Final Blog Reading Journal on Station Eleven

 Quotes:

"Jeevan liked being the man whom people turned in bad moments, it meant a great deal to him to be able to help." (270)

This quote stuck out to me because I think it indicates that Jeevan's full character arc is complete. Jeevan spent his whole life trying to find something he liked doing, but he never succeeded. It was a paparazzi, a writer, a reviewer, but rather a medic in a far-off society. Here, he can help people daily, and his impact is helped by many. I think that this shows that the flu wasn't all negative for everyone. In some cases, the flu helped people drop their old lives and seek out their passion. The same can be said about Clark, who became a museum curator. I'd even argue that the flu was best best-case scenario for these characters. Even though it meant leaving their old lives behind, it also meant no pressure to decide what they did with their new life. In this new world, they can be who they want, with no influence from the people around them to do a specific job. Losing their old lives helped them start their real ones. 

"But the boy closed his lips around the barrel and fired." (303)

I found this quote important because of the implications it had on the story, and also how it shows life and death. After shooting the prophet and thus saving Kirsten, the boy kills himself. He had spent his whole life training to be one of the prophet's men, but after capturing Dieter and the other members of the Symphony, he began to crack. He knows that what he is doing isn't right, but he has to do it in fear for his life. In a moment of defiance, he stands up to the man who had been controlling him, but the grief also makes him take his own life. Although we don't know why he takes it, I'd like to speculate it's because of the prophet and his religion. The prophet's people are so brainwashed by him that if anyone goes against the prophet, they'd probably kill them. The boy may have felt the pressure and elected to kill himself rather than be hunted down. He also may have killed himself out of grief for all of the actions he had taken in his lifetime, but in either case, it's extremely sad. He was so close to being free and living a better life, but he decided to end his. I think that this also connects to modern society and the strength of leaders. Some people follow our world leaders with a passion, while others hate the person in charge. It goes to show that with each election, certain groups of people feel life out, and are obliged to follow orders even if they don't want to. 

Discussion Questions:

1. The character development in this section is huge. It first starts off with Clark, who finds his passion through becoming a museum curator, which was what his boyfriend did before the collapse. Clark took objects from before the outbreak and collected them in one of the airport's terminals to help remember their past lives. This also helps Clark keep his mental sanity, as he feels rather lonely and this allows him to tell people about the old world. Clark also shaves part of his head, and later his full head along with getting his ears pierced to show that he is living the life that he always wanted to. He doesn't feel pressured by anyone to work like he used to, but now he feels free. In a way, this is how the pandemic turned his life into a Utopia. Jeevan follows a similar path. He travels down south, to an area that would be in our time Virginia. He is a doctor in his residential area, and in the chapter about him, he helps a lady who was shot. He was trained by a doctor for five years after the collapse, and he seems to enjoy what he does. He remains pretty serious, but he also cracks jokes from time to time. He had multiple kids and a wife, and similarly to Clark, the pandemic helped him find what he wanted to do with his life. 

2. I think the importance of the museum is that it helps people remember their past lives and gives them hope that the world could return to how it was. People take for granted the things that we have in our daily lives, and the museum shows that. Kids are in awe of devices and things that seem typical for us. If I were to make a museum under similar circumstances I would include all common technology such as phones, laptops, and gaming systems. I'd also keep sports cards because I think it would be interesting for the new generation to know what we used to do. If possible, a stove or oven would be interesting because it shows how easy it was for us to make our food. It's interesting to think how we take all of these things for granted, and there are people in our own world who don't have these things. 

3. I don't think the decision to risk their own lives for others is wise, but I understand where they are coming from. These people are their family, and leaving them behind would only hurt the rest of the Symphony more. Think about when Charlie and her husband left, and how Kirsten still thinks about them all the time even though it had been years. These people are more than just friends, and I respect that they go after them. If I were in that situation, I would have done the same thing. I think the point where I draw the line is people that I don't know that well. If it were my family or friends, I would go after them and risk my life to help them. However, if it's someone who I don't really associate with, and as mean as it sounds, I'd let them go. If everyone holds the same mentality as me, then someone else will go after them and try to help. In the end, though, I wouldn't risk the lives of anyone unless it's to save my family or friends (In that order too). 

4. Kirsten and August are forced into a situation in section eight that forces them to either kill or be killed. In the first group with the men to have Dieter, August kills one of them while Kirsten kills the other. One of the men, a 15-year-old boy runs off. Once Dieter is free, they keep moving forward. The story then flashes back to when Dieter and the other woman were taken, though it was a rather shaky story as they were drugged by the prophet's men. The woman got away as she wasn't tied properly, allowing her to run away and tell the Symphony to divert paths so they weren't killed The prophet and some of his men had split up, as they were aiming at taking down the Symphony for taking the girl, who was one of the prophet's future wives. Back on the trail, Kirsten, August, and Dieter are hiding in the woods because they heard the prophet's dog barking from a distance. Once approached, the dog sniffs Kirsten out and the prophet holds a gun to her head. The sound of a gunshot is heard, but it's the 15-year-old boy who shot the prophet. August then takes out the other two men, and the boy shoots himself, leaving all of them alone. The boy seemed to be emotional about the whole process, and he frequently felt sympathy for the people he helped kidnap. He had been training for 10 years as a killer and didn't want to keep going as one. In the end, he killed the prophet and put an end to his own misery. Rather than being happy that he was free, the boy killed himself with his gun. Most of the characters find hope by getting to the airport, where they are greeted by Charlie. Kirsten in particular finds hope in Luli, the prophet's dog, who has followed her ever since the prophet died.