An Examination Of Archetypes In Watchmen By Moore And Gibbons

When watching the movie Stand By Me, directed by Rob Reiner, what literary ideas can a person find? Which ideas in relation to literary criticisms can be captured? Many viewers of this movie can find that multiple things are occurring; besides just the movie. One of the concepts that can be viewed are criticisms. These criticisms become useful to anyone after they watched this movie.

When read with a critical eye, the world of superhero comics often offers a lens with which we can examine society, our values, the meaning of justice, and the role of the individual in regards to the greater community. If all of this information is garnered from critical reading, then the way in which the medium of comics constructs these meanings will reflect an embrace or a rejection of the common symbols and ideology of it’s source culture. In the case of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s 1987 graphic novel, Watchmen, the second approach is used, as Moore’s writing draws upon the common cultural understanding of superheroes and exaggerates or tweaks them, exposing their underlying ideals. In this way, Watchmen functions not only as a

These archetypes are what give this story depth, meaning, and a purpose beyond what many other novels have attempted to do. They truly prove their worth in this story and should not be overlooked in the

Through the character Rorshach, The Watchmen explores the issues of nature verses nurture for him. Moore adds that a super hero, can be a psychological argument. A super hero is neither born nor shaped by environment, it is the creation of an alter ego to suppress childhood conflicting inner issues. Rorshach dealt with issues as a young child that rationalized in his mind to hide behind a costume and a mask in order to live.

Epitomizing the idea of an abyss that will inevitably envelope the world, the symbolism of Rorschach's mask works to comment on skewed identity as a catalyst of societal destruction. Struggling to find comfort in his identity as Walter Joseph Kovacs, the character was Rorschach was created, creating a face that “[he] could bear to look at in the mirror”. Being an individual capable of “feeling the dark planet under my feet and knew what cats know that makes them scream like babies at night”, Rorschach saw the world for what it is, not the facade put up to hide societal complications. Consequently, Rorschach, or at the time Kovacs, could no longer live with the identity of an acceptor of the doomed nature of the world, creating a new identity that would “Even in the face of Armageddon, I shall not compromise”. Creating such character from an “ugly” dress of a murdered victim of society, Kovacs crafted the mask that would allow him to deter the world from the “evils that exist within mankind” Kovacs, through this newly formed identity was capable of living a double life, his identity as Rorschach becoming the one that he connected with the most, this new character becoming his “real face”. Ultimately this strong association with Rorschach, rather than his given identity Kovacs emphasizes the idea of identity as a motivator for world doom. Becoming Rorschach allowed Kovacs "to scrawl own design on this morally blank world ”, or work in an attempt to save the world from the “destiny that feeds them [us] to the dogs”. Through such temporarily successful action, Kovacs become more and more attached to the identity of Rorschach, saying that the mask became “his face” and that when he removes himself from the character Rorschach, he no longer has an identity, saying that without his face “nobody knows who I am, without my face nobody knows”. As a matter of fact, the idea of Kovacs no longer exists in this new identity of Rorschach,

In the short story, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” by Flannery O’Connor uses situational, symbolic, setting, and character archetypes to prove her point. First of all she used the situational archetype of a regular family going on vacation. We can tell what is going on through the family’s arguments about their choice of destination. The narrator supports God or Jesus as a form of symbolic archetypes trough the voice of the grandmother. She declares that good men do exist and that all they need is to pray. Additionally, Flannery O’Connor uses the setting archetype of light vs. darkness when the family encounters themselves troubling in a “perfect” day. Perfection is nonexistent therefor we can detect foreshadowing disturbance to come. Furthermore,

Yet, if he were to act sad and depressed, then the tale would be more of a tragedy, since it would belabor the negative context. By focusing on Cyrano’s point of view, Rostand was able to make a pathetic situation seem humorous and hopeful. In this tragic event, Rostand accentuates Cyrano 's support towards Roxane and by doing so, he makes the scene seem more of a heroic comedy. Consequently, the tension between Cyrano and Roxane isn 't the only place where Cyrano 's wit is up against the tragic play.

The science fiction cinematic piece Gattaca by Andrew Niccol was released in 1997. It addresses the moral and ethical concepts regarding genetic engineering and the social order strives in the pursuit of biological perfection. The idea of perfection and genetic engineering is portrayed with a dystopian world were genetic discrimination is the foundation for society that takes place in “the not so distant future”. To address these ideas Niccol, uses archetypal characters such as Vincent as the underdog and Eugene as the supporting character to convey the psychological challenges and boundaries that have an effect on how the characters live their lives and interact within the world they live in. The films idea of genetic engineering causes the viewer to consider the ethicality of such technology and how its superiority can result in a world were individuals are bound by social restrictions and discrimination due to the presence of a scientifically engineered race of human beings.

