The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is the name of the series and the first book, but within the novel, it’s also the travel guide that characters frequently consult for more information about the strange things they encounter. The aim of the book is to provide information on how to experience “the marvels of the known Universe for less than thirty Altairian dollars a day” (32). This promise, however, is not necessarily kept. Many of the entries for the Guide are incorrect or incomplete, often leading to tragic consequences for those who trust it. When readers complain about the Guide, the publisher claims that reality itself is incorrect and that the Guide is to be trusted. In this way, the Guide creates a documented conflict between what is and what is presumed to be. It symbolizes the extent to which nothing in the world is ever entirely reliable.

In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Zaphod visits the headquarters of Megadodo Publications, the corporation responsible for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Outside, he encounters people accusing Megadodo of being an “absolute sell out” (33). What began as a guide for hitchhikers has become another example of corporate greed, to the point where the headquarters themselves are located on a planet that the hitchhikers can’t visit for anything close to 30 Altairian dollars a day. What began with good intentions has become another means of making money. Any who do make it to the headquarters are repelled by the insect receptionist who revels in telling hitchhikers to go away. Corporate responsibility and accountability are ignored in favor of profits, turning the Guide into a symbolic critique of capitalistic greed.

Arthur eventually decides that his copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is no longer useful to him. By throwing away the Guide and turning his attention to his date, Arthur accepts his place in the Universe. In this sense, the second novel in the series ends with the symbolic rejection of the Guide as a useful part of life.