Fear In Children Of Men

‘If there is no future, then how would we as a society behave?’ This question was the bases for which P.D. James created the novel Children of Men. P.D. James takes a common underlying fear only relevant to contemporary society and then explores it to the extreme and highlights the consequences for the future if the society if it is unwilling to change.The text explores contemporary elements of fear through creating a dystopian setting which reflects and can be contrasted to the fears of the current world order. The genera of the narrative is classified into a dystopian sci-fi the storyline follows the generic hybrid structure where the world is battling an epidemic, the government of supreme authority enforces and often turns to a dictatorship …show more content…
However, the process of removing this title is a humiliating one and a situation that one instinctively despises because of the consequence of being degraded and shunned from civilisation. P.D.James addresses the fear of loss of dignity by humiliating the characters in the dystopian society, the author places the characters in a world in infertility which terrifies and distributes them. In the novel the human race is no longer able to reproduce and continue their existence. Consequently, as an outcome, society is desperate and ashamed as they cannot reproduce like the animals who multiple subconsciously without complication. The narrative states; “For all our knowledge, our intelligence, our power, we can no longer do what the animals do without thought.” The repetition of the word ‘our’ reinforces and emphases in a mocking tone that all our efforts cannot match a dim-witted animal. Furthermore, if we examine the word ‘our’, we notice it represents the first person narrative voice used in the quote, inviting us into the epidemic. Therefore, by including the responder in the contemporary fear they are compelled to consider what they would do in this situation. What would you do in a situation where your race was on the brink of existence for no reason other than you were not capable of …show more content…
As an attempt for the elderly to dignify themselves, they become a part of the ‘Quietus’. The quietus is the mass drowning ceremony of the elderly in which the can obtain their honorable death and therefore a portion of pride is returned. This is a symbolism for birth and baptism another example of binary opposition.The old women are dressed up in their white gowns and then lead to the with water which ‘ordains’ them .Predictably, this is a superficial procedure, conveying that the dystopian society’s alternatives to recreate dignity was confronting and questionable. Unfortunately, it’s confirmed by Hilda’s death, which did not lack honour as she was left to drown in the ocean with her body exposed for the world to observe. While she’s struggling for safety she is brutally assaulted and murdered. The text describes her humiliation through the quote “the nightdress racked up over the thin legs, all of the lower body exposed.” The imagery used creates an uneasy emotional response, targeting the reader’s fear of a similar repulsive exit from the world filled with pain and torture. Relating to the current society, Children of Men explores the current fear of the removal of dignity in a dystopian society. The text questions particular events such as the undignified treatment of the Jews in Germany, and then continues onto explores what the current civilisation refuses to ponder upon.