"I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on this planet."
This throwaway remark by Watney is both deeply ironic and also very insightful, as it tells us a great deal about him as a person. He is marooned in outer space, on Mars, alone, with no way of getting home, yet he is still seeing the humor in his situation. He is the best botanist on the planet because he is the only person on the planet. He would be the best quilter, the best javelin thrower and the best piano player on the planet as well. He is able to keep himself sane by staying in his own character. He is humble and also has a good sense of humor. He is able to maintain his sanity by maintaining his personality, which indicates that he never loses hope of his survival.
"I mean, what are we gonna say. 'Dear America, remember that astronaut we killed and had a really nice funeral for? Turns out he's alive and we left him on Mars. Our bad. Sincerely, NASA.' I mean, do you realize the shit storm that is about to hit us?"
Whilst the majority of the team are feeling understandably buoyant, and in celebratory mood, on learning that Watney is alive after all, Annie Montrose brings her best Debbie Downer mentality to the situation. Montrose feels that it would almost have been better for NASA had Watney genuinely died. Now that it turns out he is alive, they now have to explain how it was possible to lose an astronaut and leave him on Mars, which is probably going to be almost impossible to do without looking like the most irresponsible and incompetent organization in the nation. Her comments also show us a great deal about her personality; she is a dedicated NASA woman, a devoted scientist, and not much of a people person. To Annie, the welfare of a person is secondary to the welfare of NASA and the mission. She is unable to see the positive in a situation that shows NASA in a negative light, even if it means that an astronaut presumed dead is actually alive.
"The other question I get most frequently is, when I was up there stranded by myself, did I think I was going to die? Yes. absolutely. And that's one you need to know going in, because it's gonna happen to you. This is space. It doesn't cooperate.'
Watney's behavior and manner whilst marooned on Mars didn't really seem particularly fatalistic or pessimistic. He set about the task of surviving, which is why his admission is actually surprising. Watney is a scientist and a survivalist, which makes us believe that he has no fears about not being rescued, or about dying on the planet he has been left behind on. His words are actually more illuminating about space travel in general than they are about being left on Mars. Every time he goes into space he is aware that something might go so horribly wrong that he might die. It is not necessary for him to be left on Mars for this to happen because space travel is inherently dangerous anyway. This is perhaps what made it possible for him to survive; he had already come to terms with the likelihood of his job eventually being the cause of his death, so he did not waste his time or energy being afraid. He got on with the job of surviving because he has always been prepared for that being what he might have to do.
