Archetypal Lens In The Children Of Men

The dystopian society that has been in established in P.D. James’s novel, “The Children of Men”, presents difficult challenges for the characters to overcome. This novel directs the reader’s attention to the importance of fertility and the parallels between humanity and extinction. In this novel, the protagonist, Theodore Faron, describes the humiliation and failure that homo sapiens experience due to their inability to reproduce. As a result, the civilization of mankind faces events of cultural illness, cruelty, and hopelessness; becoming a staple in their everyday lives. However, when examining “The Children of Men” through an archetypal lens, one can attest that the character’s journey provides a chance to end universal infertility through

Finally, the character’s advance the theme of fertility and hope, igniting their desires to end humanity’s extinction. The character’s actions and skills can either prevent the solution to human infertility or provide a chance to end it. In this novel, the protagonist’s unique characteristics assist in ending society’s hopelessness towards infertility. As the text unfolds, the protagonist, Theodore “Theo” Faron, who is a skeptic and past-obsessed individual, becomes intrigued by the possibilities of humanity’s future on Earth. Furthermore, the theme of misery is present in the novel’s first page, as Joseph Ricardo, the final human that was birthed on Earth, is pronounced dead. Additionally, this causes Theodore to begin writing many diary entries, which is where the reader witnesses Theodore’s attitude change from hopeless to hopeful, as he strives towards the possible thought of ending human infertility. As a result, Theodore’s odium towards humanity’s inability to

This ignites his need and want to find a cure, and put an end to humanities infertility crisis. Furthermore, human society, which worshipped Western science and medicine as if it were a “god,” has been completely unable to find any cure, cause, or even a semblance of an answer as to the reason why no human being has been born on planet Earth in over twenty years. Moreover, the complete failure of humanity to find a way to prevent its own end, as that end slowly and gradually creeps closer, is a source of both anguish and shame for the entire world. This shame and humiliation colours James’s narrative throughout the novel. It also serves as an excuse for some characters—like Theo and Jasper—to retreat into solitude. However, as the text unfolds, Theo goes from being a selfish human, into being an activist, who strives to see change in the world that he lives in. The Omegas, the last generation of humans born on Earth, exist on a different class or race. Theo describes the Omegas as strikingly beautiful and handsome, but almost categorically arrogant and even cruel, as he says, “if from infancy you treat children as gods they are liable in adulthood to act as devil” (James 11). Furthermore, the ways in which the Omegas are treated as gods