Watchmen Chapters 11 and 12

At last our journey is at an end with the characters of Watchmen. In Adrian Veidt's search for the answer to world peace, he has come up with a plan to slaughter millions to save billions; in turn turning violent attention from man's self to an imaginary foe. In concept Veidt's plan is perfect. No more war, no more conflict, it's all at an end. Veidt is, in the darkest possible way, the true "hero" of the earth. Our protagonists have made it all the way to Veidt, but failed to stop his plan, and, if they have any hope of this whole crusade being worth anything at all, must make a compromise: they must remain silent, or the world will return to a doomed fate of war.
Except, there is only one person who has a problem with this: our dear, sugar-cube loving, ink-blot shifting detective, Rorschach. Rorschach will NOT compromise in justice, in response to the others' telling Rorschach that they must compromise, "Joking, of course... No. Not even in the face of Armageddon. Never Compromise." This really speaks volumes about the Rorschach character. In Rorschach's eyes, there can be no justice if there is to be any compromise. Things are black and white, there is good and there is evil, Rorschach would argue. Which, as I spoke of in chapters 5 and 6, is further attributed to his duality as a character. Things are only one way or the other. Most people would say that Rorschach is way to harsh, or that he is essentially crazy, that he's not a hero at all. But he is the only one willing to stand against the others and fight to let the truth be known. The only character to truly stand for justice. In my perspective, Rorschach is the "true hero" of Watchmen. Fittingly, the world of Watchmen has no place for a true hero...
 After Veidt's plan is fully completed , though, is when we are brought forth a profound, if not disturbing question: Who is/are the real heroes of this story? What defines a hero in general? One could assert that, even though he is the antagonist of the book, Adrian Veidt is the hero. He's saved billions of lives, and effectively ended war on earth. Sounds like a hero, right? If we follow this line of thinking we can boil it down to: Veidt was able to compromise justice to end injustice. This is the antithesis of Rorschach's line of thinking: He is unwilling to compromise in the pursuit of justice in anyway, no matter what the cost, evil must be punished. In a way one could look at any of the characters here and present them as the hero or the villain of the story.
Watchmen breaks our 'heroes' apart and shows us what they are really made of: All powerful beings, who are ignorant and are careless towards humanity, smart, rich kids who are just in it for the thrill, masterful tacticians who are willing to put anything on the line to win, anarchists who see beyond the structures of society and simply don't care, and lastly, unflinching, uncompromising, enforcers of justice, who see only in shades of black and white. While on the surface they appear to be fantastic comic-book 'heroes', these characters are flawed beyond recognition and redefine what it means to be a "hero".

Watchmen Chapters 9 and 10

Truth Acknowledged

In Chapter 9 a stunning truth is revealed at long last: Laurie is the daughter of the infamous Comedian. To help drive this point with a little more emotion, Moore added the symbolic elements of both the bottle of Nostalgia in the present and the snow globe in the past. 

The bottle as well as the snow globe represent Laurie's subconscious ignorance of the fact that she has always truly known she was Edward Blake's daughter. Laurie remarks about the snow globe, “I lifted it, starting a blizzard. I knew it wasn't real snow, but I couldn't understand how it fell so slowly… I figured inside the ball was some different sort of time… Slow time.” This is similar in imagery to the bottle of Nostalgia slowly falling throughout the issue. We can take this to mean several things:one being that Laurie's acceptance of the bottle's snow not being real as her acceptance of her ow repressed truth. Another being that both the globe and the bottle have an aspect of slow time occurring, which implicates a long amount of time until they break. Whenever she was a child and unwittingly glossed over the truth, the snow globe breaks; just as with the bottle when she finally fully understands the truth of her parentage in the present day. Their shattering represents the shattering of innocence, albeit innocence based on a lie. This draws a similarity in meaning to the Comedian’s Smiley button. Instead of blood representing a harsh truth come to light on the button, the bottles are shattered to represent this truth.

This whole exchange sparks another reaction within Dr. Manhattan. His revelation is inspired by Laurie’s and is similar I that it is a truth that was simply innocently ignored: Humanity is a miracle. Dr. Manhattan is reminded that anyone in the world is as special and miraculous as say a thermodynamic miracle, everyone in fact, and that’s why he forgot this truth. Dr Manhattan says profoundly about human life, “…the world is so full of people, so crowded with these miracles that they become commonplace and we forget… I forget.”

Through Laurie’s dark revelation, Dr. Manhattan realized the true potential for good in each human being despite impossible odds, inspiring to come back home and save the world.

