Conflict

The main conflict seen in The Martian is a man vs. nature conflict represented by Mark’s struggle for survival on the Mars surface. There are some sub conflicts, seen in NASA’s efforts to save Mark, but the majority of this story is Mark trying to survive long enough to escape the barren environment of Mars. We see this specifically in Mark’s effort to create water and cultivate food with the limited supply of equipment he has. Mars is a dust bowl of problems not only seen through Mark’s accounts but also in the effort to save him.