Books. As children we peered at these piles of paper, confused by the scattered symbols and lines that formed row upon row of writing, these symbols seemed to be omnipresent – appearing in mum's recipe book and dad's manual. Little did we know that behind the enigma of words lie worlds of mass imagination, where you can cast spells with your bare hands, where you can lift objects with your mind and teleport using a portkey. These stacks of paper allow us to travel to distant places, sail the seven seas and soar above the highest clouds. It is thanks to books that we are allowed to travel as many journeys as we can read. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay My reading journey began with The Martian by Andy Weir. This novel is a mix of science fiction and drama and involves one man's impossible mission to survive alone on a barren planet for over a year and a half. The Martian incorporates a variety of themes that are heavily exposed in the text: author Andy Weir makes it clear in his writing how much Mark's emotions are affecting him. Isolation is a major theme of this text, Mark feels abandoned and alienated - and, along with this prolonged isolation, he longs for another human being to talk to or see, for a sense of hope and connection. Although Watney faces life-and-death situations on a daily basis, he learns to adapt to them and make changes, yet being alone “[He would give] anything for a five-minute conversation with anyone. Anyone, anywhere. Of anything." Humor is another theme that Mark seems to be able to grasp even in his current situation - however this humor is not so much pure as it is a mask to mask his true emotions and to pull himself back from the edge when he slips in. “Mark Watney, Space Pirate” uses humor as a sense of hope and a way to tell himself that everything is okay, “when I get home, I want all the praise to go my way.” The audience understands that Mark is in the toughest situation possible and when he records these bad situations happening, he uses his humor to water down the fact that he is constantly brought back to square one. These stacks of paper allow us to travel to distant places, we sail the seven seas and fly above the highest clouds, it is thanks to books that we are allowed to travel as many journeys as we can read. By reading The Martian, Mark's story, we can experience at least some of the joy, pain and disappointment faced by the novel's protagonist. By reading this story you can see how isolation can affect a person. How Mark ran away to survive because he had a very strong desire to live. The books not only develop imagination and teach reading, but also show (almost) real-life stories that anyone can come across.
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