The Role Of Isolation In Andy Weir's The Martian

Mentioning’s of Mars go back to Ancient Egypt, though the idea to travel there is only recent. In a novel by Andy Weir, The Martian describes the theoretical isolation of a man on Mars. The book is about astronaut Mark Watney who is abandoned by his crew due to a storm causing the crew to evacuate. Since he was injured at the time of the storm, the crew assumed he had died because of the injury. Using his knowledge of botany and engineering, he tries to survive on the harsh climate of Mars, knowing that the entire world thinks he is dead. Eventually he gains contact with NASA, but realizes no matter what, he has to find a way to survive. Watney realizes he must survive four years, and reach a landing spot (referred to as Schiaparelli) where his crew can pick him up. He learns that he should try to survive against all of the odds; that no matter what, he should never give up. …show more content…
However, Mark Watney is not the first person on Mars. He is part of a group that is the third crew to explore Mars. The physical setting of the book influenced the character greatly, due to the fact that the physical setting was all he had to survive with. With Martian soil, Watney creates a potato farm, and with his engineering skills he creates water by literately combining oxygen and hydrogen (almost killing himself in the process). The climate of Mars has an effect on Watney as well. While in a rigged rover traveling to the other landing base, Watney gets caught in a storm. Luckily, he realized it before he is at the point of no return, and formulated a plan to evade the