V For Vendetta Symbolism

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The graphic novel, V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, is a dystopian novel that presents readers with an unlikely hero; a hero whose morality is questioned at times but who is ultimately fighting for the good of his country. This work is so important because it explores the thin line between authoritative guidance and absolute control. Once that line is crossed, government, though purportedly working for the good of its citizens, falls into a trend of oppression and fascism. V for Vendetta offers a symbol for the people, an idea that provides strength and motivation to citizens to use their voice and take action when their government is no longer working in their favor. V for Vendetta is a work of science…show more content…
Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of radicals who planned to blow up Westminster Palace in an attempt to overthrow the king and his government on November 5, 1605. This event would come to be known as the Gunpowder Plot. Though Fawkes was not the leader of the group, he was in charge of the gunpowder that was to be used in the assassination and was to be the very one to detonate the gunpowder. Though the Plot was discovered before it was carried out, Fawkes and his men went down in history and Fawkes himself has come to represent resistance and rebellion against government and its officials. (Call). It is, of course, for this reason that the mask of Guy Fawkes was worn by V who chose it, as mentioned above, to conceal his true identity and represent him as an idea rather than a person. But this mask was chosen by Moore and Lloyd to represent V due to its deeper connotations associated with the Gunpowder Plot.…show more content…
There has been an onslaught of Guy Fawkes masks that we have seen since the novel was published and later adapted to film. True, Guy Fawkes well-known as a representation of protest V for Vendetta, but I believe that relevance of this symbol was revived by V. In fact, in recent years, there have been times when there is an absolute sea of Guy Fawkes masks worn at demonstrations and protests where people ban together to use their voice and be heard. Additionally, the Guy Fawkes mask has been adopted by the hacktivist group, Anonymous. While Anonymous began as a group of small-timers, hacking into websites and essentially pranking people, they have now grown into a well-known group of activists who call others to action when they feel there has been an injustice to society or to a particular group of people. (Wikipedia). People, myself included, are taken with Anonymous because, at times, they surely must question the morality of the group’s actions. Are they the heroes acting out of concern for the greater good? Or are they unjust in their ways and, are therefore, engaging in the same behaviors that they claim to oppose? At any rate, they seem to be ever-present in today’s society and they are represented by the mask of Guy Fawkes, the very mask which was donned by V and has come to represent revolution and action. Anonymous and

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