Around a 1000 and Isolated by Vanshaj

Humans are a species that rely on other humans for help and support. When we are alone and isolated, life can become very tough. In “The Martian” a book by Andy Weir, and “Wonder” a book by Raquel J. Palacio both of the main character experience the feeling of Isolation. In “The Martian” astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars after his crew thinks he’s dead. Left alone on the planet, he struggles to survive but eventually makes it off the planet. Similarly “Wonder” by Raquel J. Palacio depicts a boy trying to survive something less perilous than the red planet Middle School. As if middle school wasn't hard enough, August had what doctors called “small anomalies”. Through these two books, we learn how tough can be without the support and help of family and friends.

A common theme in both books is Isolation and how tough life can be without the help of family and friends. In “Wonder” by Raquel J. Palacio, August is a child who has face deformities that make him stand out. After kindergarten, he was homeschooled till he decided that he wanted to go to a real school. However, on the first day of school, he already finds himself without any companions other than Jack. A boy that later abandons him for one of his other friends. The only help and support he had were from his parents and his sister who were not able to help him during school. In “The Martian”, Weir was alone on Mars with no help from earth. He has to find ways to solve many problems without any help from the other crew members. In both texts, the main characters are by themselves, with little or no help from outside. They have to solve their own problems and live without the support from other humans.

Although the two texts both imply how tough life can be without help from other humans, there are slight differences to how they occur. In "Wonder" by Raquel J. Palacio, August decides at first that isolation is the best thing for him. In the start of the book, he believed that isolation would solve all his problems and he would never need to meet real people in his day to day life. It was a choice he could and did make. He chose to be isolated but in the same way eventually, he ends up deciding that he wants to go to middle school. He has no option but to talk and interact with the children in the school. Because of the way he looked, he was ignored and often left alone during the school week. In “The Martian” however, he was not given a choice. He was stranded and had to survive or end up as the first human dead on the planet mars. In both texts, they are made to help themselves during their lives.

In both “The Martian” and “Wonder,” we are shown that the two main characters are alone with no help from other humans. However, unless you are on mars or stranded in the Sahara desert, isolation is almost always a choice. If humans choose to make friends with other people or accept others into our community, we don't need to deal with being isolated. It is always up to us whether we want to survive by ourselves with no help from others or if we let others into our lives to help us through our day.