The Martian By Andy Weir

In The Martian, Andy Weir constructs a story about an astronaut named Mark Watney who gets stranded on the planet Mars, accidently, by his fellow six crew members (1). He must work to regain communication with Earth and survive the harsh environment of Mars (Weir 11). Though his journey is hard, Watney eventually manages to escape the planet through both his own creativity and intelligence. Watney throughout the story represents humanity and its will to survive and progress. Also, The Martian uses an interesting narrative structure with both the use of log entries and how the structure is formatted, for example, the structure starts with things initially going well, then something tragic and deadly happens, where then Watney has to risk

Watney needs to find away to survive until the Ares 4 mission, so he decides to grow potatoes, but he does not have access to enough water in order for them to grow (Weir 20). Weir, and subsequently Watney, figures out that burning rocket fuel can separate their atoms which then can be used to make water (29). Weir starts off with everything going well, Watney is gaining water he needs, to all of sudden, Watney realizes that the process of burning rocket fuel is slowly poisoning himself with hydrogen (35). The narrative structure of things going well, then something almost killing Watney, and finally Watney fixing the problem is shown in this instance. Watney escapes to the rover, but eventually decides to go back into the Hab and fix the problem (Weir 39). This both shows Watney’s persistence and determination to survive, but also him progressing humanity. Humanity will gain the knowledge that they can use Martian soil to farm crops, which could be helpful for future Mars colony. It also shows the need of communication with how NASA would have most likely caught the problem before it even started, if they could communicate. From growing potatoes to the airlock failure, they both show the persistence, determination, and need of communication for humanity to survive and

Weir’s narrative structure shows both Watney settling into a routine, but also the process of making the Hab before it was sent to Mars. In Watney’s routine, he grows potatoes, which are something that he eventually grows sick of eating, to survive (Weir 146). He also fixes problems that come his way, like critical life systems on the verge of failure through his communication with NASA (Weir 153). In between Watney’s logs, Weir structures the narrative around the Hab materials being made, the Hab being constructed on Mars, and the wearing down of the Hab from Mars’s harsh elements. Between Watney’s logs and the Hab making process, these both show how persistent Watney is at surviving. He does things that he does not like, for example rationing his food and listening to NASA. It shows how determined he is to make it off Mars. The Hab narrative shows how Watney’s determination is wearing down the Hab, through his constant use of Airlock 1. It also gives valuable knowledge that humanity can use in their further progression into space and Mars. From the events leading up to the airlock failure to the actual airlock failure, they both display how Watney is determined to survive and progress society with his newfound knowledge about