Arthur Dent is the one of the main characters in the book and he Has made friends with the other main character Ford Prefect, in the book Arthur's house gets knocked down and Ford keeps telling him that the world is going to end, and sure enough it does but Ford saves the both of them from eminent death
A little bit about Arthur
Arthur Dent lives in Cottingon in the west country and he lives in a house that the demolition company want to knock down, but he won't let that happen so he lies in front of the yellow bulldozer to protect his house. It says that Arthur Dent is about 30 years old, and he is never really at Ease with himself as it says in the book. Arthur also met a girl called Trisha(Trillian) at a party and they talked all night and then she saves both of their lives with the help of Zaphod when they are thrown of the Vogons ship.
Arthur's Friendship with Ford
Arthur has a very big friendship with Ford and this all came about when Ford tried to shake hands with a car and Arthur saved his life and from there they kept building there friendship and now it has turned out to be pretty good for Arthur seeing as Ford has just saved his life. Now they take you on an adventure through the galaxy.
Douglas Adams wrote the book with Arthur as the main character and that he meets this guy called Ford Prefect from another planet and makes a friendship with him. They travel through the whole galaxy after saving each others lives and they meet Zaphod Beebelbrox and Trillian when they are thrown out of the Vogons ship.