Dystopian Society

Dystopian Society

            Like most novels authored by modern futuristic writers, Station Eleven portrays a dystopian society. The story is about a natural catastrophe that threatens to wipe out human civilization. The survivors of this deadly disaster live a doomed life that is short and brutal. The author intends to explore the fragility of human life in detail. It entails journeys of multiple protagonists starting before, during, and after the calamity that shatters human society. In fact, Station Eleven revolves around what makes life important and meaningful, and how frail humans cannot live by bare will but art.

            Krysten Raymonde, a protagonist in Mandel’s novel, is a resident of dystopian Toronto. Violent flu ravages the planet for years, thus exterminating many living things including humans. It renders earth technologically poor (Mandel, 2015 p. 17). As a professional actress touring with The Travelling Symphony band, Kristen passes by small cities constituting post-epidemic society. The motto of their band is ‘Insufficiency of Survival’ –a quote from Star Trek in the old world. It is a resounding message that reminds the company to move on despite the danger and difficulty of life in a dystopian society. Kristen tattoos this motto on her arm.

            The lives of some characters including Clark, Arthur Leander, and Jeevan are well informed by ‘insufficiency of survival’ idea. Most of them at times find their lives derailed by the turn of events in a dystopian world. They often fall into the trap of high-functioning sleepwalking. Besides, they are either unsatisfied perfectionists or strangers to themselves will lesser connection to the surroundings as on a daily basis. Mandel destroys the protagonists’ world for the readers to peek into their own lives and discover how hollowing structures pushes them down to false paths.

            Mandel builds her novel on elitist, naïve and nostalgic vision of the need to preserve classical art in an increasingly dystopian society. Interestingly, Station Eleven is willing to interrogate itself. Kristen always carries a couple of science fiction comics when traveling because they remind her of the new reality and the transformation that the society undergoes within a short time span (Mandel, 2015 p. 132). The author gives the reader a freedom to reject or accept distinct cultures highlighted in the novel but still fall for its theme on human survival in a dystopian society.

            The author artistically injects moments of rose-tinted, selective nostalgia. One character while recalling his past describes an astounding fallen world where when people are in danger, they call the police for aid.  Such a longing is a testament of the brutality and difficulty of a dystopian society that replaces the existing world. There is a proposal in Station Eleven that the modern life should be destroyed for people to revert back to a more authentic and simpler lifestyle.

            In summary, Mandel’s novel is a reinforcement of the importance of the present time in a dystopian world. However, the author acknowledges that there are terrible deeds in the society that require mitigation. The author succeeds in highlighting the need for life beyond survival even in a dystopian society (Mandel, 2015 p. 86).

References

Mandel, E. S. J. (2015). Station Eleven: Emily St. John Mandel. Duru Yayınları: 3-196. Print.