This entry, done by Neil Carriel and Hamed Yousufi, breaks down the major components from issue 1. Note the inclusion of pictures, video, and the presentation itself. This is very useful for students to come and study from in the future.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER
SUMMARY
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| Rorschach: easily the darkest character in Watchmen |
In this chapter, Edward Blake was killed. It starts off with two detectives investigating his apartment, while flashbacks are shown of Blake being killed by an unknown person. Later that day when the detectives leave the apartment, the chapter’s main character, Rorschach, comes to the apartment. Rorschach find a smiley face pin with blood on it, were the body was found. He climbs into the apartment and starts his own investigating, and finds out that Edward Blake was the Comedian, another old costumed adventurer.
The scene then changes to Hollis Mason and Daniel Dreiberg, the two Nite Owls, at Hollis’ house. After talking about old times, Dreiberg goes home and finds that his house has been broken into. He finds Rorschach in the kitchen, who then tells Dreiberg that that a man by the name of Edward Blake, who was the Comedian, was found dead, and shares his theory of a possible mask killer.
Rorschach then goes to Happy Harry’s bar, to get information about Blake’s death. While talking to Harry, the bartender, he hears someone in the bar make fun of him. Rorschach goes to the man, grabs his hand and begins to break his fingers until someone tells him what he wants to know. When he finds out that no one knows anything, he leaves.
Rorschach then visits the ex-adventurer and smartest man in the world, Adrian Veidt, who is also known as Ozymandias, and asks if he could guess who wanted to kill the Comedian. After warning Veidt about the mask killer he thinks is out there, Rorschach leaves.
He then sneaks into Rockefeller Military Research Center to talk to the super-powered Dr. Manhattan and his girlfriend Laurie, two other ex-adventurers who now work for the government. Rorschach tells them about the Comedians death, however they tell him that they already knew. Since Rorschach is a bit insensitive, he ends up making Laurie very angry and she tells Dr. Manhattan to make him leave. Dr. Manhattan then teleports Rorschach outside of the base, and Rorschach’s information is ignored.
The scene goes to Laurie and Dreiberg, who have gotten together for dinner. They discuss the past, and people such as Captain Carnage, as well as mentioning the fact that the Comedian is dead.
THE PEOPLE INVOLVED
The main character in this chapter is Rorschach, as he is conducting his investigation of the murder of the Comedian. It is also through him that we go around meeting all the other characters and ex-adventurers. These other main characters include Daniel Dreiberg, Laurie, Dr. Manhattan and Adrian Veidt, who were all costumed adventurers before the Keene Act was passed in 1977. These are the characters that will become even more important later in the story.
FUTURE EVENTS
Some events in this chapter are the likely beginnings of things to come later on in the story, as the first chapter is like the exposition of the book. One of the major elements in this chapter is Rorschach’s investigation of the murder of the Comedian. This investigation of his is unconcluded by the end of the chapter, which means that it will continue into Chapter 2. This investigation will, in the future, lead to the revealing of the Comedian’s killer. Then it’s just a matter of punishment, something Rorschach is great at giving.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS
ABOUT RORSCHACH
One of the key characters in the chapter is a mysterious and mentally unstable man called Rorschach, whose real name is unknown. When the Keene Act was passed in 1977, Rorschach was the only one to continue his vigilante work without government permission.
He is a good guy with a very sick method of heroism. He is known to get information and deliver punishment in very violent and messy ways. An example of this is on page 16 of Chapter I, when Rorschach is questioning the people at a bar about the murder of Edward Blake, who we know to be the Comedian. As he terrifies the bartender and intimidates everyone else, one guy makes a joke at Rorschach’s expense… which is a very bad idea. He says “Hey, you hear that? He’s got friends! Musta changed his deodorant!” Rorschach responds to this by calmly breaking two of his fingers.
INVOLVEMENT & MOTIVE
Rorschach is the first character to take a serious stake in the plot, besides the Comedian, of course. He is briefly seen without his mask walking past the two detectives who were investigating the crime scene of the Comedian’s apartment. However, that night, he decides to conduct his own investigation, which immediately involves him in the plot.
