Why do we enjoy a survival story?

What makes us root for a character to live in a survival story? In what ways do you identify with Mark? How does the author get you to care about him?

In The Martian by Andy Weir, the story is centered around Mark Watney, an NASA astronaut that has been stranded on Mars, and his story of survival. From the begging of the story, Mark is the underdog. He was stranded by the rest of his crew, given they thought he was dead, but nevertheless he was on his own. The idea of his survival being unlikely is what caused me to root for him, you want to see him beat the overwhelming unlikeliness of making it off Mars. I could connect with Mark because of how quick he was on his feet, using past knowledge to keep himself alive. Situations such as patching a hole with duct tape would keep me reading and praying that he would figure it out, and multiple times he did. I found it cool that he was so easily able to navigate different problems he encountered. Andy Weir gets the reader to care about Mark Watney through the other characters and the way they feel about Mr. Watney. Although Mark was left on Mars by the crew, they initially wanted him to be safe on Earth before they were forced to abort the mission without him. You can see that the crewed enjoyed Watney through the sarcastic comments made while Watney was able to first talk to the crew. They thought he was dead, but they were happy to see he was alive, and they were rooting for him too. Another way that Weir gets you to enjoy Mark is through Mark’s humor, he constantly makes light of the situation he is in. A specific example is when he takes a humorous picture for NASA. He could’ve taken a serious picture such as the landing on the moon and it would be remembered forever.