Introduction

It’s quite easy to take some of our most valuable possessions and services for granted when even thinking about losing this is hard for us to imagine. Basic things such as electricity, cell phone service, emergency medical / police services and access to food are things we all admittedly take for granted. In Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, all of these services are not only non existent, but some of the younger generation have not even experienced any of it. Imagine having to thoroughly explain yourself because they didn’t believe the concept of electricity or say WiFi.

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In the novel, it’s shown that the younger children must be taught about the concepts of flight, electricity, and other concepts that we overlook every day because we already see them as a normal thing. Devices such as cell phones, laptops and the like are definitely something we take for granted everyday. Mentioned in the story, “–larger machines that opened up like books and had screens that hadn’t always been dark, the insides brimming with circuitry, and these machines were the portals into a worldwide network.”(262) No one really questions how these devices we have work, but it would definitely have a great impact on civilization now if all of these devices just stopped working altogether. Having to have scouts, who then have to report to each other by walking face to face is a drastic difference from today, where we have the leisure of cell phones or the internet to relay information.

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Proper and available medical services are also something we may take for granted. “I trained as a paramedic, before the flu. I apprenticed t o a doctor near here for five years, till he decided to move further south. I’ve picked up what I can.” (271), Jeevan stated to the couple that came to him for help. When we are injured, we immediately just think to call 911 so someone you trust is a doctor will eventually treat you. In the story, the couple had to hear from word of mouth, then seek out Jeevan, who was not even technically a doctor. Most of us would also be very uneasy about the fact of being administered moonshine as an anesthetic.

Reflection

I decided to write about the services, possessions, and maybe even privileges that had disappeared in the story that we may take for granted everyday. I’m working on an outline to better organize my ideas, as well as accurately back claims with quotes from the book. I do need to find more quotes to further support my argument, as well as comparing and contrasting situations in the book with some situations that may have happened in history already.