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1. Does  Mark's reaction to his abandonment seem normal? How would you react in that situation?
2. How is Mark's sense of humor as much a survival skill as his knowledge of botany? Do you have a favorite funny line of his?
3. How do you think the author creates an emotional bond between reader and character?
4. Did you find the science and technology behind Mark's problem-solving   accessible? How did that information add to the realism of the story?
5. With the atmosphere of Mars being so inhospitable to life, how would you cope with the extensive dangers around you? What would you fear the most?

1. I agree with the individuals above - I too feel as if Marks journal entries are incredibly superficial. It's hard for us to conceptualize any sort of survival situation, let alone that where the odds are so stacked against life in any form (that we currently know of) on Mars. There would be moments of fear, of insanity, of utter breakdown. Not only is Watney fighting for survival, he is fighting to retain his human self - for the wasteland of Mars literally strips him of everything human, be it lack of socialization, the inability to bathe, or the red and hostile environment. Perhaps the journal entries Watney creates are fabricated much the same way fiction itself is - to escape reality and the imminent death that surrounds him.

3. I think the author does a great job at creating a well relating character in Watney. As I said above, the majority of us have never encountered an intense survival situation, and perhaps this is the authors purpose in 'numbing' Watney's journal entries, to ensure that a more general audience is able to relate.

5. I'm not quite sure how exactly I would even attempt to cope. I would like to think that I would behave much the same way as Watney. However, the absolute terror of being in an environment where so many things are contradictory to life itself would weigh immensely heavy on the psyche. It would be the equivalent of being trapped at the deep see floor, or lost in the blackness of space - completely separated on another planet from any other human. I think most people would go mad.

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Originally Posted by ][quote=:
Daniel Coleman 1. Does  Mark's reaction to his abandonment seem normal? How would you react in that situation?

I'm really enjoying the book.  I love science fiction.  But I'm wondering about how Mark Watney is written as a character.  In E. M. Forester's words, he seems to be more of a flat character than a round one--Mark doesn't seem to change or develop (at least, not yet).  He's like the energizer bunny: I think most people (including myself) who are abandoned on Mars would have to cry a bit after each setback, then get up and get to work on solving the problem.  He's frustrated by failure and complications, but he seems to get up almost immediately and get to solving the problem.  I think human behavior is more complicated, and more emotional than that.  All that time of solitude would be difficult for most people (I've been on Catholic and Buddhist retreats where some people couldn't take four hours of silence, and had to leave by lunchtime).  I think he would be more profoundly troubled by the difficulty of his struggle and the solitude and the silence--not that he couldn't get through it, but it would be harder with a lot more emotional ups and downs, and he would be changed by the experience.  And he doesn't seem to have had a romantic relationship with anyone (that we know about yet).  But I really do like the book, and I like his character--it's just that there seems to be something missing to me.  I would hope that if I were in the same situation I would try to be as enterprising as he is, but I'm sure I'd be a lot lonelier, and a lot more emotional.

Daniel, I must say I truly enjoyed reading your response. I loved the example you provided in regards to human strength and how some people couldn't stand a four hour meditation. I would also like to say that I feel that his reaction is not as human as I would have hoped (maybe he'll become more relatable as the story progresses). Nonetheless, do you feel that Mark's reaction to his abandonment would be different if he had a significant other? I am anxious to discover more about his life on Earth.

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1. I've been wanting to read this book ahead of the film with Matt Damon...unfortunately...or fortunately, I kept seeing Matt Damon's face in Mark!  I loved this book!  I, too, am a science fiction fan and really enjoyed the writing.  The technical stuff at the beginning surprised me a bit, but even more surprising was that I kept up (not understood, just kept up!).  I really like Mark's sense of humor and the fact that he jumped right in to increase his odds of survival.  Far-fetched?  yes, but that is okay.  Mark is a highly trained astronaut, so it wasn't too far out there for me.  I agree that he might have spent a bit of timing crying, but some brains don't work that way.

2. His sense of humor kept me going, too.  So many great lines...my favorite comes a little later in the book (I finished it because I couldn't put it down...I'll grade papers this weekend!).  He is working out a math prob and says "Pythagoras is a dick." Not being a math person, I have thought this for a long time...seriously, I don't use such language, but it seems to fit with Mark's personality.  

3. Oh, I think the reader and Mark bond quickly.  Just look at that first line of the book...how can you not start worrying about him immediately?  How many of us have wondered at space and wished we could travel to the planets and stars.  Mark shows us the possibility and also the real human risk.  The solitude would kill me if the hydrazine didn't!

4. As before, I was fascinated by it.  I am a self-professed nerd, but not science is not my strong suit.  I love the idea of science and am fascinated by it.  The author made me feel I knew more than I did, I am sure.  

