Argumentative essay on Station Eleven

Argumentative essay on Station Eleven

Station eleven begins with a poem from Czeslaw Milosz which serves as an epilogue to the book. The title of the poem is “Song at the end of the world” According to my interpretation of the poem; it describes the events that occur in the future during the end of the world. The author of Station Eleven chose to use the epigraph to catch the attention of the reader and lay down the mood of the story. Furthermore, the epigraph provides foreshadow to how fragile the society is, a theme that is widely explored throughout the novel. The underlying meaning of the poem relates very well with Station Eleven, and therefore it is no surprise that it was chosen to provide an epigraph to the novel. The poem describes how much the world has changed in such a short time to become a very different place. As an epigraph, the poem begins to explain what is going to happen in the book.

There are plenty of Shakespearean themes in Station Eleven which are used by the author to provide meaning to this work of art. One of these themes is the old versus the new. In the book, there are various passages which compare the old world and the new world after the great disease pandemic. The world changes greatly after the pandemic and a lot of the comforts and amenities are no longer there. Characters in the story are forced to scavenge from houses that still have comforts of the old world. Religion is another Shakespearean theme explored in Station Eleven. The prophet’s character is an excellent example of the new found religious inclination which occurs after the pandemic. He exploits his followers need for religion to use them and gain political mileage by gathering hoards of followers who are ready follow all his commands (Smith, 289).

Luck in a crisis is a Shakespearean theme that has been used in Station Eleven. Those who survive the great epidemic are just lucky. Miranda who is one of the characters who does not survive the outbreak does not have luck on her side since she does all she could to survive but in the end, she doesn’t. Arthur is also not lucky since he dies of unrelated causes around the same time as the great epidemic. By a stroke of luck, Elizabeth and Clark get to the airport on time to attend Arthur’s funeral which leads to their survival (Mandel, 121).

Death is a theme which is common in most works of Shakespeare, and it is a theme which features prominently in Station Eleven. All through the book, death is a daily occurrence it becomes a commonplace to the characters in Station Eleven such as Kristen together with the troupe casually pass by decaying bodies as they scavenge for supplies. Death in Station Eleven comes from the flue as well as the dangers found in the world such as fellow human beings as well as hazards from the wild world.

The metaphor of Station Eleven comes from the symbol of civilization. The phrase “Station Eleven” represents the connection arising from the advanced technological world that exists before the collapse of the modern world. In the aftermath of the global meltdown, people would only look to the sky with the hope of seeing airplanes flying over them. Seeing even one aircraft in the sky would signify that there is at least some place on earth where planes still operated, and civilization still existed.

Station Eleven symbolizes the ease of connectivity and travel provided by planes. Coincidentally it is this ease of connectivity and travel that enabled the Georgian flu to spread through the planet rapidly. In essence, the planes ironically symbolize the self-defeating feature of modern civilization. Severn City Airport still expresses civilization and its subsequent collapse since it now exists as a repurposed homes for survivors of the epidemic and a dark place where teenagers can find refuge. However, during and immediately after the global collapse, the station symbolizes hope and despair. In the middle of the global crisis occasioned by the Georgia flu, the station takes the symbol of despair since airplanes land on the airport but is forced to remain on the tarmac in as the full scale of the Georgia Flu is realized. The ill-fated plane remains untouched for many years and remains as a symbol of death, despair and the tough decisions made to keep survivors alive. Furthermore, the Seven City Airport provides a good opportunity for pilots to try and search for their families and a couple of them take to the planes hopping to find their loved ones. The rescue pilots never return, and theirs remain as the last flights of modern civilizations. The pseudo-cross on the brand name of the cult created by Prophet Tyler is a symbol of an airplane.

Throughout Station Eleven the line from Star Trek “Survival is insufficient” makes an appearance in several instances even on tattoos on the bodies of the characters. According to me, this line outlines the need for survival and the extent to which people are willing to go to find survival in the new world which is very different with the need for survival in the corporate, Hollywood and urban life before the flu. According to me, it means that it is not enough to survive since human beings require much more than just survival to live fulfilling lives. The ultimate meaning of the phrase in the traveling symphony is that humans will go to any length to not only survive but to thrive in the modern world that we live in.