Blog Post for Station Eleven

 Quote #1:

"But sometimes the small circle of people and firelight seemed only to accentuate the emptiness of the continent, the loneliness of it, a candle flickering in vast darkness" (Mandel 218).

I like this quote because it shows how lonely life could have been after the collapse, especially when you know you're some of the only survivors of the apocalypse, that being said, an apocalypse that you only know a little bit about. It is very nice that they were able to form their own sort of society, but it is a very lonely way of living, I can't imagine what it would be like.

Quote #2:

"The prophet was about her age. Whatever else the prophet had become, he’d once been a boy adrift on the road, and perhaps he’d had the misfortune of remembering everything. Kirsten brushed her hand over the prophet’s face to close his eyes, and placed the folded page from Station Eleven in his hand" (Mandel 262-263).

This quote is special to me because I think it most clearly shows how Kirsten and the Prophet are similar. Because of their connection with Station Eleven, I think Kirsten sees them as the same. Even with the Prophet's terrible deeds, Kirsten recognizes that he is most likely just how she would have turned out, if she hadn't found the Symphony.

Questions:

1. The people in the airport created a new world for themselves, starting a secluded (safe from the flu) community of survivors for a number of years. Clark survived mentally by creating the museum, which made him content in knowing that the old world was remembered, even as the new one formed around them. Jeevan survived physically by finding a safe community to live with, and he survived mentally by finding Daria, his wife, and by becoming a doctor for surrounding communities, which brought him peace of mind.

2. The museum was a place where people could preserve objects of an earlier life, such as cell phones, laptops, food wrappers, etc., even though they couldn't use them anymore. It was also a way for them to draw people in to join the community. If I was building my own museum, I would include these things, electronics, a vine compilation, some THC gummies, a voting ballot, a hospital bill, a BLM poster, a Ukrainian flag, monopoly game, video games, a hydro flask, uggs, reusable straws, rainbow loom, etc.

3. I don't think that this decision is wise, but I think it is worth it because it is very important to them. It is probably smart to stay on their safe course, but to travel on a new course to save lives is something very special. If I had a group like the Symphony that I treated like my family, if they were into the plan like I was, I would be okay with endangering it. Anyone is able to back out of a plan like this. If it has a good chance to make the world or many lives better, I think I would risk a fair amount of lives, as long as those lives were okay with being risked.

Kirsten was able to deter death from her and other members of the Symphony because of her relationship with the Prophet, but, in turn, she unintentionally made him kill himself. The Symphony was able to find Charlie and Jeremy and go to the museum. Kirsten finds her hope turning back to the comic book and to her "family". She was also able to find comfort in meeting Clark and finding the museum, as well as learning about electricity. She and the Symphony were able to find comfort after such an intense time when they are together with family.