Tension, humor, and foreshadowing are some examples of elements that readers will find in The Martian. In The Martian, astronaut Mark Watney is left behind on Mars. Because of a dust storm, Mark's teammates believe that he is dead and left him behind. The Martian is a science fiction book that gives readers an idea of how people might be able to colonize Mars and gives readers an idea of what space is like. The Martian has an author that self-published his book, and who used humor and foreshadowing to keep his readers engaged.
Andy Weir is the writer of the book, The Martian, a science fiction book that started out as an ebook that he published himself. He was born on June 16, 1972 in California (“Biography.”). At the age of fifteen, Andy Weir …show more content…
In the book, Weir writes: “Designed for a mission of thirty-one sols, AL102 [a sheet that is in one of the airlocks] continued well past its planned expiration. Sol [a Martian day, 24 hours, 39 minutes] after sol went by, with the lone astronaut traveling in and out of the Hab [the habitat that Mark lived in on Mars] almost daily. Airlock 1 was closest to the rover charging station, so the astronaut preferred it to the other two” (Weir 154 ). Since Mark is left behind. AL102, which is a sheet located in the airlock number 1, is being used more than expected. AL102 is designed for thirty-one sols while Mark has been stranded for about one hundred nineteen sols. In addition to the previous example: “We were six days in when all hell broke loose, so that leaves enough food to last six people for fifty days. I'm just one guy so it will last me 300 days” (Weir 8). Readers now know that Mark is going to last for about 300 days on Mars before he runs out of food and possibly die. Foreshadowing can be useful when trying to keep the readers guessing about what is going to happen …show more content…
An example would from the book would be: “[Teddy] [director of NASA] turned back to Venkat [director of the Mars missions at NASA]. ‘I wonder what [Watney’s] thinking right now’. How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense” (Weir 64). It is just funny that one of the people from NASA just wonders what Mark Watney is thinking at the moment and Watney just happens to be thinking about a joke. Another example would be when Mark was posing for a picture: “I [Mark] gave the camera a thumbs-up to go along with my note which said, Ayyyyyy! Blame the seventies TV. ‘I asked for a picture, and I get the Fonz?’ Annie [in charge of the public support for rescuing Mark] asked, admonishing Venkat. ‘You got your picture, quit griping,’ he [Venkat] said… ‘Ayyyyyy!’ Annie mocked. ‘Why would he do that?’ ‘Have you met Mark Watney?’ ‘Fine, fine,’ Annie said” (Weir 126). The people at NASA had just taken a picture of Watney and Annie, one of the workers at NASA and the one that asked for the picture, didn’t like what she got. Venkat, another worker, is saying that Watney imitating the Fonz is something completely normal. Overall, the humor in the book is something that can relax the readers and give them a break from all the tension in the
Andy Weir is the writer of the book, The Martian, a science fiction book that started out as an ebook that he published himself. He was born on June 16, 1972 in California (“Biography.”). At the age of fifteen, Andy Weir …show more content…
In the book, Weir writes: “Designed for a mission of thirty-one sols, AL102 [a sheet that is in one of the airlocks] continued well past its planned expiration. Sol [a Martian day, 24 hours, 39 minutes] after sol went by, with the lone astronaut traveling in and out of the Hab [the habitat that Mark lived in on Mars] almost daily. Airlock 1 was closest to the rover charging station, so the astronaut preferred it to the other two” (Weir 154 ). Since Mark is left behind. AL102, which is a sheet located in the airlock number 1, is being used more than expected. AL102 is designed for thirty-one sols while Mark has been stranded for about one hundred nineteen sols. In addition to the previous example: “We were six days in when all hell broke loose, so that leaves enough food to last six people for fifty days. I'm just one guy so it will last me 300 days” (Weir 8). Readers now know that Mark is going to last for about 300 days on Mars before he runs out of food and possibly die. Foreshadowing can be useful when trying to keep the readers guessing about what is going to happen …show more content…
An example would from the book would be: “[Teddy] [director of NASA] turned back to Venkat [director of the Mars missions at NASA]. ‘I wonder what [Watney’s] thinking right now’. How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense” (Weir 64). It is just funny that one of the people from NASA just wonders what Mark Watney is thinking at the moment and Watney just happens to be thinking about a joke. Another example would be when Mark was posing for a picture: “I [Mark] gave the camera a thumbs-up to go along with my note which said, Ayyyyyy! Blame the seventies TV. ‘I asked for a picture, and I get the Fonz?’ Annie [in charge of the public support for rescuing Mark] asked, admonishing Venkat. ‘You got your picture, quit griping,’ he [Venkat] said… ‘Ayyyyyy!’ Annie mocked. ‘Why would he do that?’ ‘Have you met Mark Watney?’ ‘Fine, fine,’ Annie said” (Weir 126). The people at NASA had just taken a picture of Watney and Annie, one of the workers at NASA and the one that asked for the picture, didn’t like what she got. Venkat, another worker, is saying that Watney imitating the Fonz is something completely normal. Overall, the humor in the book is something that can relax the readers and give them a break from all the tension in the