Amanda Martin
Survival of the Funniest
The novel The Martian, written by Andy Weir, is not only a suspenseful and fulfilling drama, but it also is quite humorous diary. It is about an astronaut named Mark Watney that was stranded on Mars. This is due to a series of unfortunate events including a wind that was about 150 kilometers per hour, which caused a sand storm, and destroyed much of the communication equipment. This communication equipment impaled our main character, Watney, in the leg and threw him a substantial distance from his crew mates. Leading his crew mates to believe that he was dead and causing them to leave the surface of Mars without him. This means everyone thinks he is dead and now he is all alone with limited resources. How can this book be humors you say? Well this novel is like a diary (or log entries for you Star Trek fans) and so Watney says what he thinks and he's a very blunt and comedic guy. An example is my favorite quote from this novel, "I could cut off an arm and eat it, gaining me valuable calories and reducing my overall caloric need. No, not really." (24) I thought this was so funny and I literally laughed out loud. This is because he had convinced me that he really was going to eat his own arm in order to survive and when he revealed that he it was a joke I felt like a buffoon. Being able to lighten the mood in bleak situations is a very important skill because without it some may start to become depressed and feel there is little point in trying to survive. Therefore, his knowledge of botany is just as an important a life survival skill as learning how to laugh at terrible situations. Though difficult at times, Watney's ability to keep a positive outlook helped him through many precarious times. I myself like to think I'm pretty funny and therefore feel a connection to Watney. I too have been though some trying times, though not as difficult as Mark Watney's, and my ability to see the glass half full helped me overcome my hardships. An example of when I used this skill was when I was going through a hard time with a dear family member who had passed. Instead of dwelling on the sadness of their death I chose to think back on all the good times I had shared with them and eventually accepted what had happened. Watney and I share a similar comedic taste and I hope he survives at the end of this novel.
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