Essay On Chaos And Disorganization In Station Eleven

When defining madness, people often point to the words “crazy” or “delusional,” but when I think of the defining madness, I think of a state of chaos and disorganization. To many characters in the book Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, chaos is just another part of life in their post-apocalyptic world. Characters in the book see this chaos as normal because they have lived in such a chaotic world for years and have become immune to thinking about morals and their previous ways of life. This chaos is heightened though after a man called “The Prophet” is introduced into their lives.

After a flu pandemic breaks out, ninety-nine percent of the human population perishes. Without electricity, transportation, or a cure, the one percent of humanity that is left must fight to survive by

working together. One man decides that the best way to get what he wants is to force it from people by murdering them, kidnapping their loved ones, or abusing them. Called the prophet by all, he claims “visions and signs,” and prophetic dreams,” guide him (125). However, while gaining power through force and deleterious behavior, The Prophet states that he and his people “were saved not only to spread the light, but to be the light” (60). This blatant lack of respect for human life, and crave for power convey the true amount of insanity that spread through some people’s minds after the Georgia Flu kills ninety-nine percent of the population.
Throughout the book, Mandel provides many flashbacks to the years before the Georgia Flu pandemic breaks out to show a contrast between the characters’ ways of thinking in different situations. In one of the flashbacks, a young boy named Tyler (who we later find out is the prophet) talks to a man about how he believes that “people who were good,” and “people who weren’t weak,” (260) are saved from the flu and that is why only 1% of the human population is left. When talking to Tyler’s mother, a man named Clark finds out that she thinks the same thing as Tyler and Clark becomes worried about them both. Clark then speaks to someone about the situation with Tyler and his mother, and the woman that Clark speaks with says, “That kind of insanity is contagious” (261). This time that Clark spends with Tyler shows why Tyler, and later the Prophet, believes that he and his people are “the light.” Although he believes that he is doing good in the world, he is creating madness by destroying groups of people, destroying shelters, and destroying lives. The prophet acts contrarily to his words. Instead of creating peace and awareness, he chooses to create violence and harm toward the people left after the flu pandemic. This behavior seems unreasonable and delusional to most people, but to the people who follow the Prophet, it seems completely normal and right.
The Prophet has essentially created a cult in this new post-apocalyptic world by turning people away from their own morals to follow him, and by doing so, he is able to fulfill his own craving for power. The followers of the Prophet seems to almost be brainwashed with the idea that he is wonderful and righteous in everything that he does. They begin to believe that killing and abusive behavior are the way to spread light throughout the world because he believes so. These people see that the Prophet gets everything he could want and they begin to want the same thing so they follow him and do what pleases him in hopes of becoming like
him. They are not able to see just how much chaos and unneeded violence that they are causing in their own world.
To the people in this post-apocalyptic world, this chaos seems to be almost normal because of how often they are forced to deal with stress and violence. While dealing with their struggle for survival, the Traveling Symphony sometimes have moments when they are able to remember the peaceful and vibrant world while having, “moments around campfires when someone would say something invigorating about the importance of art” (119). This time allows the people of the Travelling Symphony to reflect on who they were before the Georgia Flu came through and to realize that the chaos is not normal at all.
The Prophet and his followers only add to the amount of conflict in Station Eleven by causing people to not only attempt to survive in this new world, but to protect themselves from other people who want to hurt them.

Not only do survivors of the Georgia Flu have to live in a world of sickness, no electricity, no transportation, and no medicine, but they also have to live with a group of people who go around murdering and abusing their power to get what they want, while believing that they are doing admirable deeds that need to be done in the world. The people who are not part of the Prophet’s followers see how he is causing complete madness and terror to come over anyone who can see past the lies he portrays to his followers.

This madness that is generated by the Prophet causes the conflict to become even larger and provides a type of madness that is not often talked about today. A madness that is described as being wrong to so many, but right in the minds of a few. The madness in Station Eleven seems to be a new way of life to the characters who must fight the Prophet and his

followers, but ending his life may never end the chaos that came with him and carried out by his

followers.