watchmen


 * Week 1**

Conor - A Andrew - B Brian - C Alec and X Man - D

Person A: There are many main characters in the text. For example, Rorschach, is the character we spend the most time with. He is a ruthless hero, in a time when heroes were no longer a part of every day life. He is a mysterious character with no real past, yet he has a clear lust for vengeance. He is the one most obsessed with finding out who and why the Comedian was murdered. Laurie Juspeczyk is a character who is unhappy with her current life, as she is employed by the government to work with another character, Dr. Manhatten. Her mother was a hero as well, and she followed in her footsteps after her mother retired. Dr. Manhatten is a man who can literally do anything. Dan Dreiberg, or "Nite Owl," is a reformed hero who is unhappy with his current life. He remembers the days of when he was a professional superhero, and misses those days and constantly reminisces about them.

Five questions: Why does Rorschach go to see Nite Owl?

Why was Laurie getting upset when Rorschach shows up to talk to Dr.Manhattan?

Why do you think Laurie didn't want to attend the funeral?

Why did Eddie try to rape/beat up sally?

Why did Laurie's mom called Jon an H-Bomb?

Who do you think murdered the Comedian and why did they do it?

Why is Rorschach the only person worried about a murder hunting superheroes while everyone else isn't concerned?

What do you think the Smiley Face pin symbolizes?

Why do you think the author showed flash backs of the Comedian with each super hero during his funeral?

Why do you think Sally has forgiven the Comedian for what he did?

Ten Quotes

Page 6-”You know how it is a lot of crazy things happen in a city this size.They dont need motives at all”-Rorshaque

Page 14-”an ordinary burguraly kill the comedian ? “Rediculous -Rorshaque

Page 43-Cmon Baby you know you gotta have a reason for wearing an outfit like that” No eddie no” slashes him (IN THE FACE).-The Comedian

Page 50- The Charred villages, the boys, the necklaces of human ears, is this all part of the joke ?-Doctor Manhattan Hey I never said it was a good joke im just playing along with the gag- The comedian

page 61- “ You know the type of cancer you get better from” yeah that aint the kind I got.-Moloch

Page 3- " The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waste and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, Save Us!"-Rorshaque

Page 16- " Beneath me, this awful city, it screams like an abattoir full of retarded children." -Rorshaque

Page 27- " Not really it's just that the only reason I'm kept around is to keep Jon relaxed and happy."- Laurie

Page 39-" Listen, Gettin' old, you get a different perspective. The big stuff looks smaller somehow."- Sally

Page 46- " Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of miseries."- The Priest

Chapter Summary

=
In the first 3 chapters of Watchmen we are introduced to the murder scene of a masked hero the comedian. The comedian was thrown out of a window of his highrise apartment. It was made to look like a robbery but only people who do not know him believe that. The Comedians death brings in another masked hero to investigate his death, that heroes name is Rorschach. He visits the Comedians apartment to investigate. He comes to the conclusion someone is trying to kill of recently retired masked heroes. At the end of each chapter we are shown the dooms day clock, which is getting closer to midnight or doomsday after every chapter. The world is on the brink of nuclear war but the story stays tightly revolved around the lives of struggling masked heroes.======

=
Rorschach’s new job is to warn all of the recently retired masked heroes to be aware that there is an alleged masked killer. He stops at the house of his old partner The Night Owl who goes by the real name of Dan Dreiberg. He tells Dan his theory about the masked killer then leaves to go warn Adrian Veidt. Veidt and Rorschach have a conversation that almost turned hostile, Rorschach warns Veidt then leaves to see Dr.Manhattan. Dr.Manhattan is really undisturbed by Rorschach’s news. He cannot be killed and fears nothing. The rest of the chapter shows the past of the comedian who was in many ways ruthless, and killed with a smile on his face.======


 * Week 2**

Person A: The language used in this book is very different than any other book, as it is in comic book form. It is largely dialogue without much narration, and if you follow along closely it can be very easy to understand. The book is definitely made for adults, as there is sex and intense violence throughout.

Ten Quotes 1."In 1951 he atacked an older child partially bliding him with a lighted cigarette he was ten years old- random black guy" 2."What do you see here? ( goes to scene where rorcashe sees his mom as a whore and her slapping him because he cost her like 20 bucks) pretty little flowers" 3."Kovacs hated his mother after his death he needed somewhere to put anger and so he chose the criminal fraternaty perfectly simple mystery solved" 4."Stood in street and watched it burn, watched it burn" 5.This rudderless world is not shaped by vague mataphysical forces, it tis not god who kills the children not fate that butchers them or destiny that feeds them to the dogs, it is us, only us.

