Children of Men by PD James describes the life of Theodore “Theo” Faron together with his five acquaintances Julian, Miriam, Rolf , Gascoigne, and Luke as they embark on a harrowing mission to privately deliver the baby that will likely become the future of all humanity. In two separate instances James uses the nightmares that visit Theo to symbolize a variety of emotions, as well as development in Theo's rapidly changing life. Initially, as Theo's late father stands menacingly at the foot of his bed, the nightmare's manifestation stems from feelings of remorse and loneliness due to a multitude of factors. Although this original nightmare eventually fades, a new nightmare plagues Theo after a multitude of events - which led to the beginning of his journey with the group of five acquaintances, known as the Five Fishes - begin to trouble him. This second nightmare once again symbolizes a multitude of Theo's emotions, but further portrays the development in Theo's life in relation to the nightmare's change, as well as exposing James's deliberate choice of the timing of each nightmare. In this case, instead of his father haunting his sleep, it is Luke who looms portentously before Theo. While the initial nightmare stems from significant feelings of humiliation, the next nightmare Theo encounters captures similar feelings in a different form which, when comparing the two cases, reveals Theo's development as a character, as well as the crucial aspect of the timing of both nightmares. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Mainly, the initial nightmare is used by James to symbolize Theo's lack of relationship with his father, as well as the feelings that coincide with the absence of the typical father-son relationship. As Theo explains before detailing the nightmare, “I wish my memory of my father were happier, that I had a clear vision, or at least a vision, of the essential man to whom I could cling… I wish I could name too three qualities that characterized him” (26). Clearly Theo has essentially nothing to base the characteristics of the father-son relationship on, which leads him to a deep feeling of depression. This is especially evident when Theo explains the nightmare, arguing 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 a bloody yellow stump towards me... He never spoke; he remained silent... His gaze at times it was a plea for something I could not give, but more often gravely accusatory, as that indication was” (27). Theo's father for something he couldn't give makes him feel isolated and alone as any potential relationship is now impossible. Consequently, on the other hand, the accusatory character of Theo's father's expression leaves him with a deep-rooted feeling of remorse and guilt. Along with the weight of something Theo could not give, the accusatory expression imposes the full weight of anguish on Theo. Night after night Theo experiences significant pain resulting from what he interprets as his inability to achieve a meaningful relationship between himself and his father. Theo's depression regarding his father throughout the original nightmare coincides entirely with the accidental killing of his daughter Natalie. This is obvious as Theo reveals: "After he killed Natalie he came to see me weekly..." (27). Due to the inadequacies of his relationship with his father, Theo has little on which to base his own qualitiesof being a father. Many years after killing Natalie, Theo wrote in his diary: "I felt affection for my daughter, though I would have felt it more if she had been prettier... I still think of her with complaint" (29). Certainly Theo may have loved his son, but he was not a true father, as he never learned to be one. Just like when his father died, Theo's initial nightmare haunted his sleep due to feelings of pure isolation and misfortune. Once again Theo saw his father express what he clearly interpreted as a "... plea for something I could not give..." (27). Evidently, the nightmare resurfaces to constantly bother Theo, in part because he can no longer give his wife the daughter he loved so dearly, nor his daughter another life to live. But more importantly, Theo couldn't give himself a second chance to remedy a difficult situation, just like when his father died. Corresponding to Theo's feelings of humiliation and isolation, the original nightmare after killing his daughter again gives his father's expression that he is “…severely accusatory” (27). Although it was an accident, Theo recognizes that he is guilty, and with this guilt the accusatory nature of the initial nightmare returns to haunt him. Collectively, both after his father's death and due to the accidental killing of his daughter, Theo experiences the grave and disturbing nightmare of his father at the foot of his bed, symbolizing an emotional surge that highlights isolation, remorse, and a sense of guilt. .On his return to Oxford from a long trip around Europe, preceded by his first communications with the nightmare of the Five Fishes, Theo visits again. However, the new nightmare has a completely different form, as James uses this series of terrors to represent a character change in Theo. Instead of Theo's father standing at the foot of the bed, Luke is staring at him, “...and he wasn't in bed but sitting in his car... The windows of the car were closed. He could hear a woman screaming like Helena had screamed. Rolf was there… banging his fists against the car and shouting: 'You killed Julian, you killed Julian!' He was unable to move…He sat there, staring blankly through the windshield at Luca's accusing finger” (139-140). All the events that had led to Theo's temporary departure clearly worried him. Since nightmares often arise from fears, it is the new nightmare that begins to explain who Theo truly is and what he will become. For example, “Rolf was there... banging his fists against the car and shouting: 'You killed Julian, you killed Julian!'... He heard their angry voices: 'Go away! Get out!', but he couldn't move. He sat there…waiting…for the hands to drag him out and confront him with the horror of what he, and he alone, had done” (139-140). After everything he has experienced on his own, such as the Quietus, and everything the Five Fishes have made him complicit in, such as the conspiracy against the government, Theo is overwhelmed by both his ever-growing role within the group and by the fact that her infatuation with Julian. Therefore, the fear that is 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, “…has left its legacy of discomfort, which it is worsened day by day” ( 140). This is to represent that day after day, regardless of the measures he takes, towards which Theo becomes more understanding, as well as willing to be involved in the group, their ideals and their plans. At its core, this second nightmare is where Theo begins to transform and truly reveal himself as a dynamic character,.