That's What She Said

Liam Woulfe

Dr. O’Leary

Honors FYE

9 February 2018

That’s What She Said

As many have heard, laughter is the best medicine. As much as Watney’s botany saved his life on Mars, his humor played just as much a role in saving his life. Mark Watney was stuck on Mars for over 500 Sols, and for part of the time it was without any communication with anyone else. Growing potatoes and finding the calories to live was just half of his battle. Sure it would take care of his physical well being, but his mental health is another story.

It is hard to imagine being away from human contact for a day but 500 Sols? That is an immense amount of time stuck in isolation. NASA was worried about Watney’s mental health and how he would handle staying on Mars so long without anyone. It is not even like Mark could go watch a movie or go to the baseball game, he was stuck on a desolate wasteland of a planet. Sure, he has some of the sitcoms and music, but he even remarks that getting repetitive and driving him insane. So Mark used what he seemed to always have, his great sense of humor! You have to learn how to laugh at yourself and the situation you are in, even if you do not know if you will make it out of it. Watney did just that, from making jokes in his logs that he did not know if anyone would see to saying “That’s what she said,” to NASA during a dire moment, knowing the messages get portrayed to the world. That was probably my favorite joke Mark made in the book. Mark and I share a very similar sense of humor. I can see why he would lean on his humor like he does, because I do the same thing.

The biggest take away from Mark’s jokes were to show that he was doing okay. It showed that he was not depressed and although lonely, he did not show it. He used his very dry sense of humor to pass time and to stay positive because if he chose to do the opposite, he most likely would not have survived and thrived the way he did. The book makes a very scientific approach to the story, but Andy Weir does a brilliant job interlacing Mark’s humor so the book appeals to all audiences.