Watchmen: The Novel
· Look at pictures from the first chapter and examine the positioning of figures and objects in the frames and comment about what that positioning signifies. Is a figure marginalised? What items are within the design? How do these features relate to overall meaning? Is there a symbol in the frame and where is it positioned? How is the picture designed so that we notice the symbol/figure/object?
Items in the design of some of the pictures from the first chapter are mostly broken or shattered items, also items that have been purposely or accidently tipped over during a fight or confrontation. Also a main item in the pictures is a smiley face badge that is obviously linked in with the blood on the floor and what happened in the destroyed living room in most of the pictures.
· Examine the use of colour in this chapter.
Blue – often associated with depth and stability. It’s a masculine colour which is often very calming and symbolizes things such as; Trust, confidence, truth and heaven.
Red- Red is often used to symbolize passing, desire and love. It is also the colour of fire and blood therefore being linked with danger, power and war. It is a very emotionally intense colour. It is highly visible.
Purple – Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
White - White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection. White means safety, purity, and cleanliness.
Brown - Brown says stability, reliability, and approachability. It is the colour of our earth and is associated with all things natural or organic.
Green – Green is the colour of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money. Green has great healing power. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance. Sometimes green denotes lack of experience.
Black - Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, death, evil, and mystery. Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown (black holes). It usually has a negative connotation (blacklist, black humour, 'black death'). Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious colour (black tie, black Mercedes). In heraldry, black is the symbol of grief.
Yellow - Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy. Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy. Yellow is often associated with food. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter. When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms.
All of the above colours are used in the first chapter and no other colours.
· Red – There is a lot of blood in the first chapter. Also the red is used to make certain things stand out.
· Yellow – Yellow is used for the smiley face badge that is worn by the comedian to suggest happiness, ironic though as the Comedian dies before the novel begins.
· Black – mostly used to highlight shadows.
· Green – Used for clothing colours, black shadows stand out well on green.
· Purple – used to highlight a character, such as when the man breaks through the window, makes character more mysterious.
· Blue – Used for glass panes and distant figures.
· Brown – Clothing and buildings.
· White – Speech bubbles.
· Theme of "Disguises”. Brainstorm reasons why and contexts in which people might adopt disguises. When is a disguise a choice and when is it imperative? What sort of disguises might people use? (Think of behaviours as well as dressing up.) Do people in real life use disguises, or is this something that happens only in fiction? Can people disguise themselves in ways other than altering appearance and/or dress?
There are many different types of disguises. People may adopt disguises when embarrassed about something, therefore they may use make-up to cover something or plastic surgery to alter their appearance for whatever reason. Camouflage is also a type of disguise for if someone was to try to blend in or hide themselves.
A disguise is a choice when someone wants to cover something or alter their appearance. Also when they want to dress up as someone/something completely different.
Many people in real life use disguises, however we do not consider certain things to be disguises as most disguises in real like are used by the majority of the population.
characterisation in literature.
· Brainstorm some words that summarise character/personality. Some words might be: quiet, assertive, zany, reclusive, open, secretive, or angry . . . How do we know things about people in the real world? (Behaviour, dress choices, accent, beliefs, job, etc. . for example an altruistic person might choose a career in medicine, education, the Church, social work, nursing . . .). This is no different in literature. We know about characters by what they say and do, etc. Mostly, the author of the work helps us with motivation by showing how this might have arisen.
careful, hard-working, worried, cheerful, broadminded, active, curious, secretive | aggressive, tough, careless, practical, sensible, independent, strong-minded, stupid | dull, boring, imaginative, ambitious, crafty, sensitive, gentle, naive | generous, loyal, self-controlled, moody, trusting, modest, tolerant, friendly | energetic, confident, selfish, shy, stubborn, reliable, clumsy, intelligent |
We can work out many different things about a person from the way they do/act/etc a certain way. For instance we can know things about people from the way they dress, what music they listen to, where they were brought up, hobbies, their hairstyle, beliefs and what job they have. From all these things you can tell someone’s personality traits and even how they will react to certain things.
· Discuss the characters you have met so far in Watchmen. What has been revealed about these characters so far? Which are flat characters and which are rounded? How do you recognise the characters' qualities?
The first characters we meet are two cops, which we assume from them being in the crime scene of a suspected murder and discussing how and why it happened. They both seem very careless about anything. The colours of clothing they are both wearing suggest they are approachable and safe, which would make sense if they were cops. Very flat characters.
The comedian – he is only described by the cops to be of very big build. By what the comedian is wearing in the scenes suggest he is very laid back as he is wearing a robe.
Disguised character – Get the impression that he doesn’t like his face, or he is hiding his face as he is wearing a mask. Nothing is revealed about this character.
· Describe the world of Watchmen. How different is it from the real American society of today? Compare the ways in which it is different from America today and comment on any features that are similar. Focus on events, moral/ethical values and the international scene. What, if anything, do you think is being conveyed to the reader/responder by the composers of Watchmen? Comment on story and art; Look at what the characters are wearing and gender stereotype (do they follow typical western beliefs/values?)
One way watchmen is different from American society is that watchmen is fiction.