5. Me? Danger? I would be in the Hub crying like a little girl...

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Originally Posted by ][quote=:
Daniel Coleman 1. Does  Mark's reaction to his abandonment seem normal? How would you react in that situation?

I'm really enjoying the book.  I love science fiction.  But I'm wondering about how Mark Watney is written as a character.  In E. M. Forester's words, he seems to be more of a flat character than a round one--Mark doesn't seem to change or develop (at least, not yet).  He's like the energizer bunny: I think most people (including myself) who are abandoned on Mars would have to cry a bit after each setback, then get up and get to work on solving the problem.  He's frustrated by failure and complications, but he seems to get up almost immediately and get to solving the problem.  I think human behavior is more complicated, and more emotional than that.  All that time of solitude would be difficult for most people (I've been on Catholic and Buddhist retreats where some people couldn't take four hours of silence, and had to leave by lunchtime).  I think he would be more profoundly troubled by the difficulty of his struggle and the solitude and the silence--not that he couldn't get through it, but it would be harder with a lot more emotional ups and downs, and he would be changed by the experience.  And he doesn't seem to have had a romantic relationship with anyone (that we know about yet).  But I really do like the book, and I like his character--it's just that there seems to be something missing to me.  I would hope that if I were in the same situation I would try to be as enterprising as he is, but I'm sure I'd be a lot lonelier, and a lot more emotional.

Daniel, I must say I truly enjoyed reading your response. I loved the example you provided in regards to human strength and how some people couldn't stand a four hour meditation. I would also like to say that I feel that his reaction is not as human as I would have hoped (maybe he'll become more relatable as the story progresses). Nonetheless, do you feel that Mark's reaction to his abandonment would be different if he had a significant other? I am anxious to discover more about his life on Earth.

While I agree with your larger point about Watney's character not being totally well-rounded, I also find that is what's interesting and different about this book. Weir doesn't seem to be interested in that at all, and that's ok. It is not a character study. Also, I am not sure astronauts have the same reactions to these situations as us mere Earthings. They have trained intensively, both physically and mentally. Just to decide to embark on a voyage like this makes that person made of very different stuff. I recently listened to a Buzz Aldrin podcast and he was talking about Mars. He said we don't need to be worried about getting back to Earth, we need to be worried about getting there. He compared it to the Pilgrims, they never expected to go back to England. It was a on-way trip. Knowing that never coming home is a distinct possibility may change how you mentally compartmentalize. However, you are right in that even someone with a lot of training, and perhaps a special inherent chemistry that makes them perfect for this adventure, would experience the complexities of human behavior and the stress of solitude. Unlike many survival stories, there is very little known about Watney's life on Earth. We get a little mom and dad here and comments about not seeing a woman in a while, but otherwise it is left totally open. In Castaway we get the Tom Hanks/ Helen Hunt storyline that is so devastating I will never watch that movie again, or we have the family connection in something like Apollo 13. For me, those storylines emotionally manipulate me into feeling something that's intended to crush me. Maybe for some, those relationships make the character more relatable. I  never struggled with that in The Martian. It was Watney's personality and humor that helped him survive. His resourcefulness and inability to give up. Perhaps it is not realistic for someone in that circumstance to keep on as Watney does, but, hey this isn't a documentary, it's a dang fun ride of a read. Ultimately it is the world banding together for one human and that's pretty cool. Perhaps if Watney was a real a-hole that would make for a more complex character but not nearly as fun of a read.

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1. What other reaction is there to have, other than to realize that you are "pretty much ****" (1)? After that, it comes down to very few choices. You can either accept that you have some awful circumstances and work through them, accept those circumstances and then give up (perhaps by using that morphine) because everything seems impossible, or you can deny your circumstances and go made in the process. Mark is a rare breed of person that has a strong enough will to live that he will do literally anything to survive. Obviously it's going to be a lot of work, but life is too important to Mark to give up. If it were me . . . well, that's hard to imagine because I wouldn't be on Mars as it is "needlessly dangerous," but given what I know of myself, I don't see myself having Mark's will to live; probability leads me to believe I'd just go mad (134).

2. Honestly, without his sense of humor, Mark would have given up from the beginning. But by having a sense of humor, he is able to hedge off any depression coming from the desperate circumstances he is in. Laughing is also good for a person's spirit, keeping them hopeful. Favorite line? "Damn it, Jim, I'm a botanist, not a chemist!" 36)

3. The way the audience stays connected or cares at all about Mark is the dialog as it appears in his SOL logs, especially the more humorous, sarcastic remarks. If he didn't have a light tone, this would either be a very boring, analytical scientific factual report of exactly what happened or it would be a depressing read of a hopeless man who will die any moment now. The humor in the tone helps us see that he still has hope and a will to survive. It also makes Mark likable, very important in a novel with a single character for the first 5 chapters. If we don't like him, we won't keep reading.

