Deep Dive into Station Eleven (Week 15)

Quote Analysis:

"I was thinking about the island. It seems past-tense somehow, like a dream I had once. I walk down these streets and wander in and out of parks and dance in clubs and I think "once I walked along the beach with my best friend V., once I built forts with my little brother in the forest, once all I saw were trees" and all those true things sound false, it's like a fairy tale someone told me. I stand waiting for lights to change on corners in Toronto and that whole place, the island I mean, it seems like a different planet" (Mandel 155).

I chose this quote because it shows how people in the pre-pandemic life still think abut their past lives and selves just like how people alive in the post-pandemic era do. I also thought it was ironic how Arthur referred to his old life as a fairy tale and a different planet because that is how Kirsten and the others describe the post-pandemic life. This quote shows that people will always reflect on the past and will not appreciate time until it has passed. 

"I can't remember the year we spent on the road, and I think that means I can't remember the worst of it. But my point is, doesn't it seem to you that the people who have the hardest time in this—this current era, whatever you want to call it, the world after the Georgia Flu—doesn't it seem like the people who struggle the most with it are the people who remember the old world clearly?" (Mandel 195).

I chose this quote because I think that this quote is really telling of Kirsten's mindset and her ability to accept her past and present. Kirsten has said many times that the reason she is so successful in the post-pandemic life is because she remember little about her past. Kirsten accepts that her past has more than likely been traumatic but she doesn't let it interfere with her present life. It also goes to show how different generations responded to the pandemic and its aftermath. 

Utopia Project Brainstorm: 

For my project I think I am going to write about a world/utopia without social media. 

I think that a major world war or another pandemic outbreak could cause a major dystopia in our world. 

Discussion Questions:

1. Jeevan struggle's with the concept of immortality in this section. As Frank and Jeevan survive in Frank’s apartment, quarantined from the dying world, they both think about immortality and what lasts after a life is over and a civilization ends. The last words that Frank writes before he kills himself are about immortality, and Jeevan carries them with him when he ventures out into the world. Jeevan realizes that he must keep walking despite all of the trauma he has endured. 

2. I think that memory serves as both a piece of comfort and solace. People can hang onto the positive memories of the past however the traumatic memories can lead people to make bad decisions and it can negatively impact their mental health can current life. Mandel uses Kirsten to prove that forgetting is not as important as remembering. With remembering, there comes a constant feeling of emptiness and need to make comparisons to pre-apocalyptic society, all of which may be avoided through forgetting this can also be applied to real life. 

3. After the collapse, airplanes are a symbol of civilization. They represent the connectivity of the technologically advanced, pre-collapse modern world. In the immediately aftermath, people would look towards the sky, hopeful of seeing planes flying. Airplanes represent hope for a better future.