Week Nine: New Frontier - The Martian by Andrew Weir (# 5 points)

 

I watched the movie ‘Martian’ first before I read this book. I saw the interesting fact about this novel that the writer, Andy Weir, was not a writer and he dabbled in writing a novel while he was working as a computer programmer. He published ‘Martian’ at his own expense to share the story with his friends, and as his novel has become more famous, he got a contract with a publisher, and his novel was made into a film, Martian. I really enjoyed the movie as well, so I was curious about Martian as a novel. 

Mars, a planet that ordinary people cannot visit, and this environment setting is quite attractive and attracts the readers. In addition to this, the starting point of this story, losing one of the operators, Mark Watney, due to a sudden sand storm when returning from the mission, is enough to stimulate the interest. 

The most impressive scene in this work is the words Mark Watney speaks at the beginning of the work, “I’m pretty much fucked. That’s my considered opinion. Fucked.” It’s very simple and straightforward expressions, but the moment you realize that you’re isolated from Mars alone, of course, I would react like him. The story starts with this straightforward, simple, and clear narrative, and it shows how the narrative of this work will flow and how the thoughts of the author will be unfolded through the story. 

I feel like the writer showed Mark Watney's personality well through these three sentences. Even in an isolated situation, especially alone in Martian, he tried to be optimistic and not lose his sense of humor. His humorous and positive personality is depicted well in the monologues throughout the novel. Watney's pleasant characteristic helped him to stay alone on Mars without going crazy. And most importantly, he had a belief that if he struggles for life without giving up hope, he will someday survive and escape Mars. 

The Martian is a Science Fiction novel that shows interesting scientific knowledge, but I think Watney’s belief, all of the efforts of people working as one to rescue one person, and his team members who tried to save their coworker even when their lives can be in danger, all these stories made a human drama describing companionship, love, belief, and a strong will that we have.