The Martian

“Guys, if you’re reading this: It wasn’t your fault. You did what you had to do. In your position I would have done the same things. I don’t blame you, and I’m glad you survived.”

This portion of Watney’s mission log directly addresses the rest of the Ares 3 crew. As this message is in the very first log entry, it is clearly foremost in Watney’s mind, and he feels compelled to state it outright. This tells the reader where he stands on the issue of his abandonment and, therefore, where the reader should stand. It also further develops his character: He is not interested in blame or bitterness and can see his situation with clear eyes.

“Okay, I’ve had a good night’s sleep, and things don’t seem as hopeless as they did yesterday.”

This statement speaks to Watney’s character again. The fact that he can move on fairly quickly from despair to problem-solving shows his resilience. This quality is fundamental to his character. It will be called upon time and time again throughout the novel and will be essential to his success.

“In other news, today is Thanksgiving. My family will be gathering in Chicago for the usual feast at my parents’ house. My guess is that it won’t be much fun, what with me having died ten days ago. Hell, they probably just got done with my funeral.”

Even as Watney makes plans to survive, he remembers that, at home, everyone believes he is dead. It is Thanksgiving, but his family is grieving, and this idea seems to only strengthen his resolve to survive. Coincidentally, Thanksgiving plays a role in his success on Mars, as it is the reason that whole, raw potatoes have been included in the mission crew’s food supplies.

“Mark Watney’s body will be within twenty meters of the Hab. Maybe partially buried in sand, but still very visible, and with a comm antenna sticking out of his chest. Any images we take will show that.”

Teddy Sanders, head of NASA, is reluctant to take satellite imagery of the Ares 3 mission site on Mars because those images might contain Watney’s dead body. Because NASA is a public institution, all satellite imagery must be released to the public, and the visibility of his body would be a public relations nightmare. This is the first time the reader sees the battle between bureaucracy and concern for the individual, which will become one of the book’s recurring themes.

“I came up with a solution, but... remember when I burned rocket fuel in the Hab? This’ll be more dangerous.”

Watney reveals his plan to heat his rover with the radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), which houses radioactive plutonium. He must purposefully dig up the RTG, which Lewis disposed of in the course of the mission. Once again, this shows how far Watney is willing to go to get home. He is determined and willing to take calculated, but very real, risks.

“He’s very intelligent. All of them are, of course. But he’s particularly resourceful and a good problem-solver [...H]e’s a good-natured man. Usually cheerful, with a great sense of humor. He’s quick with a joke.”

Ares 3 mission flight psychologist Dr. Irene Shields gives these comments to CNN. This is the first time the reader sees an outside assessment of Watney’s character, or indirect characterization, from another source. These comments support what the reader has already learned about Watney’s character through his actions and his mission log, and such traits are essential to Watney’s survival.

“It’s a strange feeling. Everywhere I go, I’m the first. Step outside the rover? First guy ever to be there! Climb a hill? First guy to climb that hill! Kick a rock? That rock hadn’t moved in a million years!”

Watney puts his actions back into a larger context for the reader. He (and, as a result, the reader) has been so wrapped up in the day-to-day fight to survive that it is easy to forget that he is accomplishing things that have never done before. In fact, he is an explorer on a scale that humanity has never seen before. Yet the quote also underscores the somewhat tedious nature of that exploration—that the excitement of being the first can quickly be subsumed by the difficulties and risk of what he is doing.

“SIGNAL ACQUIRED...”

This message from the Pathfinder indicates that it has made a connection with NASA. The reader receives this news not from Watney but from the code itself. It represents a monumental success and a climactic moment in Watney’s journey. He has gained contact with NASA again. Of course, he has no idea whether anyone at NASA is paying attention, but the reader knows that they have been watching him for a long time.

“Really looking forward to not dying. I want to make it clear that it wasn’t the crew’s fault. Side question: What did they say when they found out I was alive?”

Watney’s first full communication with NASA is with Venkat Kapoor, and this is one of the first issues he addresses. The message is typical of Watney—the understated humor of the opening sentence, followed by immediate concern for the rest of the crew. This reminds the reader that, although he is very much an independent individual, he is also very invested in his crew and community. This statement also reminds the reader that the Ares 3 crew still do not know he is alive, and it brings the issue to the forefront again at NASA.

“I’m sure it’ll turn out to be a little hole somewhere, then NASA will have four hours of meetings before telling me to cover it with duct tape.”

Watney is happy to be back in touch with NASA, but the downside is that they are now telling him what to do about everything. This chafes Watney because he is independent and has been making his own decisions throughout this challenge, and he now faces the bureaucracy inherent in an organization like NASA. In most cases, he begrudgingly accepts their help, but in this case, he decides not to await NASA’s instruction and solves the problem himself.

“AL102 stretched. Not much. Only four millimeters. But the carbon fibers, usually 500 micron apart, now had a gap eight times that width in their midst.”

This italicized passage shows the reader damage to the airlock fabric that will eventually cause the airlock to detach, with Watney in it, and deflate the Hab. Watney is not aware of the damage yet. It is a reminder to the reader that, even if everything is done perfectly, something so small, invisible to the human eye, can cause irreparable damage and even devastation in an instant.

