Station Eleven connects to social justice concepts such as gender equality, human rights, and world religion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayExamples of the connection between Station Eleven and gender equality can be seen in many ways where those who identify as male are often the aggressors in conflict with those who identify as female. This can be seen between Miranda, Arthur Leander's first wife, and her fiancé Pablo. Pablo is a struggling artist who is jealous of how Miranda can create better art in the form of the graphic novel Station Eleven and how she keeps a job that seems to appreciate her. This leads him to brood over the apartment, not caring enough about Miranda to even attempt to get a job to pay for the apartment they were supposed to rent together. On top of that, his paintings aren't sold, so he doesn't bring any income to the company. Pablo isn't interested in Miranda's graphic novel, the art project he's putting most of his time and effort into. He even goes so far as to accuse her of infidelity with her boss at work precisely because she works so much. He then gets angry when she tells him that she works so much because they need the money. Another example of inequality between the sexes can be seen in Arthur Leander's actions in his various marriages to Miranda, Elizabeth, and Lydia. Arthur leaves Miranda for Elizabeth while cheating on Miranda. Miranda suspects that Arthur is cheating on her when she notices how Elizabeth is constantly around Arthur at parties and other meetings and events. But the first time Arthur's betrayal becomes real for Miranda is when she finds Elizabeth passed out, drunk, on the couch. Arthur also ends up leaving Elizabeth, even after having a child together. His next wife is Lydia, an actress with whom he acted. Elizabeth takes her son Tyler to live in Jerusalem. Arthur visits occasionally. Miranda continues to live independently. Arthur rarely visits her, remains very distant and indifferent. Another way Arthur seems to have more power than the women in his life is when he sends letters to Victoria and starts treating her like an object instead of a person. But Victoria manages to expose him when she publishes his letters in a book for all to see what he thought of each of his wives/marriages. In Station Eleven women also have less power than men. The prophet can travel (when everyone else has severe travel restrictions) and can choose women to marry because he is a man. He controls these future brides (some of whom are children) by threatening, killing or maiming the people the women love. The prophet manipulates them and they return to the town of Saint Deborah near the Water to marry him. Because he is a man, he tries to force a young actress (Alexandra) to stay when he asked the Symphony to leave. Eleanor, another girl forced to marry the prophet, risks her life by secretly eloping with the Symphony. The prophet also raids a village and reluctantly takes one of the women to ensure that she can leave without harm. When she refuses to marry him, he shoots her and leaves her bleeding on the side of the road. Something that doesn't quite fall into the category of gender equality, but is equally important, is sexuality. Homosexuality is mentioned multiple times throughout Station Eleven. At the beginning of the book, Clark thinks back to previous sexual relationships with men. In the middle and end of the book Clark thinks about a specific boyfriend named Robert before the collapse of thecivilization. Sexuality doesn't exactly connect to gender equality, but it's important to note that Station Eleven includes diversity in its characters' sexuality. Station Eleven connects to human rights in several important ways. The first is the way many people are denied essential rights to food, water and shelter. An example of this is Jeevan stocking up on food and water before the collapse. Another example is people frantically searching for shelter. The need for food and water can also be seen when the prophet raided villages to get food and water. In a village, after the prophet took food and water, he also took one of the women of the village as his wife. Basic human rights are blatantly ignored by the prophet. With an iron fist the prophet governs the city (Santa Deborah sull'Acqua) where he founded his cult. He doesn't allow people to leave the city. It's hard for people to get in if they don't have something they want. The Symphony is allowed because it entertains its citizens. This entertainment is like the bread that the ancient Romans gave to their citizens to keep them calm. His control over people and their manipulation are comparable to a dictatorship. This is seen in the fact that the prophet is the supreme authority and no one has the power to change his laws or remove him from power. It also doesn't allow people to create an infrastructure that allows them to maintain orderly leadership. The prophet knows that this would encourage rebellion; it could be overturned. He indoctrinates and terrorizes his people into submission. He is absolute in his power. Marries multiple young women without their consent; no one resists him. Other men are willing to be part of his army and not protect women. However, there is an example of a basic human right being protected. A woman is raped at Severn City Airport. The man who committed the crime