Watchmen Chapters 7 and 8

In Chapter 7, our focus is shifted towards the Dan and Laurie, the last two masked avengers who have yet to be removed from the picture, so to speak. While examining the budding relationship between Dan and Laurie, we begin to see that Dan is utterly powerless, afraid and impotent. His lack of self-realization has led to Dan being totally powerless in every aspect of his life: He lives in fear of nuclear war, of Rorschach's mysterious costume-killer, he can't even engage Laurie in sexual activities of which he has longed to do.  This is best summed up for us when he describes his apocalyptic dream to Laurie, "W-we were kissing, and this nuclear bomb, it's just... We burned up. We were gone. Everything was gone... It's this war, the feeling that it's unavoidable. It makes me feel so powerless. So impotent."

 

When Dan is faced with the possibility that the world just may soon end, he goes to the one thing that grants him power enough to face the impossible: his Nite Owl suit. Daniel is empowered through his costumed identity. It gives him a sense of purpose, of meaning. When speaking of the Nite Owl goggles, he says, "As I remember, they work pretty good. No matter how black it got, when I looked through these goggles... Everything was clear as day." Symbolically, Dan is referencing that no matter how bad things got in the world, he could face it, so long as he was in his costume. 

After agreeing with Laurie to go out and "do something stupid" the two go out and save a burning building. Nite Owl is exhilarated, by the act and by seeing Laurie in her Silk Spectre costume; so much so that he is finally able to engage Laurie in some sexual activity above the city skyline. Being a hero is what makes Dan feel alive. It's not so much that he feels obliged to it, like Rorschach or Dr. Manhattan, he is addicted to it, like a drug. Similar, and perhaps metaphorically, Laurie relapses back to smoking at the same time Dan relapses back to vigilantism. One could even argue that costumed vigilantism sexual arouses Dan. It is this self-realization that springs Dan into action. He has come to terms with the fact that he IS a costumed hero and he has to act. Right after his renewed heroic drive Dan is able to confidently face the world, “I feel so confident it’s like I’m on fire. And all the mask killers, all the wars in the world, they’re just cases—just problems to solve.”

Moore added a sense of depth to the personality of characters as relatively simple as Dan. On the surface he seems to be the most well adjusted hero presented to us; but like the rest of our heroes Dan is flawed, in the most human way possible. He is reliant on vigilantism, it gives him emotional drive, it gives him a sexual desire. He needs to be a hero to feel alive. Without it, Dan is shown to emotional wreck, with no will and no drive. 

Watchmen Chapters 5 and 6

The uncanny theme of duality plays a huge role in our reading this week; it is supported by two similar themes: symmetry and causality.
In issues five and six we are fittingly focusing on Rorschach, a character based on symmetry, epitomized by the famous Rorschach ink blot test being his own mask. The issues are littered with symmetrical motifs: Daniel and Laurie viewing each other in mirrors, the silhouette of the embracing Hiroshima couple, the Survivor in The Tales of the Black Freighter, the reflecting panels in chapter five and Walter Kovacs's bleak sociological outlook being rubbed off on to Dr. Malcolm Long.

There are two instances of Daniel and Laurie's mirror situations, the first being when Daniel longingly looks back towards Laurie as she is leaving the dinner, sadly, in search of a new apartment; from our perspective, we are facing Dan and the mirror is behind him, showing the image of Laurie facing away. In the second, we are facing a mirror which Laurie is sitting in front of and facing said mirror, she is preoccupied with her things as she tells Dan "G'Night." Daniel stands in the doorway in the foreground, again, with a longing look on his face. In the first instance Dan longingly wants her to stay him at his place, and in the last instance he wants her to leave her room to come to his. Like a reflection, opposite but paralleled.

The Hiroshima Couple is recurring piece graffiti throughout the city, painted by the local gang, The Knot Tops. Dr. Malcolm Long suggests they remind him of the people disintegrated in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The shadows are reflections of humanity at the moment of great tragedy. It serves as a stark warning to a possible nuclear war; and the humanity we could lose because of it. Fitting Symmetry.
In the Tales of the Black Freighter, we see the Survivor come to a horrid revelation. He kneels on the raft and catches a glimpse of his reflection in the water. After enduring tragic situations and doing the grotesque things he has done, the Survivor looks into his reflection and is shocked to realize that he no longer, truly, recognizes the face he sees. His reflection had given him a true sense of what he has become.

The whole of chapter five is based more closely to symmetry than chapter six; this is made evident not only by the theme of the chapter but also by the structural layout of the book. Starting from pages 14 and 15, going outward from these pages, all of the panels as well as their content are symmetrical. For example, on the first page Rorschach enters Moloch's home, quiet and peacefully; on the final page Rorschach is forced to try, unsuccessfully, to escape as he brawls through the cops and is eventually dragged away from the scene.

