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Isolation In Andy Weir's The Martian

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Isolation is a way to know ourselves. Ideas can be born and lost if we disconnect ourselves from everyone. In the novel, “The Martian” written by Andy Weir, Mark Watney is an astronaut who is stranded and alone in Mars. An incident occurred, an atrocious dust storm blew a reception antenna that slammed right into Watney’s side causing him to have utter pain and unconsciousness. His crew members believed that he was lifeless; however, he actually survived the circumstance and became deserted in Mars. Now, he has to fight for survival and face the constant possibility of natural disasters against Mars: a barren wasteland. There are few structures that Watney is able to go in, one of them is called the Hab. The Hab is the closest thing he can call as his home and without it he has no choice but to face the fact that he is completely detached from humanity. Eventually, he loses it after getting “out of sight of the Hab” (Weir 7.100). In Rebecca Solnit’s essay, “Walking and the Suburbanized Psyche” she insists that interacting with nature is vital to the health of our bodies, minds, and imaginations. Yet in the novel, The Martian, started …show more content…

Being outdoors does not serve a mere purpose in my life. My “real life” is mostly defined by the indoor opportunities, activities, tasks, and experiences. When I am walking from point A to point B, not much happens in between. At UC Riverside, I wake up early in the morning, do my daily hygiene routine, and walk straight to class with my headphones on listening to music. I feel as if walking outside is a burden for me, something that I must tolerate with. Sometimes, my experiences happen outside in places such as skate parks where I spend my time skating with my friends. However, most of my time is spent indoors either in college classes or in my dorm. When I am isolated from everyone there are no distraction and it helps me focus on the

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