The Importance Of The Motifs In Station Eleven

One of the motifs Mandel uses in both Station Eleven, the novel and the comic is the appearance of the sky. In the novel, there is a reoccurrence of a storm. The scenery after Arthur died was people drinking their sadness away, some crying and in shock. “The snow was almost abstract, a film about bad weather on a deserted street.”(Mandel 15) The storm as it is described outside the theater can add to the scene, as the day ended with the death of Arthur. As seen in movies, on TV or read in other novels, almost every time something terrible occurs, the weather usually has a connection with what is happening. The storm appears again when Tanya gives Kristen a paperweight described as a “…a lump of glass with a storm cloud trapped inside.”(Mandel
The storm could also call attention to the years that were skipped to the future in the novel that left the reader wondering what happened in between those years. This could be implied as a mystery that maybe later in the novel, it will be revealed how Kirsten and the rest of the characters made it to where they are twenty years later. In the comic, there are “…orange and crimson skies with two moons on the horizon.”(Mandel 42) Mainly, the purpose of the reoccurrence of the storm and crimson sky is to insinuate the devastation that is to occur. The message of this motif is to be aware for what is yet to come because the characters are placed in a situation whether they either adapt to the new life or die. The storm relates to a contrasting view between the light and darkness. During a rainstorm it cam be dark and cloudy, but after it stops raining the sky is clear and the sun is shining. In the same way, the prophet believes that the epidemic happened for a good reason, however those who survived may not agree because they were miserable while it