A key theme in The Martian by Andy Weir is to persevere through difficult situations, even when you feel that you have no hope.

“Of course, I don’t have any plan for surviving four years on one year of food. But one thing at a time here. For now, I’m well fed and have a purpose: fix the damn radio.” -Mark Watney (page 11) This reveals Mark’s ability to take one issue at a time and not give up hope. He knows the odds are against him, but he stays optimistic, tackling issue by issue.

“Remember those old math questions you had in algebra class? Where water is entering a container at a certain rate and leaving at a different rate and you need to figure out when it’ll be empty? Well, that concept is critical to the “Mark Watney doesn’t die” project I’m working on.” - Mark Watney (page 18) This is just one example of many instances where he explains his situation and the math behind it in a very clear yet lighthearted fashion. He goes on to explain his needed daily caloric intake and the amount of food he has to work with. …show more content…
In an attempt to evacuate the planet, astronaut Mark Watney is impaled by a small antenna and the crew is forced to abandon him, assuming he is dead. When Mark awakens on the dry Martian landscape, he finds himself alone with a piece of metal stuck in his stomach. He is able to make it back to the HAB, but realizes he faces an uphill battle if he is to survive. With communications to Earth wiped out and enough food designed to feed a crew for only 56 days, he must use all his skills and mental strength to find a way to NASA and develop a way to survive until he can get