Equality In V For Vendetta And Anthem

"We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world"(V for Vendetta). In V for Vendetta and Anthem, the identities of protagonists are shrouded in mystery. We know next to nothing about these people, so how can there be entire movies built around them? The answer is simple: the movies are not about their protagonist, but rather the idea that the protagonist represents. The main characters could be anyone, yet the integral components of these works would remain the same. The symbolism and metaphors used in both movie and book demonstrate the insignificance of the protagonist's identity through images of discarding the

past of the characters. In fact, intentions are purely what these characters are comprised of; V and Equality are nothing without their motives. Further still, the settings of V for Vendetta and Anthem, being what builds these motives, would still exist no matter who V and Equality are. Anyone in the same situation, no matter their past or personality, would be able to become the protagonist. In other words, V and Equality are not identities, but symbols.

Both V for Vendetta and Anthem manage to integrate symbolism, imagery, and allegory into their stories in ways that effectively convey their hidden meanings. In V for Vendetta, a Guy Fawkes mask is used as the symbol of the rebellion. V never takes off his mask even when he is alone. He chooses to take the mask as his own identity rather than his own face. He says, "Beneath this mask, there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof!"(V for Vendetta) showing how he thinks of himself as an abstract thought rather than a person. Equality's idea is represented by a light bulb that he fixes himself. This light is a symbol of hope and knowledge, a way for Equality to bring his society out of the dark ages. In like manner, the places the protagonists make their home hold a lot of symbolism. V names his home the Shadow Gallery; a place where he keeps all the "objectionable materials" which he steals from the state. This place holds items that the government is trying to censor, and a shrine to Valerie, a young woman who was held in the cell next to V in the government facility. The Shadow Gallery symbolises everything that V is fighting for, the end goal of his warpath. Equality has his own hidden alcove as well. The Uncharted Forest is the place he runs when he escapes from the World Council, and it is there that he learns the joys of individuality and self-reliance. The Forest represents the unknown, the mysteries that Equality seeks to uncover. It is also a place where the past and the future connect, the house Equality and Liberty find holds the knowledge of the past, and will be a home for their future family. Equality leaves his past behind him when he takes a new name, a name he learned from the books in the forest. Moreover, there is a lot of elemental symbolism in both movies. Fire and rain feature prominently in V for Vendetta. Both emphasize rebirth, though in different ways. Fire violently burns away V's past after his traumatic experiences, just as the rain washes away Evey's. Similarly, Anthem presents light and water symbolism; light for Equality, and water for Liberty. Light, like the light bulb Equality fixed, often represents hope, knowledge, and purity. It can also be used to symbolize rebirth, as well as cleansing. Water suggests purity and fertility, yet again cleansing and renewing. The name Equality takes, Prometheus, also relates to light, Prometheus being the titan who brought fire to humanity. These symbolic rebirths separates the past from the characters, showing that these are new people and who they once were no longer defines them.

V and Equality share many parallels in terms of who they are, and why they are.

One of the ways in which they are different is their methods. V is a terrorist, he uses destruction and violence to achieve his goals. In the movie, one of the first things we see him do is overpower several officers, brutally and effectively neutralizing the corrupt men, who threatened a young woman. Throughout V for Vendetta, V chooses to take action and is proactive in his retaliation against the unethical and depraved. Destroying the parliament building, a symbol of the government, is a symbol of itself, a show of one idea destroying another. Compare to Equality, who is not as fervent in his rebellion, attempting to conform at first. He "strive[s] to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike"(Rand 19). Yet, he learns of individuality, of ego and I, and decides he no longer wishes to be oppressed by the collective. Equality renames himself Prometheus, after the titan who brought fire to humanity at the cost of his own body. Equality liberates a select few who he knows would prefer the salvation of individuality, bringing them into the forest and teaching them. Through this, he sets up the beginnings of his uprising against the government. Though he may never lead the charge to abolish the collective himself, he ensured the continuation of his idea through generations. Despite their differences in method, the motives of V and Equality are analogous. V's goal is a revolution, taking

