Survival Is Insufficient

“Survival is insufficient” is a quote from Station Eleven that states a special concept in which humans cannot remain at rest after surviving and need to do something for others to be satisfied. The three essential elements of eating, drinking water, and breathing to survive but it is not enough to satisfy his spirit. Survival is sufficient when humans are useful to society and make a positive step for the world. Based on allegories from the book, we see this kind of positive step; Clark’s efforts to make a Museum of Civilization for the next generation. The other example is Jeevan’s attempt to help people survive by attending to their wounds and diseases. The best instance is the great effort of Traveling Symphony to keep the remnants of art and humanity alive in the post-collapse world. Muslih Al-Din Saadi is an Iranian poet who discussed this concept in his book of poems, “The Rose Garden,” about eight hundred years ago. President Obama quoted Saadi’s poem in one of his New Year greeting messages to Iranian people, “The children of Adam are limbs of each other, having been created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb, the other limbs cannot remain at rest.” The poet reminds us that all over the world, there is one family, and everybody has a responsibility to others. The quote from the novel also states the same concept. Survival makes sense when it goes beyond the simple essentials; everybody does something for others, as Clark, Jeevan, and Traveling Symphony did. In general, survival is sufficient when humans consider the world as one family and take a positive step toward it.

“Survival is insufficient” when humans do not have a good relationship or are far from their loved ones. “Hell is the absence of the people you long for” (Mandel 144). Sometimes, people move to another city or country to find a better job, university, or marriage. This absence and distance not only hurts humans, but it is also necessary to progress and be independent. The hell comes when this distance is imposed by an exterior reason, for example, political coercion or foolishness, as Arthur deeply regrets being far from his son. One of the reasons for his heart attack is this distant suffering. Collin Huber is a professional writer and content editor in Dallas, Texas. He earned his ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary and spent his undergraduate years studying government at the University of Texas at Austin. According to Huber, “Without relationships, art, love, history, and beauty, survival is hopelessly insufficient.” The first element that he states is a relationship because life will be very heavy and hopeless without a lovely relationship. When someone cannot be with people he needs and loves, he begins to live with his memories and thoughts.     “… the more you remember, the more you’ve lost” (Mandel 193). This condition disconnects the individual from real life, takes out his dynamic, and his life continues in regret and absurdity. In my opinion, survival is insufficient when humans do not live with their beloved relationships, and being far from them makes their lives hell.

“Survival is insufficient,” as the motto of Traveling Symphony, wants to convey the necessity of the presence of art in human life. Art is the best means to really live instead of just surviving. This traveling troupe, by playing theatrical and musical performances with its particular slogan, concludes to the audience that art can help the human spirit to survive from absurdity and give him the beauty of life. The first scene of the novel, the evening of the collapse, begins with Shakespeare’s famous drama, King Lear. Throughout the novel, we see the serious presence of art and culture in the world after and before the collapse. Erin Morgenstern is the author of The Night Circus and Flax-Golden Tales and studied theatre and studio art at Smith College in Massachusetts. According to Morgenstern, “It is no accident that the main characters are actors, comic book artists, and audience members. In a world where existence is still a struggle, we find artists: we meet one character who runs a newspaper; we meet musicians who have found ways to care for their instruments on the road; we see the impact of Kirsten’s theatre troupe, the Traveling Symphony, on the remnants of humanity; we see the increased richness of the troupes’ own lives as they create as well as survive.” This emphasis on the presence of art and literature appears in a splendid contrast; in the post-collapse world, the modern technological civilization and billions of people have been destroyed, but Shakespeare, Dr. Eleven comic books, and in a vast look, art has remained. “What was lost in the collapse: almost everything, almost everyone, but there is such beauty… a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream …” (Mandel 57).  Art has more power than epidemics and technology and is a key connection to human life. Art is not necessary to stay alive but has a bonding power to connect artist to artist, artist to audience, and audience to audience. “Survival is insufficient” ends up meaning the Traveling Symphony immortality of art in contrast to the mortality of modern technological civilization, and with this philosophical consciousness tries to keep the remnant of art and humanity alive.

Works Cited

Huber, Collin. “Survival Is Insufficient.” Fathom, 7 Dec. 2016.

Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. Vintage Books, June 2015.

Morgenstern, Erin. “Survival Is Insufficient: Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven.” Medium,   26 Dec. 2015.

Saadi, Muslih Al-Din. “The Children of Adam Are Limbs to Each Other, Having Been Created   of One Essence.” YouTube, 23 Mar. 2009.