The story “V for Vendetta” written by Allan More and directed by James McTeigue, is a story about a masked man named V who was once used as a test subject for the governments wicked experiments. He then escapes and has a mission to give the people of England the freedom they used to have. While doing this he goes out and murders the people who created the man he has become. Throughout the story V uses different symbols that represent important parts of his mission. V uses these symbols to make him feel as though he is not doing the things he does for himself, but for the meanings that they symbolize, he uses three symbols that stick out throughout the story that are his mask, the roses he puts on his victims, and his name.
Throughout the whole story, V hides his face under a Guy Fawkes mask. V felt that he had to defend England and stand up agains the Government and in order to do that his goal was to blow up Parliament. This was not the first time that there was an attempt to take down Parliament. “On November 5, 1605 thirteen alienated Catholics aimed to blow up Parliament in order to kill the Stuart royal family and the assembled Lords and Commons, trigger a Catholic rising, and install James I's surviving daughter Elizabeth as the figurehead of a Catholic regime.” (Cramsie) Guy Fawkes was the main man who planted tons of gunpowder in the cellars underneath Parliament. He was caught just as he was about to light the fuse. He was a catholic, and was trying to assassinate king James who was against Catholicism. Since King James was the head of the government, the only possible way to bring back Catholicism to England was to assassinate the king.
This is V’s foundation but instead of fighting for Catholicism he is fighting for freedom. V wears his mask because he does not want to be seen as a human being. “We are told to remember the idea, not the man, because a man can fail. He can be caught, he can be killed and forgotten, but 400 years later, an idea can still change the world.” (Moore) V wants to leave a legacy that will allow the community to see him not as an individual but as a metaphorical creature portraying the idea of hope. V knows that no single man would be able to take down the government because man can fail but the idea of hope can bring the community together and together take down the government. The people of London seeked hope to be free from the government and to at last live a normal life once more. V’s idea came true and the whole community came together and stepped up to the government. V died before his goal of destroying Parliament was achieved but his idea carried on past him and brought it down. Even though he died, his idea will live on forever.
Before V wanted to restore freedom he was in a concentration camp called Larkhill. Following World War III, a new fascist regime known as Norsefire took control of Britain's ruling class. There primary initiative was to eliminate those who were unfavorable to the system of order. Unfavored people were Jews, minorities, political opportunists and homosexuals. Many of them were transferred to relocation centers such as Larkhill. We are never told why V was brought to the camp but while he was there he was selected to be treated for scientific experiments. “Over four dozen prisoners were subjected to the Batch 5 experiments, with barely 25% of them surviving the process” (Treuthardt). V was one of the prisoners who survived the experiments and proved to be a model prisoner. He was allowed to work in the camp’s garden where he grew roses and raised crops for the camps administrators. During this time he was housed in room 5 where he received a note from his neighboring prisoner. This note turned out to be an auto biography of his neighbors life.
Her name was Valerie and she was in room number 4. She was brought to Larkhill for being a lesbian. Valeria and her lover Ruth were used to live in a small house in London. There Ruth grew roses called scarlet carsons in the window box for Valerie. There home always smelled like roses and were the best years of her life. Valerie and Ruth were separated and brought to the camp. Ruth was interrogated and forced to give up information concerning Valerie. Wracked with guilt over betraying he, Ruth took her own life. Valerie was then later tortured and killed. V received her Biography shortly before she died and has since then set out to murder all of the people who caused them harm. After every murder he leaves a rose with them in memory of many things. In memory of Valerie who’s lover grew them for her, in memory of when V grew them in Larkhills garden, and in memory of roses who were not extinct.
V uses a mask to make him an idea instead of a person and to complete his image he uses a name that he chose, V. “His name is not even a name at all, it's a letter. Its meaning and purpose changes depending on the context it's used in; it is, in every sense of the phrase, a place to start” (Treuthardt). At Larkhill he was kept in the fifth room, labeled with the roman numeral for five--"V". “Adopting that symbol as his name, V pays respect to the forces that made him who he is” (Treuthardt). By using his room number, V is a living symbol of all the casualties of Norsefire's genocide. He was inspired by the number and his idea of the name “V” became his reality where he could pass on the idea of “V” to the world.
V died at the end of the story but since he disguised himself, no one knew who he was and therefore made him an idea. This idea carried has since been carried on past his death. Even after he died his idea of bringing down Parliament came to a reality because of what his idea stood for. V was not really a terrorist, even though he committed murder and destruction, his disguise is what kept him from believing that he was a terrorist and instead an idea with a good deed. This good deed is what freed england from the government and united them once more.
Works Cited
Moore, Alan, and David Lloyd. V for Vendetta. New York: DC Comics, 2005. Print.
Treuthardt, Mark. "V for Vendetta Analysis - Who Is V?" Welcome to the Shadow Galaxy. Shadowgalaxy, 2006. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. <http://www.shadowgalaxy.net/Vendetta/whov.html>.
Cramsie, John. "Remember, Remember: A Cultural History of Guy Fawkes Day." The Historian 69.1 (2007): 168+. General OneFile. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.
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