and ignorant of his surroundings throughout the story, and it is very clearly showing itself here.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Sacrifice Story for Funny (prompt 12)(chapter 22)

“On Earth – when there had been an Earth, before it was demolished to make way for a new hyperspace bypass – the problem had been with cars. The disadvantages involved in pulling lots of black sticky slime from out of the ground where it had been safely hidden out of harm’s way, turning it into tar to cover the land with, smoke to fill the air with and pouring the rest into the sea, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of being able to get more quickly from one place to another – particularly when the place you arrived at had probably become, as a result of this, very similar to the place you had left, i.e., covered with tar, full of smoke and short of fish.” – (page 168)

Douglas Adams wrote this nice piece of commentary into the beginning of chapter 22. He seems to do that a lot. Rather than continue the story or describe the setting, he gives the reader a laugh. In this chapter, two of the main characters have been randomly transported to an unknown location that could be anywhere within a few lightyears of nowhere. So, where most authors would launch into a long and (in my opinion) boring description of the new setting, Adams comments on modes of transportation. After he finishes criticizing cars, Adams shows the reader some popular protest songs against teleportation (which are all very entertaining).

I think Adams decides to include more humorous than pertinent information sometimes because it is simply his writing style. Readers like myself enjoy reading this kind of book because we don’t have to sit through long-winded descriptions just to prove an author’s eloquence. Rather, we have fun laughing and get something more from the book than just the story.

Below is an excellent example of how I feel when writers (or characters) go on and ramble about themselves or the setting or their thoughts or anything else really that isn't interesting. I think this book does an excellent job of keeping the reader interested, unlike some other books (**cough cough** invisible man **cough** crime and punishment **cough cough**) that we have read in the past.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: The Depressed Robot Holds the Key (prompt 4)(chapter 20)

In The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it is revealed that the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42. The question, however, must be figured out by the giant organic super-computer that is earth. Unfortunately, as we find out in the next book, Earth was destroyed by psychologists so they could preserve their business and retain their clients just before the question was found.

Now, Arthur Dent holds the question to the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything. The only question remaining is how do Zaphod and the crew get it out of Arthur? Nobody knows. At least that was how it seemed. In this chapter, Marvin makes a startling announcement. Marvin, a manic depressive robot, hears the crew discussing how to find the question and announce that he can see it stamped on Arthur's brain waves. When asked why he hadn't said anything sooner, he replies, "You didn't ask."

This obviously surprised me. As a reader and an analyst, this is not what I was expecting. As a reader, I see Marvin as a sad little robot with funny remarks who doesn't really do anything. As an analyst, I see Marvin as a minor character used primarily for comic relief. Either way, I did not expect him to be able to find the question to the ultimate answer of life, the universe, and everything.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Silly Zaphod... (prompt 13)(chapter 18)

In this chapter, Zaphod and the group are dining at the restaurant at the end of the universe (where the main attraction is the end of space and time itself). Rather than stay and watch the show, however, Zaphod decides to go down to the parking lot. While there, him and Ford admire the fancy cars and space-craft. One such vehicle catches their eye in particular. This vehicle is so black, that it can barely be seen. It's surface is completely frictionless and can therefore not be touched. Consequently, Zaphod and Ford decide to steal the car.

I think this is a very stupid thing to do. Given the fact that they have a one-of-a-kind improbability drive ship waiting for them some five hundred and seventy-six thousand million, three thousand five hundred and seventy nine years years in the past, why would they steal someone else's car? The improbability drive provided a useful way of escaping pursuit and making a good story. Now, they just have a really black car.

If I could give Zaphod and Ford some advice, I would say stick with what you have. You're making a very rich being very angry by stealing their car, and the last thing you need right now is more enemies.

The Restaraunt at the End of the Universe: Finally, a sarcasm to match my own (prompt 11)(chapter 17)

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy notes that Disaster Area, a plutonium rock band from the Gagrakacka Mind Zones, are generally held to be not only the loudest rock band in the Galaxy, but in fact the loudest noise of any kind at all. Regular concert goers judge that the best sound balance is usually to be heard from within a heavily insulated spaceship which stays in orbit around the planet--or more frequently around a completely different planet." --(page 114)

Douglas Adams has an amazing sense of humor, and it shows in his writing style. Very often, chapters begin with random tidbits of knowledge such as the above paragraph. These tidbits are always phrased to sound factual, but are at the same time completely ridiculous. Adams' use of sarcasm and humor in his writing greatly adds to my enjoyment of this book. As a fairly sarcastic person myself, reading is made much more enjoyable when I can laugh with the author.

