Bhaiyat 1

Sahil Bhaiyat

Ms. Curk

ENG4U1-03

May 21 2024

INS
Survival is a thing that all living things strive to pursue, and the natural human instinct is

to survive. Survival can be found in both novels including Andy Weir’s The Martian and the

protagonist being Mark Wartney, and in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, through the man and the

boy. In The Martian, Mark Watney is stuck on mars after being struck by debris from a

sandstorm and being presumed as dead. Wounded Mark uses his survival skills to overcome

challenges while NASA and other scientists work hard to bring him back home to earth. In The

Road, the man and the boy live in a post-apocalyptic world where the terrain is bleak. With few

survivors, the father and son battle for their lives, doing everything they can to overcome the

difficulties that await them. Firstly is the teamwork that the characters from both novels instill in

the life threatening situations that they are in. Additionally is the optimistic behaviour of the

characters that gets the characters to not lose hope and keep them standing even against physical

and emotional problems that are facing them. Lastly is the character's resilience allowing them to

fall down and get up to fight and beat the adversaries that are facing them to survive and stand

victorious. Andy Weir’s The Martian and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, shows the

indominatable human spirit by surviving against the unfavourable conditions that are ahead of

them.

Teamwork is shown throughout both novels and plays a huge impact on how each story

plays out. In The Martian, Mark shows teamwork when he gets in contact with NASA through
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his logbook that he uses to send updates to NASA about how the mission is going, through this

Mark is able to tell NASA that he is alive and is able to work together with Mark to rescue him.

Mark modifies the pathfinder to talk to NASA and they are able to help Mark.

I have a small supply of food. I have enough potatoes to last a month, maybe more if I

ration. But NASA’s working on a solution. Turns out they sent up enough food to last an

Ares crew six months, even though we were supposed to be there for 31 days. (Weir 22)

When Mark is in trouble he uses teamwork to work with NASA to get food and supplies adding

to his survival and rescue. In The Road, the two characters, the man and the boy, are walking in

the post-apocalyptic earth shuffling and moving through the empty wastelands "Then they set out

along the blacktop in the gunmetal light, shuffling through the ash, each other's world entire."

(McCarthy 6). Them setting out along the blacktop shows how the two characters are going on a

journey together, and the shuffling through the ash shows the shared struggle and how they are a

team and are working together to survive in the world that they are in. In an article written by

Crelin, Joy explains how NASA needs help, to help Watney while he is stuck on mars.

"Although NASA attempts to send further food supplies to Mars, that mission fails due to rushed

work on the probe being used. Following that setback, leaders of the Chinese National Space

Agency (CNSA) offer the use of classified booster rocket technology, and the two agencies plan

once again to attempt to send supplies to Watney." (Crelin Para 6). Crelin states that NASA is

having a setback and are not able to get the food supplies over to Watney, this is when the

Chinese National Space Agency steps in to help. Teamwork is easily shown in this quote because

the Chinese are going out of their way to help NASA and to save Watneys life. Overall

teamwork is shown to help the characters from the two novels in terms of survival.
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Optimism is a trait that is found in almost all human beings, providing the characters the

power to survive and fight back in stressful situations. This is shown in The Martian when Mark

Watney's plan doesnt go as expected. “Things didn’t go exactly as planned, but I’m not dead, so

it’s a win.”(Weir 191) Mark's optimism is shown in this quote as even though his plan had failed

he still looks onto the brighter side of things and assesses that he is alive and that is the only

thing that really matters. In The Road, optimism is shown heavily throughout the novel

especially through the man trying to calm down the boy when he is dying but also not give up on

life. "You have to carry the fire." I don't know how to." Yes, you do.”Is the fire real? The fire?"

Yes it is." Where is it? I don't know where it is." Yes you do. It's inside you. It was always there.

I can see it.” (McCarthy 203). This shows how the man tries to keep the boy’s morality in check

by telling him to “carry the fire” and the man also pointing out how the fire is inside the boy

shows reassurance and that the boy still has a purpose and a responsibility that he has to

accomplish and overall keeping the boy optimistic about life. In an article written by Trotter,

Jack E. explains how the man tries to distract the boy from the world around him. “the man,

remembers: tales of fishing trips, of hunting expeditions, of foods he once enjoyed. He does so

partly to reassure the boy that the world was once a richer, more comforting place and might be

so again.” (Trotter Para 4). This quote by Trotter, Jack E. implies that the man is trying to keep

the boy optimistic about the world by saying “and might be so again.” saying that the world

might go back to how it was before which shows him being optimistic.

Finally the resilient trait of never giving up which can be found in the face of life

threatening challenges. This is shown in The Martian when Mark Watney fails to do the Sirius

mission. “I guess you could call it a “failure,” but I prefer the term “learning experience.”” (Weir

89). Failure is something every human experience but coming back from it is what people
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struggle with. This quote shows Mark's resilience and his ability to never give up when he fails;

he excuses it and just calls it a “learning experience”. In The Road resilience is shown plenty of

times when the man is talking to the boy; it can be seen in this quote when the man is in pain

from his deteriorating health from the apocolyptic world around them. “What's the bravest thing

you ever did? He spat in the road a bloody phlegm. Getting up this morning, he said.” (McCarthy

202). This shows how the man doesn’t give up and pushes forward even when he is in pain and

shows his perseverance by getting up. In an article by Barrera, Cordelia E. it explains how in

“The Road '' the man's only goal is to care for the boy and ensure his safety. "The man is

protector, nurturer, and caregiver to his son. Indeed, he has survived solely for the boy’s sake"

(Barrera Para 6). This quote by Barrera, Cordelia E. shows the reason the man is alive is because

he has to protect and care for the boy, his unwavering dedication to his son represents his

resilience and how he never gives up to achieve that goal proves it.

Ultimately, both The Martian and The Road show how the indomitable human spirit is

used to survive in intense situations, showing the role of the human race's ability to stand tall in

the face of unwavering odds. Shwn in Mark Watney’s ability to push through in the dangerous

enviornment on mars and the man and son’s tanacity to also keep fighting in the post-apocolyptic

earth, these novels show how teamwork, optimism, and resilience are important. Both stories

demonstrate how even in the toughest of situations the human drive to keep trying and to never

give up on one another is an intense force that should not be taken lightly. Thus The Martian and

The Road shows how no matter the circumstance, the indomitable human spirit is able to win and

overcome the challenges that are in the way.

Works Cited

Barrera, Cordelia E. “The Road.” Masterplots, Fourth Edition, Nov. 2010, pp. 1–3. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=164539447&site=lrc-plus.

Crelin, Joy. “Film Adaptations: The Martian.” Novel Into Film, Aug. 2018, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=131269779&site=lrc-plus.
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McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. Alfred A Knopf, 2006.

Trotter, Jack E. “The Road.” Magill’s Literary Annual 2007, June 2007, pp. 1–3. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lkh&AN=164534062&site=lrc-plu

Weir, Andy. The Martian. Crown Publishers, 2014.