His motive is revealed later in the chapter, as he speaks with Dan Dreiberg and Adrian Veidt, also known as Nite Owl and Ozymandias. He tells them that he thinks there may be a mask killer; someone who is going around killing costumed adventurers. This prompts him to get to the bottom of the Comedian’s case in order to catch this supposed killer, and then likely do something… drastic… to them.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS
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| Harry is terrified at the mere presence of Rorschach |
Another key characteristic is either his lack of moral boundary – or lack of caring – in his attitude, that basically gives himself the freedom to say or do whatever he wants. On page 10, Dreiberg comes home to find the lock on his door in pieces and Rorschach, uninvited, sitting in his kitchen eating beans. Rorschach says “Got hungry waiting. Helped myself to some beans. Hope you don’t mind.” Rorschach either didn't have the morality to wait to ask for permission to come into his home and eat his food, or didn't care enough to ask.
He also doesn't have the moral care to watch that he doesn't offend people with what he says, or to even apologize when he does. On page 21, Rorschach quickly gets on Laurie’s nerves, by saying “I’m not here to speculate on the moral lapses of men who died in their country’s service.” When he calls her mother’s near-rape a “moral-lapse,” she snaps, and Rorschach doesn't seem to care at all.
WHY WE LOVE RORSCHACH
With all of this dark stuff in mind, we like Rorschach very much; simply said, he is our favourite character. We love him for his dark and mysterious attitude and posture, which drastically sets him apart from all the other characters. And while his violent and gory methods of handling a situation may offset many readers and characters alike, we find it appealing. It’s also very humorous how Rorschach can do such things to people and not have a care in the world about it, such as breaking someone’s fingers, breaking into people’s homes and dropping someone down an elevator shaft. His dark methods and mentality satisfy our slightly sadistic minds, yet he’s still a hero and stands for what’s right.
RORSCHACH'S STAND-OUT MOMENT
ANALYSIS
The scene that stood out the most for us was the aforementioned scene where Rorschach interrogated the people at the bar, on pages 14 – 16. Specifically, this scene stands out from the rest because it is the first time where you really get to know how Rorschach does his job. Previously in the chapter, you only see Rorschach investigating the crime scene of the Comedian, as well as talking with Dreiberg. These scenes only give you a context of who he is and what his attitude is like. It is in this bar scene that you actually see how he gets work done when dealing with enemies and other counterparts.
Rorschach seemed peaceful enough when demanding information from Happy Harry, the bartender. But the moment he was antagonized, a switch flipped in his head and he snapped. He then, without remorse, broke the wisecracking guy’s fingers, as if it were nothing, and he publicly states to everyone at the bar which fingers he’s broken.
This scene shows that Rorschach doesn't mess around; his straightforward attitude and lack of patience makes him someone whose questions you’d want to answer. This scene is the scene where you get a clear idea of how Rorschach does his job which he values so highly, and helps readers grasp how he is going to handle situations such as these in the future. It’s a foreshadow of things to come later in the story.
THE THEME OF THE CHAPTER
ANALYSIS
A common theme in the Watchman is hate. Hate is shown multiple times through out chapter one. The first time we brush upon hate in chapter one is when Edward Blake dies. Although the chapter does not mention that he died because of hate, his death could be seen as a hate crime.
Another instance that hate is shown in all of chapter one is the fact the public hates Rorschach because of the way he deals with problems. Other instances that hate can be seen are the dislike between Rorschach and Veidt, although we don’t know why they dislike each other; the book just tells us that they were never friends.
Hate is also shown with Laurie hating the Comedian, and Rorschach. She hates the comedian because he tried to rape her mother and she hated Rorschach because of his personality.
CONNECTIONS TO OUR WORLD
This hate in the chapter is easily related to our lives in the real world. We see hate all the time around the world; an example would be the war between Israel and Palestine. The war is in progress because over a fight for land, and this land is what’s making the people of those nations hate each other.
This hate is not just found in the other side of the world, but also places much closer to us. For example, a racist girl on YouTube, who posted a video hating people of brown colour in Brampton, Ontario. In her video she says racial jokes, comments on the amount of brown coloured people in Brampton and other negative suggestions.
OUR PREZENTATION
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| Thank You |
Prezi examples:
This is a collection of various prezis/chapters done by previous students. Take a look at them for ideas and inspiration.
Our presentation - Connor Zarglis and Mirza Khan
Presentation Link: Prezi
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