Ralph Santos

Writing 39B
Mr. Seigel
Rhetorical Analysis
Back to the Future:
Art and Dystopian Society in Emily St. John Mandels Station Eleven
In Emily St. John Mandels novel Station Eleven, Mandel argues that creating or
engaging in pieces of art enables humans to preserve their unique cultures in a fragmented postapocalyptic world. Mandel is able to establish strong ethos and pathos to an audience that
currently lives in the technological era through the use of relatable characters and conventions of
fear and sadness in the Post-Apocalyptic genre. Through these techniques, Mandel gives her
audience an insight towards a universal misconception that glorifies technology, leaving works
of art underappreciated.
Mandel creates a completely changed world where technology is obsolete to induce fear
to her readers. She puts a unique twist in her novel by doing away with chronological order, and
uses major characters like Miranda Carroll, Frank Chaudhary, and Kirsten Raymonde to talk
about the Pre-Collapse (Mandel 71) and Post-Collapse periods of the novel in no particular
order. The novel goes chapter after chapter referring to both periods in the fictional, yet relatable,
society; expressing how these characters dealt with their respective versions of sadness and fear
through several instances of art. Mandel replicates modern society in her novel to generate strong
ethos to the young audience of her novel, and convey her message about the continued
importance of artwork in a world ruled by technology, and a world where technology is obsolete.
A Young Adult Library Services Association article by Colleen Seisser talks about the huge
appeal of the post-apocalyptic genre to teens with novels in this genre being set where the end
of the world came about in a way that they can imagine happening in [their] own time (Seisser

Commented [RLS1]: This introduction was changed to be

more concise and straight to the point about my topic. The
course has shown the importance of quality of written
pieces.
Commented [RLS2]: This is an example of one of the
topic sentences I changed. This course has taught me the
importance of structure and sophistication. The topic
sentences of the final drafts were edited to be more
sophisticated and structured.

Santos 2
4). Mandel uses a medical pandemic to nudge her novel closer to reality to effectively induce
fear to her teenage audience. Mandel also references modern technology and its lack of worth in
a post-apocalyptic world unlike arts strong presence in helping peoples dark times in the past,
present, and future to make her novel relatable to her audience. Seissers article also talks about
the genres convention of sadness and its appeal for teens who may feel a lack of control in their
everyday lives because teens in these novels have to face far bigger issues and even survive
day to day (Seisser 4). Station Eleven covers instances of struggle of characters who once relied
heavily on objects in the world that had no practical use (Mandel 258) in the post-apocalyptic
world like cell-phonesiPads, Tylers Nintendo console, [and] a selection of Laptops (258).
The day technology fails on people, is the day people should turn back on works of art. Mandel
highlights this message by degrading technologys importance in a post-apocalyptic world and
glorifying the positive impact of art.
Through her utilization of relatable characters, Mandel leverages the pathos inherent in
the Post-Apocalyptic genre to underline the uplifting role of artwork in preserving unique
cultures in modern society and a post-apocalyptic world. Characters like Kirsten, Miranda, and
Frank in the novel experienced hardships, and uses different instances of artwork to make a mark
on their own respective lives. Miranda is the second wife of the actor, Arthur Leander, in the
novel. Mandel uses her relationship issues with her ex-boyfriend, Pablo, in the pre-collapse
period to resemble troubled relationships in the twenty-first century to make her novel relatable
to readers under similar circumstances. In this context, Mandel successfully shows the
importance of creating the Dr. Eleven comic series for Miranda at a time where her relationship
with Pablo is in jeopardy. Early in the novel, Miranda talks about how [she] can throw away
almost everything (Mandel 89) with respect to her relationship and messy life with Pablo. As

Commented [RLS3]: Topic Sentence revision see above.

Santos 3
this thought progresses, Miranda believes that Station Eleven will be [her] constant (89)
showing the importance of this comic series in her life. The comic series fills the void in
Mirandas life by showing her that there is something in her life that can be constant regardless
of the situation around her. Furthermore, Kirsten Raymonde is a character that has significant
value to Mandels post-collapse period in the novel. During the pre-collapse period in the novel,
Kirsten was an innocent eight-year-old girl. Mandel uses her character to represent the children
of the technological era. With Kirsten surviving the flu, she was able to live for decades after the
end of the technological era. Kirsten uses the Dr. Eleven comic series as a way to connect her to
the life before the end of electricity, comfort, and stability on Earth. The comic reconnects
Kirsten to the past because it was a comic of the post-apocalyptic genre created in the precollapse period. Mandel emphasizes Kirstens strong connection with the comic by highlighting
the fact that Kirsten, by Year Twenty, has [Dr. Eleven] memorized (Mandel 42). In an
interview from the National Book Foundation, Mandel talks about Station Eleven as a way to
write about all these things we take for granted [and] write about their absence; Her creation of
Kirstens life in the novel reflects this idea. Mandel wants her audience to realize that in a future
where technology might be useless, humans should turn back to art which relies heavily on
human dedication and imagination. Things that can only be destroyed through a full wipeout of
the human race. Another character that uses art at a time of chaos, is Frank Chaudhary. Five days
after the start of the Georgian Flu epidemic, Frank was working on his ghostwriting project
instead of watching the news, because the news was going to drive [him] crazy (177).
Mandel creates Franks character to represent the older population of today. Adults today turn to
news electronically through television, and adults continue to shift away from the old custom of
newspapers and magazines to gather information. This leads to the lack of artistic creativity as

