V for Vendetta themes

                The major themes in V for Vendetta are the role of vigilantes, government, dictators, murder, and the cycles of history. The book is most successful at discussing the role of rebellion, vigilantes, and government, while it is least successful at drawing connections to history and defining its own justification for murder. The book emphasizes that revolution requires almost insanity to achieve, and that it also requires strong actions and followers. V’s training of Evey in the shadow room illustrates these three qualities. Evey must be at the point of desiring death over imprisonment. She must be willing to do what it takes to break the grip of oppression. V for Vendetta simulates complete dictatorship, with leaders that control their people with strict laws and fear. The book constantly draws parallels between being imprisoned and the society that they live in. V’s origin is believed to have originated from a Jewish concentration camp like facility. He is believed to have experienced some of the worst of the government’s experiments. He believes that only an insane people can see the atrocities occurring in England. That through insanity, people are freed from the confines that society places on them. V for Vendetta was most successful at highlighting the essentials of rebellion and change.

                The aspects that V for Vendetta was not successful at portraying are the possible benefits of the totalitarian government and the justification of murder. Although murder was doubtfully an issue for V considering his level of insanity, murder is still a major issue for maintaining one’s justification for actions. If V continues to use murder and terrorism to achieve his goals, then the fundamentals of the society that he wants to create will be built upon murder, terrorism, and having the means justify the ends. His society would likely be worse than the current one. While the book describes the fear and oppression of the camera system and the constant police force, it does not describe the security and benefits of the society.

                The most effective use of its comic form is the ending of the book. When Evey is thinking about V’s identity, she looms over his corpse and imagines what his face could possibly be. Only in comic book form, could the story have kept the reader intensely staring at the picture before reading the text, and wondering if that was V’s true face. Comic books allow stories to build suspense, and allow far greater emphasize on the face of the characters.