How does Mandel show that there is more to life than survival?

The crux of Mandel’s Station Eleven lies in the idea that the sole purpose of survival is not enough to get through the motions of life. In a world struggling to manage the aftermath of the Georgia Flu, Mandel details the way humans are driven by their desire for connection and the significance of these relationships on a personal and community level. The novel further notes the rarity of stumbling across art in unexpected places, creating a glimmer of hope that encourages people through survival. A sense of purpose can be gathered from these art forms, allowing for a direction to be cultivated in the midst of utter chaos. All these different variations of what it means to survive is further conveyed by Mandel as she reveals the consequences of being minimally present in this world.

The intrinsic desire for human connection is needed in life to truly persist beyond mere survival. From the start of the novel, characters such as Jeevan portrays the need to seek out contact with other humans. Desperate to leave the confines of Frank’s apartment, he was willing to take the risk of being exposed to the flu in order to connect with the outside world once more. The first few days that Jeevan set out alone in the “emptied out” world, he focused on his surroundings to take his mind off Frank. However, it dawned on him that “as the days passed, the meaning of the emptiness began to sink in”, signifying the lack of companionship that humans, as social beings are constantly on the lookout for. A sense of rapport is necessary to keep us sane and ground us in moments of conflicts, where without it, it would be “difficult to hold on to [ourselves]”. This goes to show how “survival is insufficient” in a desolate city depicted in Station Eleven and how humans thrive to bond with others through face to face interactions rather than simply becoming a mere “avatar”. Furthermore, Jeevan’s initial job as a paparazzo goes on to exemplify the underlying craving for human connection as his job required him to closely follow the lives of celebrities, having to constantly keep up with a life that humanises them. Gossip magazines and tabloid feed the need to feel connected as being involved in other people’s lives makes these celebrities feel personally known to them. Through this, Mandel explores various meanings of contemporary civilisation in a technology-driven age. She comments on this ennui being something that tints much of society as those, like Jeevan who follow the lives of celebrities, do not thrive in their empty and vacuous lives.

The appreciation of art and beauty has the ability to transcend time and connect generations in a way that assures a more meaningful life. In Station Eleven, art connects pre and post- collapse worlds. The Travelling Symphony frequently draws comparison between their own lives and the one of Shakespeare’s. Dieter explains how Shakespeare’s “plague-haunted life” defined his work, drawing a parallel between Shakespeare and these characters’ pivotal and most defining moments which are also plague by the flu, though to a differing extent. Their desire to perform Shakespearean plays shows their desperation to thrive in trying times, reminding those that they perform for of the creative depths that humanity can reach. Furthermore, it is these performances which is “what was best about the world” that serves as a common ground for people as they appreciate and enjoy it, irrespective of their different backgrounds. The theme of art is central to the idea that survival is insufficient as art serves as a meaningful purpose in the lives of those that survive the flu, giving them solace and a diversion to the stressful times that they go through. It acts as a guidance in their way of lives and allows them to be in a world apart form their own and can also act as a grounding tool, bounding these characters to newfound values and morals. This concept ties in with the notion of gaining strength through cherishing art and similarly, beauty. Explored through Kirsten when she believed she was in her final moments, her appreciation of everything around her is noted through her hearing of the “birdsong” and her observation of “the brilliant blue sky”. It can be inferred that it is this acknowledgement of the “moments of beauty” that allows her to draw resilience from it. Even with a rifle pointed at her, she “[is] not afraid” and instead finds the courage to calmly face her perpetrators. Mandel seeks to convey that the capacity to appreciate magnificence enable people to overcome the challenges they face. Hence, Station Eleven being a hopeful text prompt readers to understand the magnitude of the transcendence of the world, showcasing survival beyond bare essentials.

The fulfilment of life cannot exist without the fundamental component of a human’s need for purpose. The varying ways in which purpose aids in survival is explored through the different characters of Station Eleven. It is what drives and motivates people to embark on their aspirations and live their daily life, bolstering our solitude. Tyler exhibits the purpose of unyieldingly holding onto something such as religion, that provides him with concrete stability. Expressing fundamentalist views, he turns to religion to provide him with a sense of comfort and solidity in a time of utter chaos where the “world, is an ocean of darkness”. His need to step up and guide his “people” allows for him to achieve a sense of purpose in his life and lead him in a direction that would keep him sane. Though such a misdirection, Mandel aims to convey how it is imperative for humans to seek a purpose in life as it can ground them and give meaning to their existence. Tyler becoming the leader of his cult was his way of moving forward into the “light” and justifying the reasonings of the post- apocalyptic world, giving it some sort of “divine judgement. Though being a Prophet serves as a way of providing an order to the chaos, the adamancy of which he pursues this vision is testimony to how tightly he feels he has to hold onto it. Without this purpose and reasoning to motivate him through the darkness, Tyler would have perhaps strayed from his life, as he fails to grasp the meaning of his existence. Similarly, Jeevan is another example of how it is essential to have a purpose in life in order to truly live. Initially, Jeevan’s career is driven by the need to work and not of a deeper purpose. However, wanting “to do something that matters”, Jeevan trains to become a paramedic, allowing for him to get out of a cycle that lacked meaning. It is in this way that Mandel depicts the need for purpose in order to survive, as the belief of doing something that matters adds value to life.

In a world where many distractions exist, Mandel aims to convey the way in which the reality and gravity of life are almost always minimised by trivial things such as social media, mobile phones and fame. This impedes on human existence, causing people to be only partially present. The character of Arthur can be seen relating heavily to this theme as he holds many regrets towards the end of his life. Upon deciding that he was going to move to Israel to be closer to “[his] eldest born, [his] only born, [his] heart”, Arthur realises that he stopped being happy a long time ago and fame, the one thing that was once of significant importance to him now no longer mattered. Pinning for a dream that seemed so grandiose, Arthur lost sight of the things that were already in his life, setting him up for failed marriages causing him to later wonder “how many friendships he had lost”. Arthur’s hopes of achieving fame meant that work became a diversion for him, resulting in him only having “occasional moments of happiness”. This reveals how such misdirection like fame, turns into work where it is only able to provide fleeting moments of happiness, unlike the happiness one would feel if fully present and content with their own lives. Furthermore, the job scope for Clark as a 360 reporter involves him noticing how people are “high-functioning sleepwalkers”. Clark too realises that he has been “moving half-asleep through the motions of his life for a while now” as he no longer found “real joy” in his work. Similar to Arthur, he was now no longer living to live his dreams of becoming an actor but rather existing to live. Clark also comments on how he “kept getting trapped behind iPhone zombies” which showcases the way in which technology has become so prevalent “in a world full of ghosts” that it has caused people to merely exist and become haunted by the presence of the digital world. Through this, Mandel highlights how it is not enough to just exist, but instead, to experience all that life offers.

Whilst survival is vital, it isn’t enough for the elation of humanity. The complexity of life goes beyond basic necessities as pointed out in Station Eleven. There are many components that goes into living a fulfilling life, and the mere act of existing to live is ineffectual. In other words, “survival is insufficient” and it is humanity that give their own meaning to a life they deem satisfactory.