The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir | Summary & Analysis

This is a Summary & Analysis of The Martian. Lauded author Andy Weir offers a gripping, inviting tale that partakes of young adult fiction and hard science fiction in a twist on the castaway rescue plot familiar from Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Hanks’s Castaway and many others. With its witty dialogue, exacting detail and not-too-improbable scenario, the book is an entertaining, engaging read likely to please not only the general public at which it is aimed, but also scholars of both young adult literature and science fiction and nascent scientists, who are inadequately represented in mainstream popular writing.

The novel straddles the generic lines of young adult and hard science fiction as it relates the story of Mark Watney’s escape from being marooned on Mars. A member of the crew on the third living mission to Mars, Watney is struck in a storm when the mission formally aborts and must use his wits and the sharply limited physical resources available to him to make his way to a site from which he can be extracted. Meanwhile, on Earth, an international effort to rescue him is enacted—one which ultimately depends on Watney’s erstwhile crewmates committing what amounts to mutiny. It is an excellent read. Although some parents and teachers may balk at the obscenity in the text, it’s also suited to in-class reading, and its tight pace and eminently human characters make it likely that those who take up the text will see it through. Not much else can be asked of a book.

This companion to The Martian also includes the following:
• Book Review
• Story Setting Analysis
• Story elements you may have missed as we decipher the novel
• Details of Characters & Key Character Analysis
• Summary of the text, with some analytical comments interspersed
• Discussion & Analysis of Themes, Symbols…
• And Much More!

Appropriately to a piece of science fiction, the novel is set in the near future. Humanity has spacefaring technology that allows for travel to other planets in the Solar System, displaying a level of sophistication not attained at the time of writing and publication. At the same time, the Earth is still divided into nations, and since a unified world government is typical of further-future iterations of the genre, Weir’s text cannot be too far removed from the situation of its composition and publication.

This Analysis of The Martian fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.