Finally, Dr. Long's interviews with Rorschach seem to be rubbing off on him. He is very calm, polite Psychiatrist intent on making Rorschach his reputation maker. Unfortunately for him, Rorschach's stories of his origin, pushed Dr. Long close to depression instead of bringing Rorschach out of insanity, as intended. He focused to closely on Rorschach and he accidentally understood him; and thus shares in his cold views. Concerning the Rorschach ink blot, "The horror is this: in the end, it is simply a picture of empty meaningless blackness. We are alone. There is nothing else." Dr. Long has become a reflection of Rorschach's thoughts, perfectly summarized in the quote at the end of the chapter, "Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."

 

Watchmen: Chapters 3 and 4

Chapter 3

Right at the get-go, Moore introduces us to the metaphor of a story-within-a-story; The Tails of the Black Freighter comic. In the world of Watchmen, the entertainment focus shifted from superheroes to pirates long ago due to people growing tired over superhero antics in real life. This is summed up very simply and solidly by the News stand salesman, whilst simultaneously alluding to popular comic book heroes, Superman and The Flash:
"Y.know, Super-heroes are finished. These days it's all about Pirates...Back in '39, before the real masked men showed up, super-hero comics were enormous. Guess their appeal wore off... I remember there was Super-man, Flash-man..."
This gives us exposition on the state of the public opinion of superheroes, then and now.
As for the function of the story-within-a-story, it serves as a metaphor for the looming threat of nuclear war. Imagery such as in the opening helps drive this point: We begin upon a man putting up a black and yellow sign for a fallout shelter while narration from the Tales of the Black Freighter is read over it, "Delirious, I saw that Hell-bound ship's black sails against the yellow indies sky, and knew again the stench of powder and men's brains, and war."Tragically,  we are beginning to see that war, specifically death, is more of an inevitability than a possibility.
 There is an allusion that the "Survivor" in the Black Freighter could symbolize Dr. Manhattan. In the last panel on page 3, the Survivor caresses the face of a wooden figurehead that had carried him safely to land. In the next panel we come in on Dr. Manhattan caressing Laurie's face whilst engaging in intimate activities, in the same manner the  Survivor was caressing the figurehead. All the while this narration reads: "Her damp embrace had prevented me from drifting beyond reach, yet this small comfort was all I could offer... (Segues into the panel with Dr. Manhattan and Laurie) I could not love her as she had loved me." This paints Jon and the Survivor both as mostly detached people still holding on to humanity, but barely by a thread. Furthermore, it could be implied that if there were a Nuclear fallout, Jon could easily Survive it. Although, if we assume that the horrible tragedy that struck the Survivor's crew is symbolic of the Nuclear Fallout, after Jon leaves earth, this narration from the Black Freighter may prove that he is not the Survivor, but rather an uncaring, departed God: "That night, I slept badly beneath cold, distant stars, pondering upon the cold, distant God in whose hands the fate of Davidstown rested. Was he really there? Had he been there once, but now departed?" This statement serves to symbolize Jon who had left earth on the forefront of possible nuclear disaster, as the Survivor's God had left his crew when the were slaughtered by the Black Freighter.

An interesting use of symbolism I found in this chapter were the clouds, mists and general smoky substances representing the things that Jon had become detached to. Early in the chapter Laurie says about Jon, "This world, the real world, to Him it's like walking through mist, and all the people are like Shadows... just shadows in the Fog." As Laurie states this, she is blocked from view by the steam from a teapot; because they had just broke up, this represents Dr. Manhattan's detachment from her. On the cover of the chapter, there is a waft of smoke in front of the fallout shelter sign, representing his detachment from the well being of humans. When Jon decides to leave the planet he is surrounded by a ring of dust or smoke right before he teleports, emphasizing the entirety of humanity he is leaving behind.Finally, on Mars, Dr. Manhattan is walking about the new planet whilst a trail of dust and dirt is kicked up behind him, this, along with the simultaneous glimpses of the United States talking possible collateral damage in a coming Nuclear war, help symbolize the huge problem on earth Jon has left behind.

Chapter 4

In this chapter of Watchmen (My second favorite, next to the next chronological issue) We are given a ton of exposition through Dr. Manhattan's omniscient perspective. He experiences time in "all at once", and the entirety of the issue is an example of this. For those who have read Slaughter House Five: this is a very similar technique that Kurt Vonnegut used for the main character Billy Pilgrim; "Billy Pilgrim had become unstuck in time..." This approach gives a very untypical structure of the story, and in doing so helps us better understand Dr. Manhattan's perspective. His narration helps to differentiate Dr. Manhattan's omniscient perspective from a simple flashback; he only speaks in the present tense in each scene regardless of 'time'.

Watchmen Chapters 1 and 2

Watchmen

Chapter 1

In Chapter 1 of Watchmen, Rorschach's Journal is used as a narrative device that serves two purposes: It gives us bearing on the world of Watchmen through Rorschach's unfiltered and harsh perspective and also characterizes Rorschach as a harsh, paranoid and stubborn character. Rorschach himself serves as a device, in this chapter, to introduce each of the other characters in the story by warning them of someone who is "picking off costumed heroes."