Santos 4
people get older, and Mandel uses Frank to show her adult readers the way Frank uses a
ghostwriting project to separate himself from the horrific reality surrounding him in Toronto.
Mandels creation of characters like Kirsten, Miranda, and Frank helps her readers to connect
easily to her novel.
Station Eleven also utilizes the members of the Traveling Symphony to show that
classical music and literature give people the ability to forget about a troubled environment, and
reconnect with the past. In Station Eleven, the Traveling Symphony is a group focused
performing classic Shakespearean literature, and classic music. The group consists of survivors
of the pandemic, that uses music and literature to reattach themselves back to the world that was
left behind by the flu. Mandel uses The Traveling Symphonys motto of survival is insufficient
(Mandel 58) to emphasize the idea that at the end of days, survival is only one part of the
formula to live in a damaged world. As for the Traveling Symphony, they perform pieces of art
to have a purpose in an environment that is redefining itself. The symphony uses art to distract
themselves from their terrible fear (121) of an unpredictable world. In addition, Mandel
discusses the way the Traveling Symphony thinks that what they are doing is noble (121), and
talking about the importance of art makes the Symphony find it easier to sleep at night (121).
This proves that performances help the Traveling Symphony reconnect their audience to the
manageable life in the past making the members believe that their performances are essential to
the post-apocalyptic world. Mandel creates a dystopian society in the novel to create strong
pathos to her audience in using fear to proclaim the importance of art in keeping people
entertained and connected to the past in a world that can potentially lose its ability to sustain
technology due to a pandemic like in the novel. The fear Mandel generates within the survivors
of the pandemic, connects to the concept of fear-appeal that Dr. Dolores Albarracin, a

Commented [RLS4]: Topic Sentence Revision see above

Santos 5
professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, talks about in an article proving the
concepts effective way to change the attitudes of people. Albarracin believes fear appeal is an
effective [way of] changing attitudes, intentions and behaviors. (Albarracin) Fear is an
effective method of getting people to act accordingly, and Mandels novel generates fear to her
audience to strongly convey her message.
Finally, Mandel uses Clark Thompson and the establishment of the Museum of
Civilization to build up her ethos and pathos by comparing things like modern technology and
literature, and how technology serves no purpose in a post-apocalyptic environment. As most
major characters in the novel, Clark has interest of art pieces, and uses this interest to collect
newspapers and magazines in hopes of preserving culture before the flu at the Severn City
Airport. Clark collects these instances of art to serve as a reminder of the pre-collapse period, in
hopes of reestablishing civilization in a world where the former concept of civilization is nonexistent. Clark represents the person Mandel wants her audience to look up to. Clarks presence
late in the novel, is usually accompanied by the typical mistakes people make in a postapocalyptic environment:
There seemed to be a limitless number of objects in the world that had no
practical use, but that people wanted to preserve: cell phones with their delicate
buttons, iPads, Tylers Nintendo console, a selection of laptops. There were a
number of impractical shoes, stilettos mostly, beautiful and strange. There were
three car engines in a row, cleaned and polished, a motorcycle composed mostly
of gleaming chrome. (Mandel 258).
Mandels use of poor choices that can be made by her audience creates a strong connection
between her readers and the novel. Mandel purposefully does this to help readers understand

Commented [RLS5]: Topic Sentence Revision see above

Santos 6
their mistake in valuing things that are not useful or functional in a post-apocalyptic scene. Clark
is a character that valued the durability of art in a destroyed world, making him Mandels ideal
person in the post-apocalyptic period. He kept impeccable records (259) that consisted of
magazines, newspapers, a stamp collection, and coins (259). Decades after the tragic Georgia
Flu, Clark is a character who is able to see the value of art in a completely different world.
Overall, Clarks attitude towards art in the novel is something that Mandel hopes her readers
remember for the future.
In conclusion, people are intrigued by the concept of an apocalypse, and are troubled by
deciding how to act in a world that has undergone a drastic change. Today, people rely heavily
on technology due to the fact that it makes a lot of things accessible and helps people live
comfortably. Mandel looks for readers that are deluged by technology, and publishes this book at
a time where the technological industry is at its peak. The novel is filled with examples showing
characters using art to link themselves and others to the past. Art comes in many different forms
that can keep people attached to the rich history of the world. In an unpredictable world where
the end can come tomorrow, it is important for humans to value things in life that are useful for
generations to come.

Commented [RLS6]: The conclusion was influenced by

suggestions given by the AGWR. The AGWR gave me the
important steps of creating an effective conclusion.

Santos 7
Works Cited
Albarracin, Dolores. "Fear-Based Appeals Effective at Changing Attitudes ..." American
Psychological Association. N.p., 22 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Alter, Alexandra. "Station Eleven Joins Falls Crop of Dystopian Novels ..." New York Times.
N.p., 5 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven: A Novel. New York: First Vintage, 2015. Print.
Seisser, Colleen. "Genre Guide: Post-Apocalyptic Fiction for Teens - The Hub." Young Adult
Library Services Association. N.p., 21 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.