Reading Response to Children of Men - Essay Example

Children of Men” divulges into the human salvation from an anarchic and dystopian world. With the world falling at the heels of the infertility and human extinction on the brink, this story involves around the fight for survival and the struggle to protect the progeny from the violent nationalistic sects in London. Salvation from the sterile mankind and the deteriorating of the human generation is the prominent theme seen in the film. However, redemption is also witnessed in the form of Theo’s personal emancipation. Having experienced the loss of a son, and having resigned to alcohol and cynicism to escape from the mental confinements of misery, Theo is seen as broken male protagonist who finds a way to redeem himself. When given the chance to protect Kee, the only female able to conceive a child after 18 years, he finds a reason worth fighting for. He fights his own internal battles of misery and rather than lamenting on the past, he tries to condone by becoming a guardian to protect the child and save him from the catastrophes of the world. By protecting the child, he helps bring a new meaning to his life and of the human race. Hence, this way he finds his own redemption and secures a continuity of life which previously was on the brink of extinction. The inability to procreate led to serious repercussions amongst the people worldwide. Science failed to explain infertility or cure it much less. The frustration and misery felt by them intensified their anger. People were seen dying o fighting with the government to restore democracy and human rights. They wanted justice and sympathy for the unfairness inflicted on them by nature. But the British Parliament at the helm of the world’s governmental body was involved in the sham of giving “the illusion of democracy.” They said, “What we guarantee is freedom from fear, freedom from want, freedom from boredom. The other freedoms are pointless without freedom from fear” (James). With the government‘s own agendas, the world seemed to be in conflict, chaos and despair. As a result of this, religious extremism, military attacks, nuclear fallouts, mass suicide of old, medical malpractices, and political coup d’etat were on a rampage (“Children of Men-Analysis”). Where the world is in the process of colossal destruction, and bullets flying, there comes a child, a saviour of humanity and procreation. The “Children of Men” confronts this worst form of the apocalyptic: infertility. Previously where cosseted dolls and the kitten-christenings substituted child upbringing but now with the birth of a real child will bring about a change in the lives of the people. All the vehemence and fights were due to frustration and inability to procreate. Infertility indicated the absence of children, intimidating future and dying hope. Therefore, salvation of human race is seen as the main theme in the story, as it ignites a hope for the future in everyone with the birth of a baby along with the ending of all the fights and conflicts which were due to the result of infertility. 2 The unfairness that comes with the denial of self-expression to women and repercussions followed with the confinement from the articulation of thoughts, are the main themes Charlotte Perkins Gilman talks about in her literary work “The Yellow Wallpaper” in 1892. Having experienced such predicament, she narrates a poignant tale of her suffering through the thoughts of the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper.” By depriving the right of self-determination, the narrator undergoes through an emotional turmoil where her fears and vivid imagination takes control of her mind. With no outlet to articulate or vent her sentiments, she feels repressed and powerless to control her life. It wasn’t only the narrator who went through such turmoil but women, generally in this epoch weren’t given the carte blanche and free will to do as they desired. Patriarchy was eminent and men were seen as the controlling and self-aggrandizing in the family or society. Similarly, the narrator, who is already a victim of depression and postpartum depression, has to deal with her condescending physician husband, John. Not only does he admonish her to avoid exhausting herself from any menial work, mental or physical, he restricts her socializing and confines her to her bedroom. Their marital relationship deteriorates into platonic one, where he patronizes her with his superior knowledge on her nervousness and illness. Instead of giving her the chance to speak her woes and problems, he abandons her to isolation of the house. His assumption that isolation from work and complete relaxation would heal depression was actually incorrect. It’s because of this she ends up falling for the menacing yellow wallpaper in her bedroom which becomes an object of her undivided attention. She feels a connection in the intricate patterns on the wallpaper with her life. She obsesses about discovering the enigmatic wallpaper patterns. But what restricts her is her inability to share her discoveries to anyone, especially to her husband out of terror. As the need to express and share is ubiquitous, she finds reprieve in keeping a secret diary. By jotting her feelings, she finds a relation with the ‘dead paper and a great relief to my mind’ (Gilman 272). Wiring about her feelings and discoveries allows her to vent and articulate her thoughts freely. It becomes her companion. Hence, starts the struggle to express her thoughts. With every discovery in the intricate patterns in the wallpaper, she finds a reason to keep going on. Her marriage is also on tenterhooks and the conventions of society to discriminate a women’s voice dominates her judgements. And this is how she finds a woman in the wallpaper. She sees her as a reflection of her own self; suffering from the confinements of the societal norms and dogmas. Hence, it becomes her ambition to rescue the woman in the wallpaper from ‘old foul yellow things’ (Gilman 280). By helping the woman out of the clutches, she intends to liberate herself from the impositions placed upon her the society and her husband. With no way out to express her thoughts, she finds salvation in knowing that she could free the woman at least. But in the process of this struggle, she loses her sanity. It is important to understand that self-expression is an inherent trait acquired by every individual. It cannot be denied as it always finds a way to be expressed. As seen with the narrator of “The Yellow Wallpaper”, she struggles and finds a way to keep a secret diary and use her vivid imagination to free the woman from the wallpaper. Instead of restraining and suppressing the intellectual ability to express and articulate, it’s imperative that it’s given an opening to be expressed. 4 The consequential aspect of literature is the various insightful themes that one comes across. Even though these themes are a part of everyday lives but at times it takes rational thinking on the writer’s part to complete the whole scenario for us to comprehend clearly. Once we start analysing and decoding it from different angels, we are able to formulate a visual understanding of the picture as depicted by the author. Not only do the words have the power to speak to us but it also helps us compartmentalise issues which we know of but never pondered upon. It also helps us think critically. Critical thinking is the most effective aspect of literature as the underline meaning and connotations define the real purpose of the work and themes in them. I personally would prefer themes involving discrimination, be it gender or racial. The reason for choosing discrimination as a topic in literature is because of its significance to the real world. Discrimination has always been present in the past and is still pertinent, no matter how much people try to eliminate it from the minds and hearts. Various critiques and writers have worked on this subject and come up with exceptional literary works. “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is one of my personal favourites which discusses the racial discrimination between black and white people. The story is profound and it touches the matters in a whole new lens of discrimination and unfairness associated with it. Even now, racial and ethnic discrimination have clouded people’s judgements and they perceive them in the same stereotypical lens constructed beforehand. Similarly, gender discrimination is an area which literary artists and writers have touched in a form of their extraordinary work. The power of words and expressions to express how women are treated on a different set of grounds compared to men is very poignant and same is the case with racial discrimination. The words, the context, the background, the tone and the style can provoke one's thinking on a whole new level. It can easily influence thinking, rationality and even actions at times. Therefore, I think discrimination is a very crucial subject and reading such literature might someday influence someone enough to change the diabolic perceptions existing today. Therefore, literary work related to discrimination is what I’d like to be included in this course too. Apart from that I have enjoyed the topics and areas which we have covered so far. They have been indeed, interesting and remarkable. Works Cited Children Of Men - Analysis. Web. 22 July 2012. https://sites.google.com/a/depauw.edu/children-of-men/analysis Gilman, Charlotte. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892. Print. James, Caryn. Children of Differing Visions: Contrasting a P. D. James Novel and the Movie It Inspired. 28 December 2006. Web. 22 July 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/movies/28men.html?_r=2 Read More