: In Watchmen by Alan Moore, there are two anti heroes that many readers are seem to like and consider different from other superheroes. These two characters are Rorschach and The Comedian. Rorschach is a detective who tries to solve his mask killer theory on who killed Edward Blake aka The Comedian throughout the novel. Throughout the novel, we begin to get flashbacks that introduce The Comedian and his personality. The Comedian is a government war hero, but he does things what an antagonist.
Thesis: These two characters are quite different, however they have share similar traits because they use physically force and refuse to compromise.
Body 1: Rorschach uses physical violence in order to get the information that he requires to complete
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his investigation. Rorschach and Nite Owl go to Harry’s bar to interrogate a man who knows about Vedit’s plans.
He crushes the suspect’s hand while he was holding a cup. The suspect sates in pain “No, no don’t squeeze… Listen, please I just handed over these envelopes to the guy. I don’t know anything about aaaa!”(10:14-14:9-10). the suspect is in pain and misery and Rorschach uses this method of torture to get results. Readers enjoy his method because he gets results using this type of force and it also makes readers enjoy criminals who go through pain. For example, “Perhaps not willingly, but pain can make a man do things he wouldn't willingly do.” ― Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood. This notes that violence is the solution to resolve a problem between a criminal. Furthermore, Rorschach kills the child abductor because the suspect fed his dogs with the little girl’s body parts and he killed him due to his actions. Rorschach states “It is not god who kills the children. Not fate that butchers them or density that feeds them to the dogs it’s use.” (11:26:5) Rorschach believes that human nature is savagery and that we created it. Readers can relate to his theory because we live in a world where criminals do abnormal things and that there is no justice for the helpless victims and that we as people …show more content…
like to see the suspects get put down. Lemony Snicket stated:“Criminals should be punished, not fed pastries.” ― Lemony Snicket, The Blank Book. This comments that criminals should be punished due to their crimes and as people we should punish them because they are the disease that causes human savagery. Moreover, The Comedian uses brutal force in a different way. The Comedian uses brutal force for his own personal reasons unlike Rorschach who uses it to set an example. The Comedian killed a pregnant woman because he didn’t want to deal with her child and that she cut his face with a bottle. The Comedian says “Listen we got nothing to talk about. I‘m leaving. Saigon number ten, New York number one okay?(2:14;2) The Comedian just shot an innocent pregnant Vietnamese woman due to his irresponsibility, which as readers we find interesting because we have never seen a hero this dark and antagonizing. Also, as readers we have this sort of catharsis side where we feel that we want to do those things and be evil but we can’t. Instead, we watch an iconic character do it, which makes us feel good. Rorschach and The Comedian have the same methods of punishment however they use it differently. Rorschach use the death penalty on the murderer to set an example that it was the right thing to do and generally people would think mostly to kill murderers than innocent people. Body 2: These two characters are different form their use of physical force, but they do have one similar trait which is the refusal of compromise.
Rorschach refuses to compromise about Adrian’s plan, but the other members of the Watchmen agree to compromise. He sacrifices his life for what he believes in and he is killed by Dr. Manhattan due to not agreeing to compromise. Rorschach says to the team “No. Not even in the face of aramgeddon. Never compromise.” (1:20:8-9). It is hard to stick to something that is hard to believe when we are in a world full of compromise. Readers admire Rorschach for that because it is rare for someone to not compromise. C.W Lewis stated “Do not let us mistake necessary evils for good.” ― C.S. Lewis. This states that compromise is the use of evil to make good, which readers seem to enjoy about Rorschach because he avoids that evil and tries to bring justice to what he believes in. The Comedian dose not compromise and he confesses to Moloch while drunk about Adrian’s plan. The Comedian doesn’t know how Adrian’s plan would work and that he needed someone close to confess and release all the guilt that he has kept inside of him. The Comedian says to Moloch: “I mean what’s funny? What’s so goddamned funny? I don’t get it. Somebody explain…Somebody explain it to me” (2:23:7-8). As readers we find it interesting how The Comedian killed lots of people during the war, but he cares about his own fellow citizens no matter how much harm he has
caused to the people in Vietnam. We have this sort of unexpected compassion about him caring about the New York citizens. Also, it feels weird on how a hero would visit a villain in order to seek help. Rorschach and The Comedian do share similar fates due to not compromising, but in different death situations. They both understood that it was wrong to kill millions of New Yorkers and that it was not easy to compromise. They both couldn’t live in a world with compromise and that they tried to tell the truth, but did not succeed in doing so. Rorschach and The Comedian are different, however they do share moral traits and use of physical violent combat. They were different in physical whereas Rorschach uses his methods set an example for what is right. While the Comedian, uses his methods for his own personal reasons but he and Rorschach have a similarity to the way the act with it, which is being brutal. However they did have something in common, which was to never compromise or keep the guilt inside of them.
In Night, he informs his reader of many examples on how a myriad of good people turn into brutes. They see horrific actions, therefore, they cannot help by becoming a brute. They experience their innocent family members being burned alive, innocent people dieing from starvation due to a minuscule proportion of food, and innocent people going to take a shower and not coming out because truly, it is a gas chamber and all f...
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Stekel, Wilhelm, and Louise Brink. Sadism and Masochism: The Psychology of Hatred and Cruelty. 2 vols. New York: Liveright, 1953. Questia School. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
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