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John Osterman Quotes

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Watchmen showcased a character by the name of Dr. Manhattan who could’ve been a metaphor for many different things and ideas. The one I see best fit is Dr. Manhattan being a metaphor for the Christian God, Jesus Christ. This may be a reach but we can start with the real name of Dr. Manhattan, Jon Osterman. Jon short for Jonathan meaning ‘Gift from God’ and Oster means Easter in German. Similar to Jesus Christ, there was a before Dr. Manhattan and there was after Dr. Manhattan. Jon Osterman, like Jesus Christ had a preordained life with decisions chosen by their fathers. On page 3, Panels 4-5, we can see Jon’s dad telling him that he will now be studying Atomic Science stating, “They are the future”. Like Christ, when Jon Osterman died on page 8, panel 4, you can see a very metaphorical image where he almost …show more content…

Manhattan is the only real super-human being in Watchmen and like Christ, Dr. Manhattan shows valid signs of being a God-like being but both take the form of a man. I’d also like to bring attention to the fact that throughout chapter 4 you can see Dr. Manhattan becoming less like man and more like this god-like figure as he grows farther and farther apart from humanity. Like Jesus Christ, Dr. Manhattan walked around earth for many years as a man before becoming their celestial beings. Also ironically both Jesus and Jon Osterman died in their 30s. If you go over to page 10, panel 4, you’ll see the choice of image is very important. This panel alone takes up at least 40 percent of the page. Dr. Manhattans body language even mimics that of Jesus Christ on the cross with his feet pressed together, he is also seen to be surrounded by an angelic, white aura. In a nearby panel, a man is in awe saying to the appearance of Dr. Manhattan, “Oh, holy God.” This can easily be a metaphorical image for when Christ had risen; in this image Dr. Manhattan has risen. It also helps that on his abdomen you can see a cross made out of his abdominal

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