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Station Eleven Essay On Identity

Decent Essays

How much do people base their lives off of survival rather than living in the moment? In the novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, many characters lives revolve around this. In the novel, many characters often mention that survival is insufficient, so much that they do not find a point in life. The author uses memories of Kirsten to signify hope and resilience. Kirsten’s memories are not just a symbol of hope and comfort; as Kirsten moves from being an afraid person to a woman who is strong and seeks hope, the author uses Kirsten’s symbolic memories to demonstrate how experiences from one’s past can define one’s identity. The characters in Station Eleven either chose not to remember or cannot remember things from the post apocalyptic world. For instance, Kirsten does not remember a lot from before the Georgian flu and takes this to her advantage as she does not need to bear through the trauma. The author also reveals Kirsten’s memories to be odd, “An …show more content…

She uses many objects to remind her of the times before the flu, “Kristen seeks out books and gossip magazines in abandoned homes in order to spark memories of people and the world” (Mandel 64). These books and magazines were used as a survival aid for Kirsten to have hope and faith in her identity. This shows the emphasis books have on Kirsten as she escapes from the trauma of the Georgian flu through these novels. These objects Kirsten’s use as a memory, help identify and depict the change from the past and post-apocalyptic world. The Travelling Symphony became a major role indulging the characters in believing we need to do more than just surviving, stating “Survival is insufficient” (Mandel 57). The Travelling Symphony was the back support to the characters keeping them moving and building their identity of courage and hope in this new world. All the characters dwell on their past in search of good memories to keep them

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