is thrown into the woods without supplies where he is expected to die alone and in terror. Although the law in America no longer states that the punishment for the rapist is death, I believe that this punishment and even castration is appropriate. Religion ties into Station Eleven with the obvious connection of the prophet twisting the words of the Bible to impose his dictatorship. about the people and their reach into the other villages that formed after the devastation of the plague. The prophet uses words from Revelation, particularly Revelation 18:8 which refers to the destruction of Babylon. It seems that the author is trying to make a comparison between the virus that wiped out much of humanity in Station Eleven and the plagues spoken of in Revelation that will wipe out Babylon. However, to me, this seems to be a strange analogy. Babylon in the Bible is often the oppressor of the Jews. While it is likely that the people who died oppressed other people, it is doubtful that they all did. Perhaps, one way to delve deeper into this connection between Babylon in Revelation (in the Bible) and the victims of the virus in Station Eleven would be to describe those who died as oppressive. If we decide that the people who died from the plague oppressed others, the survivors may believe that the plague was helpful and not harmful. Another mention in the Bible is when the prophet mentions how the virus actually reset the earth so that only the pure remain. The author tries to compare this to Noah's ark and the destruction of sinners. This comparison doesn't work because the plague killed people randomly. People were not killed based on their actions and motivations on earth. Furthermore, Noah did not become a dictator and remained married to his only wife. Since this is a narrative story, the “important” characters aresurvivors, but a reason is never given as to why this would support the prophet's theory of the virus cleansing the Earth. Most of the characters seem to survive simply because they're lucky. Kirsten and Jeevan are extremely lucky because the Georgian flu is in the air and starting to spread on a flight from Moscow. Kirsten and Jeevan both come into close contact with Arthur Leander, who died of Georgian flu. Jeevan gives CPR to Arthur and miraculously doesn't get sick. If the virus was a cleansing agent, it would have a sense that these two are spared since they are the protagonists, but this is doubtful since neither of them questions why they survived. The fact that they were so close to a man who was dying of Georgian flu and didn't get infected leads me to believe that the author forgot that they were supposed to die. What was the author thinking when Kirsten is more concerned about a clean dress than her own brush with death? Social justice connects to historical topics such as colonization in Africa, climate change, and the Haitian Revolution. Social justice also connects to literature in books like In the Time of the Butterflies, A Long Way Gone, and Othello. The Haitian Revolution and Othello both show evidence of gender inequality. During the Haitian Revolution, when the government was formed, women could not vote or make decisions. This was probably a remnant of France's influence on their old colony. This is because even in France at that time women could not make any decisions. The first country to allow women to vote was New Zealand in 1893. This is interesting because New Zealand, like Haiti, was a colony. However, New Zealand was a colony of Great Britain while Haiti was colonized by the French. Perhaps the difference in laws regarding women's rights comes from the colonizers. In Othello, gender inequality can be seen in gender roles throughout the story. Women are expected to be subservient to men. Men have power over women. Desdemona, the female protagonist of the story, follows these rules almost perfectly. Emilia, the other female protagonist, does not obey these social rules. Both women are dead at the end of the story. They both died because of their views on how women should live in relation to men. Desdemona dies because she does not react while Othello suffocates her, submitting to him. Emilia dies because she talks about Iago, her husband, and his role in the conspiracy to kill Othello. She speaks out against Iago, Iago kills her after she reveals that she masterminded the entire plot. The public can decide which woman was right. The story ends with both women dead for taking opposing sides in a conflict that affected their lives and the lives of all women in the story. Othello and the Haitian Revolution connect with each other in regards to gender equality. Italian women could not vote. This means that Desdemona and Emilia could not have changed their circumstances if they didn't like it. Since the environment in Haiti was similar to Italy, with women not having the right to vote, a similar story could have happened if Shakespeare had set his story there. Human rights are another important social justice issue. Human rights were ignored or destroyed in the book A Long Way Gone. Climate change in today's world is another problem. A Long Way Gone depicts the true story of Ishmael Beah whose village is destroyed by rebels. He is forced to be a child soldier. He eventually arrives in the United States for a United Nations conference where he finds a new life. Ishmael is freed.