Discussion Question 1:
The character Rorschach carries a significant meaning just by his existence. First Rorschach’s name is actually a type of psychological analysis that is able to determine the person’s mental state. Thus Rorschach’s costume comes to a play with his name. As seen in the comic book, Rorschach wears a mask that has an inkblot on it. This inkblot is significant because over the course of the novel, the inkblot constantly changes. Whether this inkblot is directed toward the character Rorschach is talking to or describes the mental state Rorschach himself is in, we will never know. However I do believe that the constant change in Rorschach’s inkblot shows the mental state Rorschach is in. Thus showing that even though Rorschach maybe portrayed as being cold and emotionless, he still has change in his mental attitude. Another assumption we can take is that Rorschach is Kovac's alter ego. Another person within Kovac himself that allows Kovac to do somethings more than what Kovac himself cannot do. Thus Kovac believes that Rorschach is the one who can give him strength, thus making himself to a status Kovac cannot reach. Juxtaposing to Jenkyll and Hyde: Jenkyll is a small weak person who can only perform banal tasks, yet releasing Hyde within himelf, Jenkyll (or Hyde) is able to do things that he himself could've never imagined. (source: http://watchmen.wikia.com/wiki/Watchmen_Wiki)
Discussion Question 2:
- The Comedian is somewhat who always gets to see the bright side because he doesn’t care to see the dark side. He’s the minutemen’s and the watchmen’s ‘prankster’ who always tend to believe in annihilation and give little remorse to humanity. Yes, some may say that the Comedian, or Edward Blake, is a sadistic character who feels no sympathy in killing other people. From a brief moment we see that the Comedian is often driven my sexual desires. Yet after his encounter with Dr. Manhattan in Vietnam, the Comedian's true desires and His impulses derive from pleasure seeking to social restraints, believing that humanity is already doomed and cannot be saved.
- Hollis Manson can be seen as one of the ‘few good men’ in the Watchmen. He is driven by the society’s immorality and evil. Manson is frustrated by these evil deeds passing by blind eyes. Seeing that evil and injustice is passing by without getting caught, Manson, as once a cop, became inspired by the Hooded Justice; whom became his mentor. Conclusions can be made that Manson is one of the few characters who have strong possessions of the 'id'.
- Dr. Manhattan is a more toward of a puzzle then a being. According to Freud’s psychology, it seems like Dr. Manhattan doesn’t have any specific purpose. He sees no point in humanity and acts as if he doesn’t care about human beings at all. After his accident in his laboratory, Dr. Manhattan returns into the human realm with god-like powers. He perceives the past, present and future as happening simultaneously, but at least believes that he cannot act on that knowledge since his own actions and reactions to occurring events are already determined. Although the military and the U.S government commemorates him as a hero. He grows disinterested in humanity and soon becomes unable to connect with the others, even the ones he has loved.
Discussion Question 3:
I do believe that Alan Moore closely sticks with the archetypes that Carl Jung presents. Mostly, the members of the Watchmen resemble the archetypes. We can see that Dr. Manhattan closely resembles the father, such as he acts with strict orders and everything must be done of his will. What I've learned in the past English literature class, novels or any type of story is driven by three factors: money, power and sex. And Carl Jung's persona do mention these three factors. Sexual pursuits are constantly seen in the novel, and power is another big factor in "The Watchmen". Status corruption is constantly seen in the setting within the novel. Because of these clear evidences, Alan Moore does stick closely to Carl's persona.
Discussion Question 4:
a) The alternate history presented in ‘The Watchmen’ is that the Americas won the Vietnam War. From the help of Dr. Manhattan, the Americans were able to win in the Vietnam War, which led to the reelection of President Nixon. And the impact of the original costumed adventurers was that they weren’t able to do much in terms of civil service. Within the group, the members began to detest each other and soon they had hard times maintaining as a group with one another. Finally on 1949, the Minutemen no longer existed. However after the introduction of Dr. Manhattan, America began to change. Using Dr. Manhattan as a secret weapon to protect the United States, the U.S began to gain respect from its enemies. Dr. Manhattan became the United States' military asset. Also because of Dr. Manhattans' existence, the United States began to change more toward in an aggressive fashion during this period. His advent of bringing U.S the victory from the Vietnam War distorts the American political process. This leads to the repeal of the 22nd amendment, which leads to Nixon's second term as the president.
b)The disturbing part of Hooded Justice’s costume was his mask. He never came to reveal his identity, which became a mystery for all American people. This secret that the Hooded Justice held probably reveals that he wants to hide a particular reason about himself, and later on the Comedian does gives us a hint of what the Hooded Justice is like. After Hooded Justice stops the Comedian from sexually assaulting Silk Spectre, the Comedian states,"This is what gets you hot huh?". This statement reveals that the Hooded Justice might've been homosexual.
Discussion Question 5:
a)The story ‘Watchmaker’ is relevant to the character Dr. Manhattan because Dr. Manhattan perceives everything happening at the same time. There is not even that follows another event; everything works together at the same moment; which creates events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. Dr. Manhattan's powers allow him to perceive the past, present, and the future all at once, but cannot stop himself from altering the future because they are already predestined. The title is somewhat relevant to Dr. Manhattan because a watchmaker is similar to a person who controls and makes time. Thus, with Dr. Manhattan's power, he is able to control time that is happening to himself although he cannot control the future of other's fate.
b)Talking about the Comedian, the reoccurring motif in the book, which is a smiley face, is important because the Comedian states, “everything makes sense once you become the comedian.” What he’s implying here is because everything is in chaos and cannot be controlled, just watching them as a comedy and a joke is the only thing that makes sense to a catastrophe. Also the smiley face is alluding to the doomsday clock, which may actually have been counting down the death of the Comedian. Perhaps the badge may represent the last thoughts of the Comedian: everything is just a joke.
c) What the Comedian saw was the true face of the twentieth century. This means that no one in this world carries a true face anymore. Rather than consciously knowing that each person is carrying a false face, they are rather conscious to hide their true faces. The society was longer stable and safe, in fact it was never safe from the start. Hatred, crimes and death is now what the world in engulfed in, and the Comedian saw this as an opportunity to parody the world's seriousness: only way to see death and hatred as normal is to see them as jokes. And that is what the Comedian did.
