How Does Tyler Use The Power Of Religion
Religion, to some is a hobby, to others, a safe haven, to others their livelihood. Religion is a powerful tool capable of bending people to its will, whether this is used for good or bad depends on the user. Religion can be used to provide conformity and selflessness within society, but on the other hand can also lead to the mass following and justification of a group with malicious intent. This is no different in Station Eleven, in which ‘The Prophet,’ formerly known as Tyler, leads a ruthless cult fuelled by their faith in religion. Through Tyler, the novel showcases both the benefits and the dangers of religion and the path that people take to be introduced to and eventually embrace religion. This can be seen with Tyler’s transition from
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This can be seen in many cases throughout history, one recent example can be seen within the religiously influenced terrorist group ISIS. Members of ISIS live according to a skewed form of the Islamic belief which shows how a small group of people can use religion to influence and control the way people live their lives. Station Eleven shows this through the cult formed by Tyler as his Prophet persona. Although Tyler’s cult is on a much smaller scale than that of ISIS, it shows similar implementations of how religion can be used to manipulate people. Tyler mentions that he and his cult “were saved because [they] are the light,”(61) saying that they are pure. This is significant as later on he says “If you are the light, if your enemies are darkness, then there's nothing that you cannot justify.”(138) This exhibits how Tyler is skewing the words of the Bible to tell his people that they were saved by God to serve a greater purpose and that purpose is to defeat their enemies in the form of darkness. As Tyler mentioned, if one is the light and your enemies are darkness, everything can be justified, this goes to show the potential that religion has to manipulate people under the right hands, every action, no matter how dangerous, self harming, or cruel can be
This can be seen in many cases throughout history, one recent example can be seen within the religiously influenced terrorist group ISIS. Members of ISIS live according to a skewed form of the Islamic belief which shows how a small group of people can use religion to influence and control the way people live their lives. Station Eleven shows this through the cult formed by Tyler as his Prophet persona. Although Tyler’s cult is on a much smaller scale than that of ISIS, it shows similar implementations of how religion can be used to manipulate people. Tyler mentions that he and his cult “were saved because [they] are the light,”(61) saying that they are pure. This is significant as later on he says “If you are the light, if your enemies are darkness, then there's nothing that you cannot justify.”(138) This exhibits how Tyler is skewing the words of the Bible to tell his people that they were saved by God to serve a greater purpose and that purpose is to defeat their enemies in the form of darkness. As Tyler mentioned, if one is the light and your enemies are darkness, everything can be justified, this goes to show the potential that religion has to manipulate people under the right hands, every action, no matter how dangerous, self harming, or cruel can be