Station Eleven, By Emily St. John Mandel

By Year 20 in Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel, many of the characters have found their niche in the post-apocalyptic world. Kirsten has found her place in the Symphony. Clark continuosly expands his museum in the Severn City airport. The Prophet Tyler has established a religious cult with himself as the leader. The quote “Survival is insufficient” (119), represents that, in order to truly live, people must have meaning to their lives. Although the characters in Station Eleven are having different experiences in the New World, they have all realized that people have needs beyond the physical kind. Because each character is able to find motivation for living, and seeks to keep humanity alive, they are able to live beyond just survival in the post-apocalyptic world. Kirsten and the members of the Symphony have not only found a place in the New World by sharing music and Shakespeare, but also by being a part of a community and building relationships with each other. The members of the Symphony experience “the friendships, of
Although these religious beliefs have caused pain and turmoil for many people, Tyler’s entire new life is centered around them. The prophet “was guided by visions and signs. He said he had prophetic dreams. His followers said he was from a place called the Museum of Civilization, that he’d taken to the road in childhood to spread his message of light” (125). These beliefs first started for Tyler as a way to understand the apocalypse. Now, however, Tyler’s extreme beliefs are what drive him, and others, in the New World. Tyler says “‘I am the messenger’” (125), and “‘we are the light moving over the surface of the waters, over the darkness of the undersea’” (302). Tyler’s beliefs serve as the core of his existence, and the constant motivation to spread these ideologies is what keeps Tyler