Touching The Void: A Literary Analysis

Over the summer break I read two different books, The Martian by Andy Weir and Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. Despite their different genres these two books manage to share the similarity of being survival stories. One book is about an abandoned astronaut on Mars trying to ensure his own survival; the other is about two climbers trying to survive their treacherous climb of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Both stories have equally as high stakes but they are handled very differently by their authors. The theme of The Martian by Andy Weir exhibits several important similarities to the central idea of Touching the Void.

The theme of The Martian is developed by Andy Weir through the book’s main character Mark Watney. There are many things

Much like Mark Watney, Joe Simpson’s strong will of survival and trust in his abilities as a climber is what keeps him going when things seem impossible. Aside from that they also share a bitter sense of isolation throughout their journeys. Both of them were presumed dead by their crewmates and both of them were left behind. Another large similarity is how they were pushed into a situation they didn’t sign up for and miraculously made it out alive. For example, in Log Entry: Sol 6, Watney claims, “Six days into what should be the greatest month of my life and it's turned into a nightmare,” (Weir 1). This shows that Mark seriously did not expect for this incident to occur but he has to deal with it anyways since he is the one directly involved. To compare, Joe Simpson states, "It was ironic to have come here searching for adventure and then find myself involuntarily trapped in a challenge harder than any had sought,” (Simpson 143). To state the obvious, neither of these men wanted to be pushed into the act of survival. But once it happened they began to act. They both relied on their skills and will to get them through their savage environments and in the end it worked out for them.

Overall I say the theme of The Martian by Andy Weir a multitude of similarity to the central idea of Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. Although The Martian and Touching the Void take place in very different places. They do share striking similarities between their themes of survival. Whether it is on Mars or in the contrasting snowy mountains, both authors manage to show the struggle of man vs nature and leave a generally satisfying