Point of View

The Children of Men by P.D. James is told in both first and third person, the former being in the form of a diary kept by the protagonist Dr Theodore Faron of the University of Oxford.

It is important that the reader is given an inside look into the protagonist through his diary. Given that Theo finds himself incapable of love until he meets Julian, he could be an unlikable character. The diary gives an immediate connection between the reader and the writer, which allows understanding and forgiveness for despicable statements, such as he did not love his mother or that he could have loved his daughter were she prettier or more affectionate.

The third person point of view is interesting in the sense that it does not serve to give the reader an inside look at other characters. It still follows Theo. This could...