Adams also uses fantastic action words when writing. He often treats inanimate objects as people in this respect (a drink machine "gurgles sweetly"). Little details such as this add to the humor in Adams' style and voice that really draws me to his writing.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Zaphod - the idiot, the president, the mysterious potential. (prompt 6)

"I don't know what this great thing I'm meant to be doing is, and it looks to me as if I was supposed not to know. And I resent that, right? The old me knew, The old me cared. Fine, so far so good. Except that the old me cared so much that he actually got inside his own brain - my own brain - and locked off the bits that knew and cared, because if I knew and cared I wouldn't be able to do it." ... "Well, I don't want to know" ... "That's my choice. I'm not going to be anybody's puppet, particularly not my own." (page 26)

Zaphod Beeblebrox, the ex-president of the galaxy, clearly has some issues. We find out soon after this quote that Zaphod only became president to find out who actually runs the galaxy (because the president has virtually no power in actuality). However, should he have gone through the mandatory head-screening process before becoming president with this motive in mind, then he would have been thrown out immediately. So, he locked away what he wanted to do so that even he didn't know it anymore. Now, it's coming back.

So, I predict that by the end of this book we will know who (or what) truly controls the galaxy. I think the rest of the story will be almost like an adventure while Zaphod and the rest of the characters run around the universe trying to unlock the clues in Zaphod's head. If not, then I really have no idea where this book is going, but I still like how it's getting there.

The following video is a pretty good visual representation of Zaphod's character from the movie, "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Who did Che want to become? Thesis

Che's genuine care and compassion for the underdogs of society led to his tendency to lose sight of what was truly best for nations as a whole while revolutionizing whatever countries he could.

Write me a story

Che spent a lot of time describing the history and people of Cuzco. Many other stories (books, movies, fables, etc) also focus on Cuzco. Using whatever random history or legend of Cuzco you may know (or find), write a short story with Cuzco as the setting.

I chose this as my Do Now because Cuzco is an interesting place with many legends within its history. Che explored Cuzco from a very factual and historical perspective, so I thought it would be interesting to think about some of the more legendary aspects of this city.

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Humorous Hooker (prompt 1)(chapter 2)

"Listen, you machine," he said, "you claim you can synthesize any drink in existence, so why do you keep giving me the same undrinkable stuff?"

"Nutrition and pleasurable sense data," burbled the machine. "Share and Enjoy."

"It tastes filthy!"

"If you have enjoyed the experience of this drink," continued the machine, "why not share it with your friends?"

"Because," said Arthur tartly, "I want keep them. Will you try to comprehend what I'm telling you? That drink..."

"That drink," said the machine sweetly, "was individually tailored to meet your personal requirements for nutrition and pleasure."

"Ah," said Arthur, "so I'm a masochist on a diet am I?"

"Share and Enjoy."

"Oh, shut up."

Arthur decided to give up.

This argument between Arthur Dent (one of two remaining humans in the universe) and a commercial beverage machine which supposedly makes a drink specifically designed for whoever is using the machine occurs in the second chapter of my independent reading book, Douglas Adams' The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. By far, my favorite aspect of Adams' writing is his humor. It is what drew me to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and it is what drew me to this book. Since I don't particularly enjoy reading for symbolism or deeper meaning (sorry English teachers), I need this kind of humorous motivation to get me to read a book. I really enjoy this kind of reading, and it seems like it's really not a school assignment.

The Beginnings of a Revolutionary

Che's encounter with the asthmatic old lady seemed to prompt the first political rant we get to hear out of Che. His feelings of social injustice in respect to those such as the old lady who can no longer work are first shown here by this quotation. As he says...

"Individuals in poor families who can't pay their way become surrounded by an atmosphere of barely disguised acrimony' they stop being father, mother, sister or brother and become a purely negative factor in the struggle for life and, consequently, a source of bitterness for the healthy members of the community who resent their illness as if it were a personal insult to those who have to support them." (pg 70)

This event obviously influenced Che to start thinking with a communist/socialist frame of mind. Given what we know about Che's future as a socialist reformer, we can safely say that this event accurately shows his future views. This is, perhaps, the beginning of the transformation from the wandering doctor Che to the socialist reformer Che that now plasters counter-culture propaganda across the world.