Perseverance In Andrew Weir's The Martian

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A Crater for the Martian
Given the tough times that everyone goes through at some point in life, one might think that perseverance dies off—that perseverance is no longer a goal. But in fact, there are those that manage to look through the dark tough times and achieve a goal.
Andrew Weir uses a variety of elements in his novel, The Martian, to bring to light the underlying purpose of life; The struggles one must face, and mistakes one must make, to fully enjoy what can be, the sometimes overwhelming, journey of life. Weir, exemplifies the power of perseverance though one sole character—Mark Watney.
Mark Watney was a NASA botanist and one of the first to step foot on Mars. Watney, always managed to maintain a positive outlook even when all …show more content…

Within the title itself, The Martian, showcases the power of a determined and optimist individual, even when all seems to be going wrong. The main character does in fact feel overwhelmed at times, but there are times when he seems to have everything under control—almost like he is a legitimate citizen living in Mars, and not a martian that was left behind while on a NASA mission. How does one individual have the ability to do all? Weir introduces protagonist: Mark Watney—someone that kept an optimist mindset and threw a couple jokes here and there, to lighten up the mood, even when he was stuck in Mars with very little hope of living. Consider the following excerpt: “I found a big container and filled it with a bit of water, then added the dried shit. Since then, I’ve added my own shit to it as well. The worse it smells, the more successful things are going. That’s the bacteria at work” (Weir 14)! Or even, “My asshole is doing as much to keep me alive as my brain” (Weir 14). Basically, Watney had a sense of humor no matter how serious a situation was supposed to be. When taking Weir’s work and examining each piece individually, however, one part that had the biggest breakthrough was the matter of fact that he was a Martian in Mars—when in reality, he felt a sense of belonging in Mars. Watney didn’t entirely feel like a …show more content…

Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is there even enough reasoning to persevere or is it just faith. Whereas some are convinced that it is faith and there is no way to change what is mean to be, other maintain that with the right mindset, anything can happen, even when faith gets in the

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