If you happened to find yourself stranded on Mars, 48,678,219 miles from home, facing an almost certain death due to starvation, if not the million other things out to kill you, what would you say? Probably something filled with dejection and despair. But here’s what Mark Watney says:
“Mars will come to fear my botany powers!”
This one sentence sums up his persona in a fantastic manner. Although technically the lowest ranking member on his team, Watney’s background in botany and engineering make him an extremely resourceful character. But what makes him lovable is his optimistic, sarcastic, ‘hey, guess I’ll blow shit up, I’ve got nothing to lose’ attitude.
Faced with impossible odds stacked against him every step of the way, Watney shows admirable resilience in his situation. Isolated and alone on the entire planet, with no communication and no way of letting people know he is alive, he is forced to use his own wits to survive. Innovating, repurposing and experimenting dangerously in the name of science, he does whatever he needs to with a smile and a sarcastic retort on the tip of his tongue.
“I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the greatest botanist on this planet.”
Indeed, after managing to grow plants on the barren red planet, his remark can hold true. “Technically, I colonized Mars. In your face, Neil Armstrong!”
Apart from the determination and grit he possesses, other facets of ‘Space Pirate-Watney’s personality include a passionate hatred for 70s shows and disco music along with a deep-rooted desire to never see a potato again.
A little bit mad- like all astronauts seem to be, he is quick to defend his peers, and has a sense of unwavering loyalty. Unafraid of having to do hard manual labour, and live in less-than-ideal conditions (he was farming in his own shit, for goodness sake), Watney has a keen survival instinct, endless amounts of patience and a profound will to live, despite it all.
Yet, underneath his jovial exterior is a sensitive person. Due to the book being written in the form of a ‘Sol-Log Diary’ it becomes increasingly interesting to observe that Watney may be employing the tactic of selectively sharing information.
Perhaps while 90% of the time he is happy to prance about and call himself the King of Mars, there are moments we are not privy to. These may be times of intense internal turmoil, loneliness, guilt, nostalgia, and a yearning to just be home again. These sentiments, though carefully protected most of the time, tend to bleed through in some places, giving Watney’s character that humane edge it deserves.
Yet, at the end of the day, his admirable ability to shake off the negative thoughts instead of wallowing in self-pity is brilliantly encompassed in his quote:
“He’s stuck out there. He thinks he’s totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man’s psychology?” He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”
LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.”
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