In Of Mice and Men it says “Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George's hat was.” (John Steinbeck, 10). Significantly in this text how Lennie is vulnerable and often follows George’ lead. I was reading Of Mice and Men, and realized how this text can contain multiple damsel in distress archetypes. I then started looking at more literary texts and some informational texts. I could tell that the damsel in distress archetype is common in many texts.The fact that mental illness is hinted at in one of the characters

Lennie Small: American Dreamer Archetype Lennie Small is a dreamer with many wishes throughout his life. He is a character from Of Mice and Men and can be seen as an American Dreamer archetype. An American Dreamer archetype is someone who wants to live the best and full life as a citizen of the United States of America. They can be known as a wish maker which Lennie can be known as.

Watchmen is a revolutionary piece of literature. It is technically a comic book, some prefer to call it a graphic novel. There is a negative connotation that goes along with that. Graphic novels are frequently presumed too childish and fantastic to actually teach any insightful lessons or even make you ponder them at all. Watchmen is a graphic novel that transcends this undue criticism of comic books. It is, “One of the first instances ... of [a] new kind of comic book ... a first phase of development, the transition of the superhero from fantasy to literature." (Klock, pgs. 25-26)

Subsequently, while most superhero plots involve an element of fantasy, the characters in Moore’s graphic novel are, for the most part, embedded into pessimistic version of reality with only lifelike traits. Obviously, the one glaring exception in Watchmen is Doctor Manhattan, who is transformed into a being capable of a number of otherworldly abilities. However, the other five heroes in the story are regular humans who take the initiative to aid in the protection of society. This is unlike most superheroes in previous comics, who are often blessed with a divine power that allows them to conquer all evil. Additionally, referring to the society in which Moore’s heroes are immersed in, it is situated in a location known to its readers, with a certain twist. While Superman has his Metropolis and Batman has his Gotham City, the six costumed adventurers are based in New York City, or more accurately, a filthy parody of it. The universe in which Moore sets his story is the closest to reality, with a hyperbolic emphasis on the evil in society, in which superheroes have been set it. Hence, the problems presented to the superheroes are not something to be combatted with fantastical talents, but more nuanced with realistic obstacles without a clear solution. In Watchmen, the imminent threat of nuclear war is a state of affairs that would have been realistic for readers, particularly during the time period of the graphic novel’s release in 1987. This, coupled with the urban violence

Because Rorschach grew up experiencing injustice and constant humiliation from other children, he sees his barbaric acts as being equitable, almost as if they redeem him of the rightful childhood he never had. On page 182, panels 4-6, Rorschach’s mother relentlessly beats him after one of her patrons storms out on her. Rorschach tries to explain his actions to his mother, stating that he thought the man was hurting her, this can arguably mean he was coming to her aid. Still, she beats him mercilessly. This is a brief example of what he endured in childhood that later manifests itself through his troublesome adolescence and haunts him into adulthood. On page 203 panel 8, Rorschach stands outside a man’s home, watching as it becomes engulfed in flames, notably, this man was allegedly responsible for the murder of a little girl. Rorschach interprets slaughtering him as an act of redemption, especially because the victim was a small, helpless child. We see his character illuminated by the bright orange embers as his own dark shadow is cast behind him. This panel essentially captures Rorschach’s character, his face covered and his hands resting in his pockets, giving the reader a sense of his cool yet dark demeanor stemming from a troubled past. Similarly, he stands tall in the panel, a metaphor that could interpreted as standing tall in the face of injustice knowing justice has been served on his own terms. His character is misunderstood and seen as cold-hearted. Often

In the modern world, a lot of people love to read books about heroes. Many people love a superhero, but they do not know who is the author of their favorite hero and who created their hero. One of the famous authors who created a lot of heroes is Alan Moore. Alan Moore wrote many interesting stories and created a very questionable hero V whom we know from the book "V for Vendetta". Moore story is sometimes difficult to understand what is the main idea of the book.

The Comedian visits Moloch’s house in the middle of the night, and due to the effects of P.T.S.D, he is talking nonsensical to Moloch and sitting on his bed. In Vietnam, The Comedian drank alcohol to numb the emotions of the war, to the point of abuse. During one of the meetings of the vigilantes, The Comedian lashed out and burned the plan to clean up the city, created by the