4. I found the information moderately accessible, but just tedious. It felt like Weir was trying too hard to make this feel real to the readers, like perhaps if he gave enough scientific data, this would feel a bit like a non-fiction work. Those blurred lined between reality and this novel, however, doesn't work in my opinion. The scientific data, no matter how right it may be, still feels implausible -- perhaps it's just because I'm not great with science. I found it to be headache inducing.

5. I'm running into the same problem as with the second half of question one. I mean, you don't have a choice. You cope or die. Accept that reality and move on. If you don't want to die, you find a way to survive -- that is your coping. I suppose starvation is what I would fear most, but that's probably not true. If I ever get stranded alone somewhere inhospitable, I'll get back to you on that.

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1. I did not find Mark's reactions to be "normal." There were moments where his frustration showed through but mostly I think he handled it better than 99% of the population would have. On page one he knew he was likely doomed to die. I also noticed that often times it can be human nature to look for someone to blame - Mark was very gracious toward the crew. NASA certainly did a good job when they picked him. This is not something I would have handled well. I'm fairly certain I would have died pretty quickly.. but then again I do not possess any of the survival skills that Watney displayed.

2. I think his humor was a way for him to cope with the stress of his situation. There is, after all, an enormous amount of power in words - both in what we tell ourselves and what we vocalize. I loved that he would use common exclamations like "yay" or "boo" to describe his current emotion. I think his speech is what made him so relatable. He would have random thoughts like "I wonder how the cubs are doing" and I just found it so crazy that he would even wonder about something like that. He was a funny guy saying stuff like "Hell yeah I'm a botanist! Fear by botany powers." It was his humor which helped him stay mentally grounded allowing him to make progress little by little.

3. I don't know if I felt bonded to the character at all, but I did feel captured by the story. Even though he's relatable as a human being I didn't feel like he was my friend. I wasn't emotionally attached to him as a character but rather intrigued as to how he was going to survive the harshness of mars.  

4. All the scientific explanations were helpful in providing context; however they were at times hard to follow. I likely felt this way because I've never taken chemistry and some of it went a little over my head. It did make the story feel more closely connected to reality because such careful thought went into the technical parts of the book. As I was reading it I kept thinking this could actually happen. Even though its science fiction; I feel like it's not that far from our future.

5. I would not cope well at all. I think my psychological fears would kill me long before my physical body would have died. I'd likely have a heart attack or make a stupid decision due to stress. I know you have to go through extensive training plus psychological testing but I honestly don't know how an individual could ever be prepared for something so horrendous. It sounds silly but I think my nightmares would involve me walking on the surface of mars and then all of the sudden I'm floating off the ground and can't get back to it.

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I think that the thing that would scare me the most would be running out of resources and the idea that I may never be rescued. It is a lucky thing that Whatney is so knowledgeable and knows how to survive in extreme conditions. I love his humor the most. I like how he does his logs so the reader gets some insight on his thoughts. You would have to have some sense of humor to be in the situation that he has found himself in.

Side Note: This is the second post that I have done on Chapters 1-7. I do not see my first post on the  stream.

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1.  No, he is unusually calm and receptive to his situation. I would freak our because not only am I stranded on an entire planet by myself, I also have an antennae coming out of my side. He is immediately resourceful and seems to talk more of his physical state rather than his emotional state.
2. His sense of humor has definitely helped him survive as it has kept him in a stable emotional state, as well as from having a mental breakdown. I know my sense of humor would be the only thing keeping me stable if I was in his situation.
"I wonder how the Cubs are doing."  
"Fear my botany powers."
3. He barely mentions his personal life. We feel as if he is not relatable as a character- at least for now. When he discovers his new crew members' things, it's almost like we learned more Bout his crew members than him possibly. We hope he is able to expand more on his personal life, so we know more about his story before his mission, and get to know more about his friends and family.
4. The level of science behind technology seems to be super advamced. It is kind of depends on the reader and his or her own comprehension of science and technology. The author describes the technology and science in full detail, and it is obvious that Weir has done research for his descriptions.
5. I would definitely be scared at thus point. I would know if the atmosphere or any life on Mars is safe. I would propably be in a emotional wreck, isolate myself from my surroundings, and stay inside the Hab for a week first with my resources before making sure the environment is safe.
Biggest fear, I know I could die, so I wouldn't fear death, but how would I die.
Another member response was, "I would stay inside the Hab as well, and just watch tapes and listen to music while I eat rations and hopefully just died peacefully.
Biggest fear, dying!!! Possible creatures on Mars?

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