Children of Men by PD James depicts the life of Théodore "Theo" Faron alongside his five acquaintances Julian, Miriam , Rolf, Gascoigne, and Luke as they embark on a harrowing mission to privately give birth to the child who will likely become the future of all humanity. In two separate instances, James uses the nightmares that visit Theo in order to symbolize a variety of emotions, as well as development within Theo's rapidly changing life. Initially, as Theo's late father stands ominously at the foot of his bed, the nightmare's manifestation arises from feelings of regret and loneliness due to a multitude of factors. Although this original nightmare eventually fades, a new nightmare torments Theo after a multitude of events - leading to the start of his journey with the group of five acquaintances, known as the Five Fishes - begin to trouble him. This second nightmare again symbolizes a multitude of Theo's emotions, but further describes the development of Theo's life as linked to the changing nightmare, and also exposes James' deliberate choice of the timing of each nightmare. In this case, rather than his father haunting his sleep, it is Luke who looms menacingly in front of Theo. While the initial nightmare stems from significant feelings of humiliation, the subsequent nightmare that Theo encounters captures similar feelings in a different form which, when comparing the two instances, reveals Theo's development as a character, as well as the crucial aspect of the timing of the two nightmares. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Primarily, the initial nightmare is used by James in order to symbolize Theo's lack of relationship with his father, as well as the feelings that coincide with the lack of the typical father-son relationship. As Theo explains before detailing the nightmare: “I would like my memory of my father to be happier, to have a clear vision, or at least some vision, of the essential man on whom I could focus. “to seize… I would like to be able to cite even three qualities which characterized him” (26). Obviously, Theo essentially has nothing to base the characteristics of the father-son relationship on, which leads to a deep sense of depression. This is particularly evident when Theo explains the nightmare, stating that: "For months after his death, I was visited by a recurring nightmare in which I saw him at the foot of my bed pointing at a bleeding yellow stump... He didn't never spoke; he remained silent… His look was sometimes a call to something that I could not give, but most often seriously accusatory, just like this pointing” (27). As the terror occurs night after night, Theo is regularly humiliated. On the one hand, Theo's father's expression of appeal for something he could not give leaves him isolated and alone, as any potential relationship is now impossible. Therefore, on the other hand, the accusatory nature of Theo's father's expression leaves him with a deep-rooted feeling of regret and guilt. In addition to the burden of something Theo could not give, the accusatory expression places the entire burden of anguish on Theo. Night after night, Theo experiences significant pain stemming from what he interprets as his inability to establish a meaningful relationship between himself and his father. Theo's depression regarding his father via the original nightmare coincides entirely with the accidental murder of his daughter Natalie. This is obvious as Theo reveals: “After killing Natalie, he visited me every week…” (27). Due toInadequacies in his relationship with his father, Theo does not have much on which to base the qualities required to be a father. Several years after Theo killed Natalie, he wrote in his journal: "I felt affection for my child, although I would have felt more if she had been prettier...I still think of her with complaint » (29). Certainly Theo may have loved his child, but he was not a good father, because he never learned to be one. Just like when his father died, Theo's first nightmare infested his sleep due to feelings of pure isolation and shame. Theo once again saw his father express what he clearly interpreted as a “…call for something I could not give…” (27). Obviously, the nightmare resurfaces and constantly bothers Theo, in part because he could no longer give his wife the daughter she loved so much, nor his daughter another life to live. But above all, Théo could not give himself a second chance to remedy a bad situation, like when his father died. Corresponding to Theo's feelings of humiliation and isolation, the initial nightmare after his daughter's murder again results in his father's expression “…gravely accusatory” (27). Although it was an accident, Theo recognizes his fault, and with this fault the accusatory nature of the initial nightmare comes back to haunt him. Collectively, both after the death of his father and because of the accidental murder of his daughter, Théo experiences the serious and haunting nightmare of his father at the foot of his bed, symbol of an emotional flow highlighting isolation, regret and guilt. On his return to Oxford after a long journey through Europe preceded by his first communications with the nightmare of the Five Fishes, Theo visits again. However, the new nightmare takes an entirely different form, as James uses this series of terrors to depict a change in Theo's character. Rather than Theo's father standing at the foot of his bed, Luke looks at him: “…and he wasn't in bed but sitting in his car…The car windows were closed. He could hear a woman screaming like Helena had screamed. Rolf was there… banging his fist against the car and shouting, “You killed Julian, you killed Julian!” He was unable to move…He sat there, staring with vacant eyes through the windshield at Luke's accusing finger” (139-140). All the events that led to Théo's temporary departure visibly disturb him. As nightmares often arise from fears, it is the new nightmare that begins to explain who Theo really is and what he will become. For example: "Rolf was there... banging his fist against the car and shouting: 'You killed Julian, you killed Julian!'... He could hear their angry voices: 'Get out!' Get out! ", but he couldn't move. He sat there…waiting…for hands to drag him away and confront him with the horror of what he, and he alone, had done” (139-140). After everything he has experienced alone, such as the Quietus, as well as everything the Five Fishes have made him an accomplice to, such as the conspiracy against the government, Theo is overwhelmed by both his ever-increasing role within of the group, as well as by his infatuation with Julian. Thus, the fear detailed through the new dream cannot simply be characterized as a solitary entity. Rather, Theo's fear for Julian's safety, and perhaps to a greater extent his fear of not acting on something he is beginning to believe in, forms the new nightmare that, "...left his legacy of unease, which deepened day by day” (140). It's about depicting that day by day, whatever actions he takes, Theo becomes more likeable and willing to get involved with the group, their ideals and their plans. Basically, this second nightmare is.