As I continue to read Station Eleven, I grow increasingly more receptive of shifts in structure, content, and time. I was particularly struck by the structure of chapters 30-37, which established a clear and straight-forward alternation between Frank and Jeevan’s narrative with Kristen and Francois’s interview. After a closer examination of these chapters, I realized that a lot of the thematic elements that are present in the novel are similar to ones we explored after watching Dead Set, especially when Emily St. John Mandel writes, “They were afraid of everyone who wasn’t them” (176). Watching the world become slowly unpopulated by humans through the eyes of humans in danger was skillfully portrayed in both narratives, even though the circumstances in each were incredibly different. When the Internet blinked out for Jeevan and Frank in Station Eleven, my mind immediately raced to the scenes in Dead Set when Patrick and Pippa were stuck in the green room with no means of communication as well as the failure of technology when Riq tried to reach out to Kelly while stranded at a railway station. I then paired all of these images of abandonment and isolation with an incredibly poignant facet of Jeevan’s thought process as his world comes to an end: “how human the city is, how human everything is” (178). Humans hold society together and when society vanishes, (as it does in Station Eleven and Dead Set) survival becomes the priority, which translates into the competition between humans to outlive one another. This can be seen through the presence of guns in Station Eleven and Dead Set. Even though both narratives show the the painful reality of the brutal competition for survival, they more subtly highlight the importance of camaraderie during times of chaos and destruction. This can be seen in the comment, “Jeevan had never felt so close to his brother” and through Kristen’s recollection of how Jeevan was “so calm” during his attempt to save Leander’s life (179, 184). Putting these alternating chapters in conversation with each other as well as examining Station Eleven’s similarities to Dead Set makes it evident that this story, even as fantastical and unrealistic as it may seem, is a human story.
Why do you think Emily St. John Mandel chooses to alternate between the stories of Frank and Jeevan and Kristen and Francois in such a deliberate way? Although Jeevan’s identity is unknown to Kristen, it is evident that he impacted her in many ways. What comment does this make about the importance or lack thereof of identity in terms of interconnected stories? I think it is also important to acknowledge the importance Frank’s disability — his spinal-cord injury has paralyzed him from the waist down and he must use a wheelchair to maneuver. Aligning Frank with this disability was clearly an intentional choice made by the author, but does it have broader implications? I find it interesting how Jeevan’s first inclination was to be with his brother when Hua told him about the Georgia Flu, but he does not take it on himself to prevent his brother’s suicide when it becomes clear that Frank is giving up hope. I would love to hear your thoughts!
Reference:
Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. New York: Vintage , a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2014. Print.