Mark Waatney Quotes

“I’m pretty much f*cked. That’s my considered opinion. F*cked.”

Mark Watney (Weir, 1)

Mark Watney said the above lines on the first page of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel The Martian. If anybody were to be stranded on Mars by themselves, they would have the exact same reaction. Many people would panic and give up hope right away, but a very small amount people would calm themselves down, take inventory of their supplies, and try to solve the problem of being stuck on Mars. Mark Watney was one of the few people that would calm themselves down after the initial panic and use their personal traits to solve the problem at hand. Mark Watney used his intelligence, resourcefulness, and even amazing sense of humor to make it off Mars with very little

help, which is the reason I would be honored to be friends with Mark Watney.
The first reason I would want to be friends with Mark Watney is that he as a wicked sense of humor.

Mark is able to crack jokes in the most serious and deadly situations. One example is when Mark is being rescued from Mars. Mark and his crew mates are trying to think of a plan to get Mark off of the MAV, which he used as a rocket to get off of Mars, and into the space station. As Mark makes a suggestion, he makes a joke at the exact same time. “’I admit it’s fatally dangerous’…’But consider this: I’d get to fly around like Iron Man.’” (Weir, 353) Even in these strenuous times, Mark is able to lighten the mood with a little humor. Mark is also humorous when he is lonely, and when you would think he is sad. Where many people would be very depressed and lonely on their one hundredth ninety first day of being on Mars- all alone- with no human sole for millions of miles, Mark is still being his humorous self. On day one hundred ninety seven (his crew had to evacuate on day six) he says, “You know what? ‘Kilowatt-hours per sol’ is a pain in the ass to say. I’m gonna invent a new scientific name. One kilowatt-hour per sol is… it can be anything… um… I suck at this… I’ll call it a ‘pirate-ninja.‘”. (Weir, 230). You can always count on Mark to give you a little smile in your day, no matter how gloomy it may

seem.
Another reason why Mark Watney would be a great friend is because he is very resourceful. There is a limited amount of supplies on Mars when Mark get stuck there. He makes supplies that were meant to last one month last over five hundred fifty days. Mark uses everything he has to make his supplies last his stay on Mars. “Once I get some Martian soil in here, I can mix in the sh*t and spread it out” (Weir, 14) Mark uses his waste to help fertilize soil that he will eventually use in a potato garden. In order to have his potato farm grow, Mark needs to get a lot more water than he already has. There’s one problem though. He can’t just stroll outside and take buckets of water back into his house. He’s on Mars. Mars does not have water. Mark uses the water reclaimer that NASA sent with his crew to get water. “The Hab has an excellent water reclaimer. The best technology available on Earth.” (Weir, 16) Mark actually uses his other waste to get water back from the water reclaimer. Mark pees into the water reclaimer and the water reclaimer separates the water in his urine from the other stuff. Mark now has some water. He repeats the process over and over and eventually he gets lots of water. Mark can use what is around him to find a solution to any problem.
Mark Watney is extremely intelligent, which is another reason why I would be grateful to have him as a friend. After the accident that separated him from his crew, Mark lost all contact with NASA. He was not able to communicate with NASA; however, he did not give up all hope. Instead, Mark worked out a way to establish communication with NASA. Venkat Kapoor, the brains behind the entire operation, says, “’All right. We have communication with Mark.’” (Weir, 118) On sol ninety seven, NASA received the first communication signal from Mark. Mark drove for twenty one days straight to get a broken radio from a mission ten years ago. When Mark got back the Hab (Mark’s house) he jimmy rigged it so the radio would work. Once Mark established communication, he worked with NASA on how to make messages get to Houston from Mars and to Mars from Houston, quicker.
The last reason I would be honored to have Mark Watney be a friend of mine is that he survived for over a year on Mars- alone with almost no help. “Six days into what should be the greatest month of my life, and it’s turned into a nightmare.” (Weir, 1) On sol six of the Ares 3 mission to Mars, Mark was thought to be dead after a terrible storm and was left behind. Sol six was the beginning of the loneliest year of his life, but it should have been part of the best month of his life. Mark survived five hundred fifty days on Mars with minimal contact to NASA. NASA was able to help Mark get off Mars, but it was ninety five percent Watney’s own thinking that led to his survival. “I still can’t believe that this is really it. I’m really leaving. This frigid desert has been my home for a year and a half. I figured out how to survive…” (Weir, 341) On sol five hundred forty nine, Mark blasts of Mars with a rocket from a mission that would happen soon. Mark meets up with his crew in space, and is able to make the journey home.
Mark Watney can use everything around him to make him survive, he is smart enough to make contact with NASA, which was critical to his survival, he can make anyone laugh in what may seem like the worst of times, and he survived on Mars, alone, for a year and a half. All the reasons are why I would be honored to be friends with Mark. Mark turned a situation that seemed impossible to overcome and uses all of his best personal traits to do the impossible. So next time you seem to be in an impossible situation, relax and think of a solution. Using your skills, you could become as admired as Mark Watney is, for doing the impossible.