The time jumps started in the second and third parts of Station Eleven  by Emily Mandel  is an effort to compare the past and future of the story.  Now this seams a bit strange to say automatically as there are other reasons for time jumps in texts, some general and others a lot more genera specific.  The reason that I believe that the jumps are to compare the past and the future in the story is because there is the comic that first shows up on page 42 and is repeatedly mentioned and created in part 3, the Dr. Eleven comics.  On the previously mentioned page it refers to a dog in the comic that Kirsten, the character that owns the comics, does not recognize as a dog.  Later when the creation of the comic is shown it is revealed that the dog in the comic is a near replica for the creators dog(100).  While this is easily explained by the twenty years passing after the flu outbreak and toy dog breads dying out, it shows an piece of life that is taken for granted so much in one time it’s added without a thought while in a later time it is seen as strange and supernatural.

Another interesting thing about the time jumping in the third part is that it develops the plot device of the comics beyond the mere macguffin that it was in the second part.  If someone asked me what the point of the comic was had I not read the third chapter I would have said it was just a macguffin to explain Kirsten’s research into Arthur Leander.  The important thing about this conclusion is that in the second part the comics could have been anything; with the explanation of the creation of the comics we can start to think about the difference  between the creator of the comic and the reader of the comic, and how this comparison shows how life after an apocalypse is without having to describe it to the smallest detail.

In the novel Station Eleven by Emily Mandel the story has begun with a sort of flashback to what was

The story of an ending of the world is similar to many shows and stories that are presently showing like the walking dead and other apocalyptic novels. In this particular novel the survivors form a sort of family or group which call themselves the Traveling Symphony. They are introduced briefly in the following parts of the novel and they are in way remembering how they all came to be. How it started in the Elgin Theatre where Arthur collapsed to his death. How it shocked everyone who was there including Kristen who is now introduced as an adult 20 years after the tragedy.

There are still many questions that remain unanswered, like what exactly has happened throughout the world at this point. Is the group of people still alive living in pure ruins the only humans around the world. It is very interesting to see the way machinery and technology have become obsolete. How humanity has come to a point where the next new thing is not what phone will come out next year or who has the lastest gadgets but everyone is back to basic survival mode. It gives me a sort of perspective of life today and what really is important in everyday life.

It will be interesting to see how many other questions will be answered throughout the novel and how the characters in the novel will prioritize what really is important to them in this apocalyptic world. Knowing how cars are practically useless and singing and arts become the essence of everyday life will be good to see how they all evolve and become different people throughout.

In Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, There appear to be stories broken up into pieces that are slowly coming together. In section three, the story begins to tell the past of Arthur Leander, whom we recall passed away due to a heart attack in section one. The narrator begins to show a glimpse of the start of his career and his past relationships. Anyhow, the story opens up with Arthur and Miranda at a restaurant in Toronto. Miranda seems to be venting to Arthur and searching for comfort and help to leave an abusive relationship that she is in. She has bruises on her face and tells Arthur, “I’m going to leave him.” The girl, Miranda, has a recent bruise on her face. They’re speaking in whispers to avoid being overheard by the restaurant staff. He nods. “Good.” He’s looking at the bruise, which Miranda hasn’t been entirely successful in concealing with makeup. “I was hoping you’d say that. What do you need?” “I don’t know,” she says. “I’m sorry about all this. I just can’t go home.”( Page 13, My page numbers will be different for now since I am currently reading the story online and not a paperback version) From this moment I knew that Arthur was going to become a huge part of Miranda’s life, and she would also become a huge part of his. For example, I believe Miranda helped Arthur become more recognized by society. After discussing and planning what she should do, the two leave the restaurant and have photos taken by paparazzi. This most definitely leads Arthur to have more attention on him by others now that he has been seen with this mysterious women.
Arthur becomes an important part of Miranda’s life because he helps her move on from her abusive boyfriend. To be more specific, Arthur and Miranda end up falling for eachother. For example in chapter 14  there are a few lines that show Arthur’s genuine interest and care for Miranda and her love for him,  “I’m working on a comic-book project,” she tells him later, when he asks about her work. “Maybe a series of graphic novels. I don’t know what it is yet, “What made you choose that form?”
“I used to read a lot of comics when I was a kid. Did you ever read Calvin and Hobbes?” Arthur is watching her closely…..”Are you still with Pablo?” he asks, when they’re out on the street. He’s hailing a cab. Certain things have been decided without either of them exactly talking about it.

“We’re breaking up. We’re not right for each other.” Saying it aloud makes it true. They are getting into a taxi, they’re kissing in the backseat, he’s steering her across the lobby of the hotel with his hand on her back, she is kissing him in the elevator, she is following him into a room. And she feels a peculiar giddiness when she reads this fourth text. There are thoughts of freedom and imminent escape. I could throw away almost everything, she thinks, and begin all over again” ….”There are tears in her eyes now. Miranda is a person with very few certainties but, one of them is that only the dishonorable leave when things get difficult.”(Pages 18-20) Miranda finally ends her thought process. These lines show that she choses Arthur over her ex and seems to slow grow into what happiness really is now that she’ll be free. He honestly helped her without realizing, how to escape her sadness.

Initially upon beginning to read Part 2 of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, I was a little confused on where the plot picked up off from Part 1. I understood that many of the people who saw Arthur die, or came to pay respects to him died shortly after the Flu started spreading. At first I thought they were performing a play or an act about the “collapse” of society after the outbreak, but then quickly realized that they were a nomadic symphony around 20 years later. The picture I formed in my head after this realization was the setting of any recent “end of the world” or “zombie apocalypse” movie. I found it quite odd that not much else is revealed in specifics about the Flu until further into the reading. Although not a very large number of people survived, I was still slightly surprised that technology had come to almost a stand still in the post infection time. Many things are described in parts 2 and 3 such as the traveling symphony’s relationships with each other as well as parts of their pasts.

I think my favorite part in these sections of the reading would have to be the situation around the St Deborah community. My first impressions when they arrived were that they would perform and at least somewhat enjoy staying in the area for the few days as planned. I did find that the grave markers they discovered for their not dead yet friends was odd though. They performed for the community successfully and let the prophet speak after their performance. The conductor was feeling uncomfortable during his speech, and after some quiet talk between the two, the conductor instantly decided that they had to leave immediately. The conductor referred to the community as “a doomsday cult” (62). I thought it was a crazy plot twist when the conductor revealed what the prophet had told him quietly after the performance in St Deborah. I knew some of the symphony members felt slightly uncomfortable when they saw the armed guards around the gas station. As they were leaving, a little boy called out, “You have permission to leave?” (63). He explained how if people left without permission, they would have funerals for them. This explains what probably happened to Charlie, Jeremy, and Annabel.

Part 3 helped clarify information about Arthur’s past that wasn’t explained in Part 1. It’s revealed that Arthur goes to Toronto for school, but quickly decides that he doesn’t want to continue with his planned major, and takes up acting lessons instead. He eventually ends up continuously getting small time roles finally landing him in Hollywood. Arthur meets an Artist while working in Hollywood who is writing a graphic comic called Station Eleven. She finds comfort in Arthur I believe, unlike her boyfriend so she eventually ends up with him, although further down the line Arthur has an affair. I believe the fame quickly got to Arthur’s head.