Character Analysis Of V For Vendetta By Alan Moore

943 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: War and its impact on society

V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, is set in a dystopian and post-apocalyptic United Kingdom, preceding after a devastating nuclear war that occurred in 1980s. The protagonist, V, a vigilante donned in a Guy Fawkes mask, was imprisoned at Larkhill Resettlement Camp and was tortured to be apart in a medical experiment, conducted by Dr. Delia Surridge. With the exception of V, the other four test subjects involved died, but as a result of the experiment, V developed his abnormal reflexes, speed and enhanced his strengths. In vengeance of his inmate, Valarie, V strives to topple down the fascist Norsefire party with his elaborate and theatrical scheme, and persuade the people to rebel against the one-party state to be in favour of anarchy. While ‘performing’ his master plan, V rescued 16 years-old Evey Hammond from being accosted by the Fingermen, took her under his wing and transformed her to become his protégé. Alan Moore created V’s character to be morally ambiguous, as he could be viewed as an insane terriost or a hero. However, this is dependent on whether his non-conventional actions justified the means. Prior to V’s death, the world in which he was …show more content…

But as an end result of V’s masterplan, he inspired and gave people courage to have a voice and rebel against the Norsefire government and escape oppression. In the end, V sacrificed and allowed the people to choose between the chaos of freedom or continue to be behind the bars of a totalitarian regime. In V for Vendetta, V shows the reader that in order to gain freedom and rights, first comes destruction and consequently, chaos. Therefore, it is difficult to identify whether V’s actions were the right thing or not. Life is not black or white and in many cases, people have varying degrees of goodness and

Show More
Related

  • Comparing Dantikat's A Wall of Fire Rising and Moore's V for Vendetta

    1973 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine a world where civil liberties have been stripped away, a bare façade of civilization left behind. This is a world that is inhabited by people who were once free-willed and strong-minded. These people have become weak and obedient, easily bent to the will of their oppressive government. The world that these words have conjured up in your mind is the same existence that the characters occupy in Edwidge Danticat’s “A Wall of Fire Rising” and Alan Moore’s “V” for Vendetta. Danticat’s story is about a small family living in present-day Haiti with their small, ambitious son. The country is a mish-mash of people amassing obscene fortune while the rest scrape at the bottom of the proverbial barrel just to make ends meet; the class gap is seemingly far apart. In Danticat’s story, the husband spends his days either working at the sugarcane mill or searching for work elsewhere. Each day the husband watches the mill owner’s son take a hot air balloon up into the sky, and each day becomes more envious of the freedom attached to that action. After complaining to his wife about his exhaustion with their current situation he claims that he wants to take the hot air balloon for himself and leave Haiti for a far-away and better place. The following day, the husband makes good on his word, abandons his family, and takes the hot air balloon up into the sky. In James McTeigue’s version of “’V’ for Vendetta”, the country is a futuristic and dystopian London. Corrupt politicians control every aspect of the country and the citizens within. The main character, a masked vigilante by the name of V, grows tired of his country’s lack of freedom and decides to destroy an historic courthouse at midnight on the morning of November the 5th. The building i...

    Read More

  • The Other Wes Moore Character Analysis

    854 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Other Wes Moore is a novel that shows the different paths of two different men, one successful and the other not so fortunate. We discovered their different identities and how their choices and role models effect their lives. Wes 1 was led by his brave, hard working mother and the great military men. He didn't make incredibly great decisions but the people in his life helped him turn into the successful man he is today.However, Wes 2 had a brother who dealt drugs. The novel guides you through the 8 crazy years that led to Wes Moore 1's success and Wes Moore 2's life sentence for prison.

    Read More

  • A Separate Peace: Character Analysis

    591 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Knowles wrote a fantastic novel entitled A Separate Peace. Some important character in the novel were Gene, Finny, Leper, and Brinker. Gene and Finny were best friends; Leper was the outcast; Brinker was the “hub of the class” This was a novel about friendship, betrayal, war, peace, and jealousy. Although Gene and Finny were similar in many ways, they also had numerous differences.

