Levy-2024

This research paper is designed to teach you the following skills: to gain a broader understanding of the novel Station Eleven by referring to an outside source that explores a theme or concept relevant to the text, to learn to incorporate your own voice/analysis alongside those of the experts’, and to practice employing MLA guidelines of citation and documentation. Keep in mind: you are writing an argumentative, not an informative, research paper.

RESEARCH COMPONENT:

You must use TWO secondary sources:

- at least ONE article from one of Rutgers’ library’s databases and/or from a literary journal.

- the second one can be a scholarly article or a book.

Include them in your Works Cited page along with the primary text, the novel itself. 

Your first step is to decide on a topic that interests you (there’s nothing worse than doing a research paper on a topic you find boring). Perhaps you can choose from a discipline that you are pursuing academically (i.e., your major). You may come up with your own topic or you may choose from the ones I have provided. The key is to be creative in your intellectual approach to this; Mandel provides many philosophical, cultural, psychological, and literary ideas with which to work, so take advantage of them.

PROMPTS:

1. Sometimes what we appear or seem to be belies how we really feel or are on the inside. How does Mandel explore the idea of self-identity and individuality using surface details—such as a character's words, thoughts, or actions—as well as the motif of acting or "playing a part" to bring certain less tangible ideas about this topic to light? Consider this topic in terms of any of the main or secondary characters and in terms of the symbolism of this inner-versus-outside world motif.

2. One major concept that Mandel's novel touches upon is the general idea of finding or having “meaning” in life, whether we find it through work, art, or relationships. What conclusions does Mandel seem to draw and what literary devices and details mark these conclusions?

One avenue to take with this prompt is to explore the passions of the characters and/or the mistakes they make in trying to find happiness for themselves. If you wish to consider incorporating philosophy into this topic, you can explore the concept of "existentialism," which is a philosophy dealing with man's aloneness in the universe.

3. One theme that arises out of the novel concerns the value of learning/knowing about the past. Whether it's Clark's interest in preserving artifacts from the pre-pandemic past in a "museum," Kirsten's collection of magazines and memorabilia that remind her of her own past, or the debate Jeevan participates in regarding whether or not people of this new world should teach children about the pre-pandemic world, the question becomes both a moral and a practical one. Explore the different philosophical arguments surrounding this debate as well as the historic implications of remembering or not remembering the past and the role of education.

4. August and Kirsten's discussion of parallel universes is rife with symbolic significance, as the theory speaks not only to the possibilities of the "unknown" but also to the very human propensity to dream and to imagine. Explore the parallel universes as a theory and also as a literary tool that Mandel uses to depict parallel story lines as well as many moments of "unknowingness" in the story.

5. You could even argue that Station Eleven, Miranda's comic book, is a parallel universe of sorts. How do the characters in it relate to or represent various characters and situations in the novel? Consider everything from Miranda's main characters (Dr. Eleven, Captain Lonagan) to the setting, the Undersea world and the ideology of its people, the comic's plot, and the imagery of her art.

6. Another parallel world exists in the Shakespearean allusions that pepper the story line, whether it's the idea that characters in Mandel's story are Shakespearean actors on stage, that the plays they perform have symbolic relevance to the actions of the story, or that the life of Shakespeare himself and the importance of the art he created are mirrored in the novel as well. Explore the various ways that Shakespeare and this post-apocalyptic world overlap and create meaning.

5. Create your own topic: We have discussed a variety of themes and motifs in the play. Find a discernable “truth” that you see arising out of the literature and create an argument that shows how the author illuminates this truth. Potential topics include (but are not limited to) the necessity of change, the importance of art, the discrepancy between reality and imagination, the discrepancy between talking and communicating, etc.

If you're stuck finding a topic, you can work your way backwards by identifying symbols, scenes, ironies, imagery, or motifs that resonated with you. From there, see if you can create a unifying argument to connect them. Possibilities include the idea of travel, particularly air travel; the value of artifacts or museums; the concept of home.