Entry 5: Cussing and Sarcasm (No, I won't tell you what he said)

 Mark reminds me a little of my own personality. I know, you hardly know me and there’s little to no evidence that I am even close to this person who has basically become legend as the conqueror of Mars. This martian god doesn’t remind me of me in most ways. I’m sarcastic. He’s sarcastic. End of story. No other similarity exists. I’ll even prove it to you. My first response to somebody asking a dumb question is usually saying an extremely exaggerated version of no, and then saying the exact opposite. For argument’s sake, “Random stranger: ‘Is the sky blue?’ Me: ‘NOOOOOOO!! It’s blood red!’” Mark embodies that pretty much exactly, which makes him very much more relatable as a character. Who doesn’t love a character making fun of his situation? Scratch that, because some people don’t find it funny, but you get it. I feel like Mark’s situation and the attitude of which he approaches it is so hilarious. Here’s an example. “I’m finally through the blank areas of the map. Tomorrow, I’ll have the Lighthouse to navigate by, and Hamelin crater later on. I’m in good shape. Now on to my next task: sitting around with nothing to do for twelve hours. I better get started!” (Weir 98) That example was during Sirius 4, or his mission to go find the Pathfinder. Ha! FIND the PathFINDer. Puns. Anywho, back to Watney. I love his humorous attitude. It really personifies the way that the crew talks about Watney. They and the executives comment on his humor and how he uses it to make his situation lighter. I usually do the same thing, so It makes it easier to take a positive outlook on his less than desirable situation. I used to think it’s his way of keeping himself sane. Then He started talking and communicating with Earth and I lost that opinion real quick. “[08:31] JPL: Good, keep us posted on any mechanical or electronic problems. By the way, the name of the probe we’re sending is Iris. Named after the Greek goddess who traveled the heavens with the speed of wind. She’s also the goddess of rainbows. [08:47] WATNEY: Gay probe coming to save me. Got it.” (Weir 175) I love this book! Speaking of communications, the language in this book is very… uncensored. I will not be repeating or quoting any language in this blog, but nonetheless it is very much an integral part of the book for a couple reasons. One, it makes the characters seem more human. When was the last time you heard a person talk to you in informal register without dropping a f-bomb or sasying the alternate version of the structure that stops the flow of water. Never, that’s when. And two, it adds comedy. The fact that Watney uses it to describe his situation adds more humor to the general sarcasm and fun loving wit that Watney uses. It is really amazing how much humanity Weir put into his characters. I can’t even fit it all in a later blog. Ok, enough for today. Bye.

P.S. Seriously, start reading this book NOW!!!!!!!!

Credit for Image: https://tenor.com/view/swearing-emoji-gif-10503193

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