    Read More

  • The Looking Glass Wars Character Analysis

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    How do fiction storytellers reveal a character’s actions and or characteristics? Fiction storytellers use things like conflicts, diction, and imagery to add a better description to a book. Most of these examples also hook the reader to want to learn more. The mood of a story is also revealed when using this examples. In The Looking Glass Wars Beddor uses conflicts and challenges to inform the reader about Alyss’ characteristics.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: The Other Wes Moore

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Other Wes Moore, the author and a neighbor have the same name, Wes Moore, and they both begin their lives in similar ways. However, as their lives progress, they begin to part. For example, both “lost” their fathers when they were young. Because of the way their mothers respond to this loss, the boys’ lives begin to separate. Both mothers have different responses to challenges in general, which eventually leads them to respond to their child’s actions in contrasting ways. Throughout this novel, readers learn that depending on how a mother decides to react to the negative actions of their child’s actions, the child can either lead a successful life or lead a life of failure.

    Read More

  • "V is For Vendetta": A Civics Lesson

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    V’s plan or main goal in this movie is to bring freedom and justice to a cruel and corrupt society. He feels that citizens of the country are not allowed freedoms and rights which should be a must. Similarly in Civics class, we had discussed that in a democracy, citizens are assured that the government will protect interests in the form of rights (a freedom that is being protected, such as right to speech) and freedoms (power to act without unfair interference by an individual or state). So we can understand that...

    Read More

  • Comparing 1984 And V For Vendetta

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1984, children are exposed to depravation by government ideals, and are taught to expose all insurgence. In Vendetta, children are born into a media-corrupted world, unknowing of deprivation by lacking exposure. These negate the modern belief that children learn beliefs and ideas unbiasedly. Without communication, relationships in 1984 are restricted, thereby maturation is controlled. To mature, Winston used a diary, visited illegal places and engaged in an illegal relationship to grow his confidence in his experiences. In Vendetta, people do not mature intellectually, attributable to controlled communication. V matures his character through illegal practices; by murdering for liberation, and engaging in a relationship with Evey Hammond. In 1984, relationships between people are forced for procreation, or are amicable to government ideals. Winston's desperation for emotion and connection lead him to engage with Julia, who assists Winston’s psychological insurgency. V serendipitously encountered Evey, who dependently aids V’s emotional understanding of a civilian's perspective of his actions. Both females helped mature the protagonists’ critical life experiences, analogously with modern human values to support and love others. The evaluative question, ‘what is the good life?’ is evaluated in 1984, with Winston’s perspective being nonsynthetic food, freedom, real history and the ability of expression. Similarly in Vendetta, V convincingly claimed that society too often, “Appreciate the comforts of everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition”, thus indicating ignorance of governmental corruption. 1984 Londoners are ashen ascribable to the permanent presence of dust, providing an atmosphere of inevitability, where dust asphyxiates Winston's spirit. Working 60 hour weeks and earning little

    Read More

  • V For Vendetta And 1984 Comparison Essay

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    The approach towards freedom is hard to achieve against a totalitarian government, but possible to win with the people’s belief. 1984 by George Orwell and James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta portrays the same idealism of the anti-heroes, Winston and V. An anti-hero is “a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose” (“Antihero”). Winston is not courageous, peaceful, and self-centered along the path of freedom for Oceania, whereas the anti-hero, V, is violent in his actions, impatient and careless in his pursuit to free London from the totalitarian government. As a matter of fact, V and Winston have the opposite behaviours; this is significant because it helps to compare the approach of the anti-heroes toward freedom. At the end of 1984 and V for Vendetta, the result of their approach is different from each other; Winston gives up on the liberation of Oceania, while V dies knowing that London is freed from Norsefire Party.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of V For Vendetta Speech

