Watchmen Seminar Notes Essay Example

Watchmen Seminar Notes Essay Example Watchmen Seminar Notes Paper Watchmen Seminar Notes Paper Essay Topic: Watchmen Summary Chapter one opens with the death of Edward Blake. It becomes apparent that the cause of death had been that he was thrown from his apartment by an unknown suspect. The chapter Is picked up In the point of view of two detectives who are investigating the crime scene and discuss several motives for the burglary/murder. Soon after, the point of view is turned over to Rorschach, a mysterious man who is identified by the police as an outlaw of sorts. After investigating the crime scene, Rorschach uncovers that Edward Blake is the true identity of the masked hero known s the Comedian: a former Minuteman. From there, Rorschach spends the remainder of the chapter going to extreme lengths in order to discover who it was that eliminated the Comedian, as well as his motives for doing so. In this process we get to really glimpse Into Rorschach mindset (with occasional cutaways to Rorschach journal entries) as well as accurately weigh his morals (egg. In one instance, he even goes to extreme lengths as to break a mans fingers In order to uncover the truth of the Comedians death). We are also Introduced to many key characters such as Adrian Veldt, Daniel Dribbler, Dry. Manhattan (the big blue man), and Laurie Jupiter: all retired Minutemen ;death of the Comedian (raises the question of motives and suspects; leads the direction of the novel) Character Analysis Rorschach -Rorschach is a reclusive detective and a former member of the Minutemen. His inner monologue is fairly dark and cynical. He thinks of his city as a gutter (sit hole) and feels that it is his job to clean the streets. Although we dont learn much about Rorschach origin at first, he is first introduced as a sort of vigilante by detectives investigating the murder of Eddie Blake. From the detectives conversation, we learn that he Is crazier than a snakes armpit. They Imply that he Is morbidly fascinated In crime cases, and that he goes through violent means to solve them. When we finally see Rorschach in the novel, we see him as a dark and mysterious man who takes it upon himself to solve Eddie Flakes murder. Upon investigating, Rorschach finds that Eddie Blake is the Comedian, another former member of the Minutemen. This gives Rorschach incentive to keep investigating the murder because he fears for former masked heroes who are his friends (including himself? He shows no superhuman qualities, but through his investigations and his interactions with others we learn that he is very inquisitive and can easily piece things together to get to a final decision. -p. 14-16 breaks a mans fingers trying to find out what happened to the Comedian. Exemplifies the measures heed go through (and hes actually bricklaying INSANE) he doesnt know the man, hes not even a susp ect, but he still broke his fingers In hopes that someone will speak out and tell him what he needs. ;journal entries -?+ snows Nils Inner angst an 3. Page Analysis entreat Tort ten world en lives In -beginning/ending (parallels, adds drama) -p. L dialogue is eerie and unsettling, carries a lot of drama and sets the tone of the novel (focused on button) -final page dialogue is more light hearted, however the presence of the button reminds the audience that there is still a lot of drama taking place despite the fact that they (Derriere and Jupiter) are not at the center of it. Symbols/Themes -Rorschach mask -Comedians button Discussion questions significance of Comedians button? Rorschach mask? Why he wears it? Motivation to kill Eddie?