--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ghastly,\" continued Marvin, \"it all is…" description: "\"Ghastly,\" continued Marvin, \"it all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don't even talk about it. Look at this door,\" he said, stepping through it. The irony ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg" --- # Ghastly," continued Marvin, "it all is. Absolutely… ![“Ghastly," continued Marvin, "it all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don't even talk about it. Look at this door," he said, stepping through it. The irony circuits cut in to his voice modulator as he mimicked the style of the sales brochure. " 'All the doors in his spaceship have a cheerful and sunny…” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg) > “Ghastly," continued Marvin, "it all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don't even talk about it. Look at this door," he said, stepping through it. The irony circuits cut in to his voice modulator as he mimicked the style of the sales brochure. " 'All the doors in his spaceship have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done.' " As the door closed behind them it became apparent that it did indeed have a satisfied sighlike quality to it. "Hummmmmmmyummmmmmmah!" it said.” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses absurd, to critique bureaucratic language and the emptiness of corporate optimism. **In simple terms:** Satire shows corporate talk is meaningless. Key Takeaway Question superficial corporate messaging. Themes satire bureaucracy absurdity Mood humorous critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - Corporate communications - advertising - creative writing - media analysis Key Concepts Literary humor social critique language play Questions to Reflect On - How does absurdity reveal truth? - What can we learn about corporate language from satire? A Different Perspective May be too niche for readers unfamiliar with the series. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brochures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brochures/) [Cheerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheerful/) [Circuits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circuits/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Job well done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-well-done/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Spaceships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spaceships/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Sunny disposition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunny-disposition/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [First we thought the PC was a calculator. 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The positive attitude of the people around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/hang-out-with-optimistic-people-use-the-power-of-peer-influence-to/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [“I lie back on the bed and listen to the sounds of Easter—the optimist’s holiday, the holiday with the suburbs in mind, the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-lie-back-on-the-bed-and-listen-to-the-sounds-of-easter-the-optimist/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [I always thought he gave me that name because I have a kind of outgoing or sunny disposition. And in those days I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/surya-das/i-always-thought-he-gave-me-that-name-because-i-have-a-kind-of/) [Surya Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/surya-das/) > [Everyone wants to be an influencer. What are the prerequisites? A sunny disposition, the ability to look great in the free clothes you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-bachchan-nanda/everyone-wants-to-be-an-influencer-what-are-the-prerequisites-a-sunny/) [Shweta Bachchan Nanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-bachchan-nanda/) > [“I’d like to see some identification,” growled the inspector. I fully expected Barrons to toss O’Duffy from the shop on his ear. 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It’s too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/sunlight-is-great-in-a-convertible-but-it-is-not-convertible-to/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“All changes are positive, just look in the bright side, always and you find the pearl that lies beneath in the sand and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-claudia-antunes/all-changes-are-positive-just-look-in-the-bright-side-always-and-you/) [Ana Claudia Antunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-claudia-antunes/) > [“I love you, Maude Laurent. I’ve loved you since the moment you poured that cup of coffee all over me and berated me in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-adams/i-love-you-maude-laurent-i-ve-loved-you-since-the-moment-you-poured/) [Anna Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-adams/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. 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"Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. 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All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) Browse all 6,789 Behinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ghastly,\" continued Marvin, \"it all is. Absolutely ghastly. Just don't even talk about it. Look at this door,\" he said, stepping through it. The irony circuits cut in to his voice modulator as he mimicked the style of the sales brochure. \" 'All the doors in his spaceship have a cheerful and sunny disposition. It is their pleasure to open for you, and their satisfaction to close again with the knowledge of a job well done.' \" As the door closed behind them it became apparent that it did indeed have a satisfied sighlike quality to it. \"Hummmmmmmyummmmmmmah!\" it said.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absolutely-ghastly-just-don-t-even/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absolutely-ghastly-just-don-t-even/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac3/douglas-adams-122_behinds_ghastly-continued-marvin-it-all-is-absol_1375262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ghastly,\" continued Marvin, \"it all is. 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