“All I have to do is sit here. The air will leak out and I’ll die. I’ll be done. No more getting my hopes up, no more self-delusion, and no more problem-solving. I’ve fucking had it!”

A rare, hopeless outburst from Watney shows that he is human and has his limits. It shows how easy it would be for him to give up, and how difficult it is to persist in the way he is doing. The outburst seems uncharacteristic; so far, Watney has been optimistic. Even in his dark moments, he usually uses humor to keep moving forward, but this time, even humor fails him.

“Sigh... okay. I’ve had my tantrum and now have to figure out how to stay alive. Again. Okay, let’s see what I can do here...”

This statement directly follows the previous quote, showcasing Watney’s resilience. These remarks are more typical of him. He is human and can reach the limits of hopefulness and feel that it is not worth it to continue, but his real strength, and the one that will help him all the way through this challenge, is his ability to bounce back from failure and attack the problem anew.

“I’m not gambling five additional lives to save one. Especially when we might save him without risking them at all.”

Teddy decides against the Rich Purnell maneuver, which involves the Hermes returning to Mars. He sees the issue as a risk-reward calculation, which represents the bureaucratic point of view. Though he is truly concerned for the lives of the crew, he is forced to count the cost of human lives in this endeavor. The predicament exposes a utilitarianism inherent in bureaucratic negotiations.

“Message reads: ‘Houston, be advised: Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man.’”

Just before the Hermes goes off course for the Rich Purnell maneuver, they send this message to NASA. Though Teddy has rejected the maneuver as too risky, the crew decides to go ahead and take that risk, forcing NASA to follow their lead. The message is oblique, and the technician accepting the message does not understand the reference, but the reader does, as will Venkat and Teddy and the rest of the NASA team.

“Life is amazingly tenacious. They don’t want to die any more than I do.”

Although Watney believed that the accident with the Hab froze all the bacteria in the soil and rendered it sterile, he runs tests on it anyway—and he is amazed to find that some bacteria have survived and are repopulating. He reflects on the desire of all living things to survive, seeing the parallel to his own situation. The remark reflects his character’s essential optimism.

“I never realized how utterly silent Mars is. It’s a desert world with practically no atmosphere to convey sound. I could hear my own heartbeat. Anyway, enough waxing philosophical.”

Watney has a quiet moment before he leaves on his journey to the Ares 4 MAV. He takes in his surroundings and realizes he has been too busy surviving to notice certain details. But then he snaps back to business, staying true to character once again.

“Weird thought: I’m not in Acidalia Planitia anymore. I spend 457 sols there, almost a year and a half, and I’ll never go back. I wonder if I’ll be nostalgic about that later in life.”

Watney pauses to reflect on the fact that, despite everything, the Hab and its environment have become home. In his very assumption that he will survive long enough to experience nostalgia, he shows his unconscious optimism. The reader is continually reminded of his ability to focus on the task at hand while remaining optimistic.

“So I go out every night with a homemade sextant and sight Deneb. It’s kind of silly if you think about it. I’m in my space suit on Mars and I’m navigating with sixteenth-century tools. But hey, they work.”

Watney sees the connection between himself and all the humans throughout history who have explored, navigated, and survived. He recognizes the seriousness of his situation and equates it with those explorers who have gone before. No matter how technologically advanced humans become, certain “primitive” tools remain unsurpassed; this ancient knowledge, as it survives into the present, indirectly creates a sense of community for Watney, who feels a connection to ancient humanity.

“The solar cells just aren’t producing as much wattage as before. It’s not a big deal, I just need to charge a little longer.”

While Watney attributes the loss of wattage to the age and use of the solar cells, the reader knows that it is because he is entering the dust storm. This dramatic irony makes the narrative extremely tense, with the reader’s knowledge that the situation will continue to get worse. Eventually, if Watney does not realize what is happening, he will miss the Hermes flyby; the reader and everyone at NASA can only watch and hope that he will realize things in time.

“I’m leaving forty-one potatoes behind. That’s how close I came to starvation.”

As Watney makes the final preparations to launch, this is a stark reminder of how close he’s come to dying. The narrative has mostly been concerned with solving other, more immediate problems. Because the food issue is one he was able to solve fairly early on, it has been pushed to the background in terms of urgency—but the threat of starvation still lurks throughout the book.

“I’ve had my last Martian potato. I’ve slept in the rover for the last time. I’ve left my last footprints in the dusty red sand. I’m leaving Mars today, one way or another.”

Watney says his goodbyes to Mars. Just as he recounted his “firsts,” he also recounts his “lasts.” Also, subtly, Watney references the danger of the actual takeoff and interception—the implication of the final sentence is that, regardless of outcome, he will be leaving Mars, either alive or dead.

“Houston, this is the Hermes Actual. Six crew safely aboard.”

The Hermes communication to NASA—that Watney is now aboard—is an understated delivery of incredible news. The matter-of-fact nature of the communication belies the intense emotion of everyone involved. Their rescue mission is a success.