    338 Words  | 1 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis V For Vendetta The Speech Precis: The character V, in his speech to the citizens of London, suggests that words are the most powerful weapon one can possess, and the truth can be deep under the surface to reveal even greater power. He supports his claim by referencing historical events, relating himself to his audience, and even blames the people for the problems he is addressing, creating a sense of responsibility. V's purpose is to frighten, motivate, and inform the citizens so that they too will see that their world is corrupt, and cannot be tolerated any longer. He adopts a calm, yet firm tone to emphasize the gravity of what he is saying, while also trying to not act like

    Read More

  • Evey Hammond as a Revolutionary in V for Vendetta

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    In V for Vendetta, Evey Hammond is only ready to assist society in the creation stage of their revolution after undergoing her own transformation. At the beginning of the graphic novel, she is rescued through the death of her oppressors. This, just as the destruction of corrupt institutions, creates the space for freedom. V not only creates this space for both Evey and society but also calls them out of their passivity. Particularly, he challenges Evey to be stronger than her past because “[it] can't hurt [her] anymore, not unless [she] allows it” (). Furthermore, the government has turned her into a “victim” and a “statistic,” but she has the power to free herself (). It is Evey's responsibility to find such power within herself and become “forever changed” ().

    Read More

  • V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    V for Vendetta is a graphic novel written by Alan Moore in the late 1980's. The novel takes place in an alternate reality; one in which Britain is ruled by a fascist government that rules over Britain, and the rest of the world is believed to be in ruins due to nuclear war. The main protagonist/villain, depending on your viewpoint, of the story is a man simply called "V". He is a mysterious man and a self-described anarchist who survived a government experiment at a compound called Batch 5. Although his face is never shown in the book, V still draws the reader’s attention by being such a dark presence.

    Read More

  • Marxist Criticism In The Film V For Vendetta

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    The setting of the film, as a whole, displays Marxist ideas of capitalism. One of the foundational themes of Marxist thought is that, within a capitalist society, there will be a distinct polarization between two classes: The ruling class (bourgeoisie), and those whom they rule over (proletariats) (Korczynski, Hodson, & Edwards, 2006, p. 33). V for Vendetta takes place in a not-so-distant future version of a dystopian England.

    Read More

  • Literary Criticism In Alan Moore's V For Vendetta

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    History cannot be ignored when reading V for Vendetta, which is why cultural poetic criticism goes along with V for Vendetta very well. Alan Moore’s history, the state of 1980s England, and the decades leading up to it shaped the ideologies in the novel and it was those ideologies which became the driving force behind V for Vendetta. Under Marxist Criticism, Marxists generally view literature "not as works created in accordance with timeless artistic criteria, but as 'products' of the economic and ideological determinants specific to that era" (Abrams 149). Moore first came into contact with the middle class and better educated people when he started to attend Northampton Grammar School.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Fahrenheit 451 And V For Vendetta

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    In dystopian literature, the future of society and humanity is presented in a negative standpoint. Utopian works frequently illustrate a future in which the everyday lives of human beings is often improved by technology to advance civilization, while dystopian works offer an opposite outlook. Examples of dystopian characteristics include an oppressive government, a protagonist, and character nature. Although the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and the film V for Vendetta directed by James McTeigue display different perspectives of a dystopian society, both share similar dystopian characteristics, which include a government who asserts power over citizens, a protagonist who questions society, and characters who are isolated from the natural world.

    Read More

  • The Protagonists in the Novel 1984 and Film V for Vendetta

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel 1984 and the film “V for Vendetta”, the protagonist for both stories are captured while performing various acts of rebellion against the totalitarian government, of which is controlling their city. In punishment, the government tortures them with harsh, inhumane methods that are similar to those used in dictatorships during the 1900s like the USSR under Stalin’s rule. However, both protagonists are tortured by different sides, and by people from completely opposite ends of the political ladder: one a government agent, the other a rebel. Although the themes disclosed in relation to the purpose and meanings of torture are similar, the overall message and final opinion that is expressed and conveyed to the recipients are complete opposites.

    Read More

More about Character Analysis Of V For Vendetta By Alan Moore

Open Document