The First Half Of The Martian By Andy Weir Analysis
In the first half of The Martian by Andy Weir, the main character Mark Watney develops stronger senses of companionship and uneasiness going from living in a space shuttle to being stranded alone on Mars; the dynamism of this character and other fantastic features of the plot makes this novel a great read. At the beginning of the novel, the readers are introduced to Mark Watney as a laid-back person with a wry sense of humor, who is known to many as a friend.
After spending about 200 Martian sols (206 Earth days) on the red planet completely alone with little communication with Earth, Mark changes as a person. One major difference between Mark in the beginning of the mission Ares 3 and Mark now is that he treats others with a lot more respect and dignity. Instead of blaming his friends and copilots in Ares 3 for abandoning him on Mars, he compliments and thanks them for saving their five lives instead of risking all six of theirs, writing in his log entry, “Guys, if you’re reading this: It wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to do. [. . . ] I don’t blame you, and I’m glad you survived” (Weir 2).
Another change that differentiates old Mark to “new” Mark is his realization that he is truly scared. Back on Earth, he felt that he was relatively safe, but now being on an entirely different planet with limited supplies, he becomes aware that he may actually die alone here: “Mars is a barren wasteland and I am completely alone here. I already knew that, of course. But there’s a difference between knowing it and really experiencing it” (Weir 75). Mark’s current sense of camaraderie and fear are what discern him now from who he was a few months earlier. Like Watney’s character development as the days go by, there are several other features of the novel that make this book a great read. The plot is fast-paced and never leaves the reader bored. The conflict (man versus nature) is developed by switching between points of view, between Mark’s log entries, events in NASA back on Earth, and various flashbacks of Ares 3’s other events.
The events in this book are supported by real statistics and facts as well as strong opinions. With relatable, imaginative characters and a fascinating subject that it covers, The Martian has many, if not all, of the characteristics of a good novel. To conclude, the development of Mark Watney’s friendship and realization of loneliness, as well as other important and well-thought aspects of The Martian make this novel by Andy Weir a science fiction adventure to remember; his idea of sending humans to Mars is soon to become a reality in real life.