down the corrupt government and the people who hurt innocents. Equality's goal is to free his fellow men of "We," to share his newfound freedom that came with the knowledge of "I." Both protagonists wish to save the people from their governments, to bring a new era where the people will have control over their own lives. Additionally, the people who brought forth the idea, the people who gave V and Equality purpose, are very similar. Guy Fawkes is a real person who attempted to detonate the parliament building, seeking to destroy a symbol of the government in an act of rebellion. He was caught and hung, yet despite dying many years before V for Vendetta, his idea lives on through the years, long enough for V to continue the cause. Likewise, Anthem has the Saint of the Pyre, who was burned at the stake for speaking the Unspeakable Word. Despite being scorned by the people around them, despite having their tongue torn out, despite being burned alive, the Saint shows only joy and pride. They inspired Equality, only 10 years of age at the time, to find the Unspeakable Word, "even if we have to burn for it like the Saint of the pyre"(Rand 51). These people are the ones who passed on their ideas, the instigators of a cause V and Equality fight for years later. At the end, V and Equality pass on the idea to their successors, letting the fight, the idea, continue on without them.

The things surrounding V and Equality, the people and places around them, directly contribute to who they are and their ideas of freedom.

Both of them have been tortured in a government facility. V had been used as a test subject for a biological weapon, forced to suffer through painful experiments until he could no longer remember anything about himself. Kept in a cell labeled with the Roman numeral V, he takes that letter as his name and breaks out of the facility in a blaze of fire. Years later, V would emerge into the spotlight with a mask, to free the masses from the oppression of the government. The years he spent in captivity gives him reason to destroy the people in power, the people who killed thousands of innocents to gain that power. In Anthem, Equality was detained when he was confronted by the Council of the Home about his absence. He had refused to reveal where he had been, and was taken to the Palace of Corrective Detention, where he was to be lashed until he confessed. Equality endured through days of systematic torture, holding on to the one thing he had placed his hope in: the light. Equality decides to place his faith in the knowledge that there is more to the world than what the Council says there is. Totalitarian governments feature in both V for Vendetta and Anthem, but in different ways. V for Vendetta presents a fascist government, all authority falling under a single, oppressive dictator. Fear and censorship are used to keep people in line, and

anyone who opposes is captured, tortured, and killed. This corrupt government is the antithesis to V's idea, as “People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people”(V for Vendetta). In a similar, yet different way, the government in Anthem takes communism to extremes. Absolutely everything is done for the collective, for the "great WE"(Rand 19). The Council of Elders decide what everyone will do with their lives, and no one is allowed to do anything for themselves. It is a transgression to prefer anyone over another, it is a sin to do or think alone, and it is evil to be physically different from the collective. Equality, who is naturally different from his brother men, brings the idea of individuality to the people to free them. V and Equality both have people special to them; V has Evey, and Equality has Liberty. When Evey first meets V, she believes him crazy, and does not wish to accompany him on his path to destroying the small, predictable world that she believes in. V's upheaval drags Evey into notoriety, despite her protests. Still, after torture and trauma-induced loss of fear, Evey is reborn. She leaves the Shadow Gallery and V, but returns to see the conclusion to V's rebellion. It is then that V leaves the choice to her, to destroy the parliament building and the government or not. Evey becomes another V, another personification of the idea, and choses to free the country of its oppression. Later, she is asked who V was, and answers, "He was Edmond Dantés... and he was my father. And my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you... and me. He was all of us" (V for Vendetta). Liberty's role is slightly different, portraying the metaphorical water-bearer to Equality's light-bringer. Liberty is proud and fearless, with a hidden contempt for the world, yet she submits to Equality's dominance and becomes a follower rather than an equal. She sees Equality as someone with a strong spirit, someone who can lead society into a new era, and she tells him, "We wish to be damned with you, rather than blessed with all our brothers"(Rand 83). Liberty becomes Gaea, the mother of a new generation that will grow knowing individual identity, never constrained by the collective. Both of these companions hold on the idea and stand by, knowing that the idea will soon become reality, knowing that their respective partners will bring the idea to fruition.

While the identity of the protagonist is an alluring mystery, knowing would inevitably diminish their value as a protagonist and as a symbol. As Evey says in the comic, "whoever you are isn't as big as the idea of you"(Moore 250). The symbolism, motives, methods, and setting are important parts of V for Vendetta and Anthem, yet the stories could progress no matter who the protagonist is. Without their aims and motivations, V and Equality cannot exist, as the characters are built on intent, but those goals can be instilled in anybody. In the end, it does not matter who V or Equality is, only the idea they represent.