Unfortunate Events

After being stranded for three months in Mars, astronaut Mark Watney finally establishes communication with NASA back on Earth. Watney had to travel for two weeks in the Mars Rover in order to get a damaged rover that lost communication with NASA years ago. Thanks to his mechanical engineering skills, Mark fixes the rover’s radio allowing him to communicate with Earth. Once he is in touch with NASA, Mark is guided and told what to do in order for his supplies to last longer. During one of his EVAS (outside explorations), the airlock, a small room which equalized the outside pressure, cracked open, causing the pressure to be released and the HAB to explode. The inside of the HAB is a mess. The potatoes that Mark had grown died because of the change in pressure. Now Mark would not have enough food in order to survive until more supplies get there, unless NASA sends a probe that same month with the food. For the next month NASA engineers work day and night to design a probe that will supply Mark with food. Finally the probe is launched, but a small defect in a bolt causes the probe to fall apart and not make into space, shattering Mark Watney’s last chances of surviving.

Mark's reaction when
the probe failed.

“Every time the astronaut used the airlock, the strain on AL102 relaxed, then tightened anew. Pulling, stressing, stretching, weakening…”(Weir 154).

   

By reading this quote we can identify some of the author’s tool such as foreshadowing. We can clearly infer that something is about to go wrong in the airlock. By using words such as “weakening” and “stressing,” the author is trying to tell us that the airlock is probably going to break, complicating things for Mark.

“When I got back to the HAB and took of the EVA suit, I sat down in the dirt and cried. Bawled like a little kid for several minutes. I finally settled down to a mild sniffling and then felt a deep calm.” (Weir 115).

"I sat down on
 the dirt and cried."

This quote can show and prove to us just how lonely and desperate Mark Watney was. This is what Mark did after he achieved to communicate with NASA. Just imagine how lonely and depressed you have to be to react this way just because you finally get to talk to someone. I pity Mark for having to endure such hard times alone, with no help or support what so ever.

After reading this, we can pretty much say that Mark Watney has a better chances of being rescued by extraterrestrials than by NASA. But knowing how resourceful and ingenious Mark Watney is, he may have a chance after all. I believe that Mark will do something to survive, whether it involves growing more potatoes or eating off his arm.