There are various visual motifs being employed immediately. One such motif is the flashbacks of Eddie Blake's attack and death that occur in a red filter, the only exception to the dominate red color scheme in these flashback panels is the smiley face that Blake is wearing. Throughout the first chapter there are various color schemes for different backgrounds as well as characters: Rorschach most often appears surrounded in browns and various dark colors, Daniel Dreiberg is surrounded by browns and yellows, Adrian Veidt is encompassed in a variety of purples, Dr. Manhattan and Laurie Juspeczyk appear with pale greens and purples. Each of these color schemes sets a certain tone for each interaction. For instance when Rorschach visits Veidt the two have a more straight-forward conversation than any other in the first chapter, a dignified conversation, dignity being a trait of royalty, of which purple is most often associated with. Of course, it could be argued that the purple is symbolic of Veidt's riches, or royalty.

The famous Watchmen symbol, the blood-stained smiley plays as important foreshadowing in the chapter. In the first chapter alone, I feel the smiley symbolizes former peace and happiness. When it becomes stained with blood during The Comedian's altercation with the unknown assailant, it represents events being set in motion that threaten to disturb the peace and happiness our characters are experiencing. When it pops up in the last seen of the chapter, the blood mark is gone whilst Laurie and Daniel have a nice, laughable conversation. Because the blood is no longer present, it represents peace and happiness again, characterized by the pair's comfort and happiness with each other.

My favorite element in the book is the beginning of a popular quote being introduced at the start of the chapter, and then at the end of that chapter the quote is finished off wholly in a small panel. The quote serves to highlight the central theme of the chapter while simultaneously, grandiosely, instructing the reader to connect the dots, in terms of what occurred.

Two final elements of note are presented at the end of the chapter. The excerpt from the fictional novel "Under The Hood" of which was "written" by Hollis Mason, the former Nite Owl; this excerpt serves to provide further background on the setting of Watchmen. The other element of note, being the clock on the lastly page being both curiously and ominously close to midnight.

Chapter 2

Immediately, in Chapter 2, we take note of patterns that can be found throughout the book. Firstly, The covers of each issue, as we have seen, are a close up of something in the first panel of the first page. It was first evident in Chapter 1, when we are given the Smiley on the ground surrounded by blood. Here we have the face of an angel statue in a cemetery, in the rain. In both instances it serves to give the reader a focus point for the issue and to immediately give a transition from the cover, to the story.

Another pattern we've seen and will continue to see, is the changing of the image of the clock on the last page that continues to tick towards midnight, but now includes, even more foreboding than the clock itself, blood. If that doesn't give a reader a sense of foreshadowing, I don't know what will.


A visual motif present in this issue is whenever there are two scenes occurring simultaneously, the panels alternate and, teaming with the 9-panel format littered throughout the book, create an 'X' type pattern; with one scene taking the form of the 'X' and the other taking the remaining panels. In a nearly identical fashion, whenever Moloch tells Rorschach of his encounter with The Comedian, all nine panels remain in the same scene but change color tone, thus creating the 'X' shape with the panels yet again.

As far as I am aware, the 'X' panel pages serve only an aesthetic purpose; merely symmetrically eye-pleasing.

Transitions in this chapter occur in a very interesting manner. There are nearly no simple scene changes in this chapter, most transitions are set-up with a visual aid: Often a character is taken and "flashbacked' to a point in time where we are looking at them in the same position but in a different time period, the transition take 2-3 panels. Another aid in scene transitions is the use of dialogue: like when transitioning between Laurie and her mother conversing, and The Comedian's funeral. Whenever we transition to and from the funeral, Laurie and/or her mother remarks of something thematically or visually relevant at the funeral.

Through the use of the flashback, we are able to characterize both The Comedian and the one experiencing the flashback. Interestingly, The Comedian exposes for the reader the pivotal character flaws in several characters, in their flashbacks to him: Ozymandias is deduced as the smartest man in a hopeless world ("...Then Ozzy here is gonna be the smartest man on the cinder."), Dr. Manhattan is made aware of his growing detachment to humanity (*Regarding Blake's outright murder of a pregnant woman, "You WATCHED me. You coulda changed the gun into steam or the bullets into mercury or the bottle into SNOWFLAKES! You coulda teleported either of us to Goddamn Australia... But you didn't lift a finger!") and The Comedian even has himself figured out in his flashback with Daniel, which is epitomized by the thought provoking exchange between the two: "What happened to the American Dream?" to which the Comedian responds, "It came true. You're looking at it."

These exchanges serve as a very grim reminder to us as we read through Watchmen: These are not typical, straightforward heroes; none of them are, in any fashion. These characters are all deeply flawed, and we've only begun to see them wholly.