Introduction

Humans are social creatures, its because of this we as a species survived for so long, but what happens when an event or situation causes isolation to many people? When people experience extreme isolation they start to break down mentally, start to exhibit weird behavior  Mental health is  something many people take for granted, especially when in dire need of help and in lesser cases temporary isolation brings mental epiphany of oneself. In Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel these themes of loneliness and Mental Health are touched on in varying degrees. 

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When discussing loneliness there are many examples to point to because of the situation the characters where put thru. In the very beginning of the book the character named Jeevan was left in the theater after trying to resuscitate a man.  “His phone vibrated in his pocket. He stopped to read a text message from Laura: I had a headache so I went home. Can you pick up milk? And here, all momentum left him. He could go no farther. The theater tickets had been intended as a romantic gesture, a let’s-do-something-romantic-because-all-we-do-is-fight, and she’d abandoned him there, she’d left him onstage performing CPR on a dead actor and gone home, and now she wanted him to buy milk.” (11) This quote shows the anger that this isolation brought him and also the pain of trying to be closer to someone you love being nonchalant about your efforts. Laura, Jeevan’s girlfriend temporarily isolated him, which brought him confusion, anger and shock.

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To discuss Tyler would be to discuss many of the Themes in the story and how many characters intertwine with him. ” I should have pulled her back from the edge. But it had taken everything he had to stay back from the edge himself, and what could he have done?” (261). Tyler is so lonely that he develops a disturbing obsession with the new testament. He had a absentee father and a enabling mother who did not bother give her son attention, even when it seems that he desperately needs it. He had none around him who he could call a friend or loved one who could just keep him in reality of the situation he is in.

Reflection

I will focus on the themes of loneliness and Mental Health and try to convey the connection to each other. The characters are affected differently when faced with the end of the world. With this we can accurately show how themes treated created weird and unique situations that pushed people to either contemplate life and purpose or show how damaged they have become.