Original artwork, not a still
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy · 1979
“Are you telling me,” he said, “that you set yourself up to become President of the Galaxy just to steal that ship?” “That’s it,” said Zaphod with the sort of grin that would get most people locked away in a room with soft walls.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The Presidency of the Galaxy has no real power, so the joke is that the biggest job in the cosmos was only a means to nick a spaceship. It sums up Zaphod: reckless, vain and delighted by his own audacity. The grin line is the character note fans remember, and the speech is a favourite for describing any ridiculous scheme carried out with total conviction.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyShow the scene
Late in the first novel the Heart of Gold has reached Magrathea, and its passengers learn what Zaphod Beeblebrox was really up to. He did not become President of the Galaxy out of ambition; he ran for the office so that he could steal the Infinite Improbability Drive ship at its unveiling. One of his companions asks, in disbelief, whether that was the whole point. Zaphod admits it with a grin the narrator says would get most people locked in a room with soft walls. He also confesses that he altered his own brain to hide the plan, even from himself.
Sources (2)
- LitCharts: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, chapter 29chapter 29 summaryReference checked
- Hitchhiker's Wiki: Zaphod BeeblebroxAbilities sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
