Watchmen

:For the Canadian band, see The Watchmen.

Watchmen's Structure

Composition

Watchmen is comprised of 12 chapters (which reproduce the original comic book issues). The beginning of each chapter shows a clock face which progresses by a minute for each issue, from 11:49 in the first chapter to 12:01 in the final chapter. Quotes act as a footnote at the end of each chapter, their meaning pertaining to the events and tone of that chapter.

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Watchmen also uses fictional documents in a style integral to the plot. Much of the background to the story is elaborated upon using fictional newspaper reports, personal journals, and other articles present in the world of Watchmen. Notably, the diary of the anti-hero of Watchmen, Rorschach, is utilized as something to drive the plot, and also a way in which the reader understands the superhero mentality, and how Watchmens world has changed since the inception of the costumed crimefighter. The documents used have a central thematic and technical role, such as Rorschach's psychiatric history, and the EC Comics-style pirate comic book running as a counterpoint to the larger narrative, while the fictitious far right-wing magazine, The New Frontiersman, demonstates the political climate of the altered U.S.

Related Topics:
Fictional documents - Anti-hero - Rorschach - EC Comics - Pirate

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One of the characters, Ozymandias, goes so far as to assert costumed vigilantes do more harm than good. This may be Moore alluding to a quotation from Brecht´s play "Leben des Galilei" Life of Galileo:

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:Unglücklich das Land, das Helden nötig hat.

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:(Unfortunate the country, which has need of heroes).

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Themes

Authority

The title of Watchmen is derived from a quotation from Juvenal's Satire VI Against Women which, when read in its original context, helps elucidate its importance with regard to Watchmen:

Related Topics:
Juvenal - Satire VI

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:"I hear all this time the advice of my old friends—Put on a lock and keep your wife guarded behind doors.Yes, but who will watch the watchmen?The wife arranges accordingly and begins sleeping with them."

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The question of authority and who is at liberty to dispense it is a question apparent throughout Watchmen. Rorschach is keen to preside as judge over all misdemeanors, whereas Doctor Manhattan believes them all to be irrelevant when considered as part of the universe. Rorschach exemplifies this point well; whilst readers may consider his actions to be just (if a little extreme) when combatting criminals, his history of mental illness raises doubts over whether these are then justified. Ozymandias' noble views of a better world are coloured when he begins to plan to kill millions in the process. In short, if no-one is watching those that protect, what lengths will they go to achieve their aims?

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The "Outsider"

Another issue is the perception of the outsider or those with an "outcast status", and the role of prejudice in decisions, especially when politics or sexual orientation is concerned. The Keene Act is a device which is used to legimately outlaw difference, and even as "radical" a publication as The New Frontiersman, an assertively pro-superhero tabloid is also racist and anti-Russian as well as anti-Soviet in its outlook.

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Several characters exhibit "outsider" tendencies in different way, for example:

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• Rorschach is ostracised because of his violent tendencies as a child, and his perceived ugliness. Unloved by his mother, he exists outside the social sphere, casting judgement on those who would commit crimes, with little understanding of their motives. His "outsider" status is such that he no longer considers himself to be a man in costume, rather, the costume is him.
• Ozymandias' egomania allows him to label himself as far more intelligent than other humans. His success in business gives him the platform to begin to make decisions that will affect humanity as a whole. In his younger years, he withdrew from society and attempted to re-trace the footsteps of his hero, Alexander the Great. After having something of a mystical experience, he feels he is graced with the knowledge to do right for everyone. He becomes reclusive, and builds a biodome in the Antarctic.
• Doctor Manhattan is perhaps "outsider personified" as he is the only character who is non-human. He lacks the ability to relate to humans and their petty needs and desires now that he has the ability to travel to other planets and control matter. As the story progresses, he simply cannot understand anything about humans, even some of their most fundamental attributes, such as emotion, or fear. He feels so different from others that he leaves Earth, favouring Mars.