Isolation in The Martian Andy Weir promotes the theme that when isolated one must be resourceful, intelligent, and independent through the conflict as Mark Watney fights for survival on Mars, the most isolated place any human has ever been, in The Martian. Throughout Watney’s mission to survive long enough to be rescued and brought home, he shows exceptional intelligence as he solves a lot of problems without help from anyone but himself. In the beginning of the novel, after Watney realizes he has been left on Mars, he starts to think of every way he can be killed on this planet. The list seems endless as he goes over it, “If the oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death” (Weir 9). Watney is alone up there. He has no contact from NASA at this point. He must figure out a balance so he is able to survive on Mars. He has to solve one problem after another. He must use everything he’s learned up to this point, and he does. As the book progresses Mark Watney uses all the knowledge he …show more content…
Once again Watney finds himself without contact on Mars, “Pathfinder’s dead. I’ve lost the ability to contact Earth. I’m on my own” (Weir 268). Mark is even more isolated than he was before. He cannot speak to anyone about the problems he faces from now on. Machines are becoming even more dysfunctional. He is losing the battle, and he must do it all alone. At incredibly intense times like these in this book, Mark Watney has think fast and problem solve like no other. At this point, Mark is also tired and losing hope, “Just once I’d like something to go as planned, ya know? Mars keeps trying to kill me” (weir 269). Watney is tired of fighting this battle but he must keep pushing forward, even if he has to do it