6. Page 107-"All we ever see of stars are their old photographs."- Dr. Manhattan

7. Page 117- " If I'm to have a symbol, it shall be one I respect."- Dr. Manhattan

8. Page 121- "I can't prevent the future. To me, it's already happening."- Dr. Manhattan

9. Page 146-"Yea well, me, I think it's Astrological Halley's Comet is coming back around now. That's an omen of doom." -Cops

10. Page 165-"Framed. Set up. Walked right into it.- Rorschach

Questions What is Dr. Manhattan worried about most when he reflects on his past?

What do you think the city that Dr. Manhattan resurrects on Mars is supposed to symbolize?

Why do you think Dr. Manhattan can only think about the people he meets who die soon after?

How is the story of the struggling sailor surviving the shark attack similar to the one of the masked superheroes?

Why does Blake disagree with everyone at the meeting?

Why does Blake shoot the pregnant woman and not care?

Why does Rorschach's attack Edgar?

What story does Edgar tell Rorschach's?

Summary

In chapters 4 through 6 things are starting to escalate at an incredibly fast rate. It all starts with Dr. Manhattan, he has decided that without Laurie he has no connection to the earth anymore and that he should leave for Mars. While on Mars Dr. M reflects on his life on earth and his experiences before the accident that made him god like. We start to see that Dr. M cannot be faulted for the way he acts because he has the ability to see the future and yet he can do nothing to change it. Manhattan decides that human connections have been a burden on him for to long and that he is done with the earth. He resurrects a palace of glass out of the sand on Mars.

Rorschach falls for the oldest trick in the book. He is setup by an unknown source and gets surrounded by the cops in a house with a dead man in it. The cops eventually capture Rorschach. Rorschach is sent to jail where he begins therapy. That’s when see the real side of how Rorschach came to be. The prison Rorschach is currently in is about to erupt over the death of an inmate Rorschach defended himself against. When that happens Rorschach will have the hole prison coming down on him.


 * Week 3**


 * A-** The overall mood of the book is rather dark, as they are constantly under the idea that doomsday is coming. Rorschach's chapter, where he described the killing of the dog and his disturbed childhood, is especially dark. The emotion of the book is sad and sometimes angry.

Quotes:

Page 212=" I mean, he's psychotic to him, everything's a conspiracy." -Laurie

Page 215= "Oh I mean, sure, at first I used to get cravings but I held on in there." Dan

Page 227- " It's this war, the feeling that it's unavoidable it makes me feel so powerless." - Dan

Page 245- "it's like all our old nightmares come back to haunt us, y'know"- Newspaper Vendor

Page 260- " Old grudges get worked out in these things."- Dan

Summary

In chapters 7 and 8 Dan and Laurie are starting to come closer and closer the longer they live together. They attempt to have sex but Dan is so distracted by something unknown that they are unsuccessful. Later on after that happens Dan decides to go downstairs to his secret workshop under his house. He goes and stares at his old night owl costume until Laurie comes and finds him. They talk and Laurie convinces Dan that they should take the ship out for a spin. Once out over the city they spot a fire they decide to save the people and both Dan and Laurie were in there costumes. The news of there rescue spreads. After the rescue Dan and Laurie have sex on the ship and are successful.

After the thrilling night of adventuring Dan decides that he must help Rorschach and bust him out of Sing-Sing. Laurie dislikes Rorschach and is against the thought completely, but she loves Dan and has to help. Inside of the prison everyone's screaming for Rorschach's head. The riot has begun and the prison is a warzone. Dan decides they must go now before its to late for Rorschach. Inside the prison Rorschach has a run in with some of the people he put away. Rorschach kills two henchmen of the man who wanted him dead the man runs into the bathroom, Rorschach follows and then leaves the bathroom with blood on his shirt. Dan and Laurie find Rorschach go back to the ship and escape from Sing-Sing. Once back at Dan's house Dr.Manhattan comes to get Laurie and takes her to Mars.

1) What do you think the noises Dan and Laurie hear in the bathroom are while Rorschach is in there? 2) Why is Rorschach so unemotional during his rescue, not even thanking Dan and Laurie? 3) That does Laurie's snow ball from her parent's divorce represent in this story? 4) Why has Dr. Manhattan lost interest in saving earth from nuclear war? 5) Why is Dr. Manhattan frustrated with mankind's actions on earth?


 * Week 4**


 * Person A**- The theme in this book is rather dark, and they use imagery in its storytelling. For example, they foreshadow Laurie throwing the glass down on the ground at the end of the novel. They show it being thrown in slow motion from the beginning of the chapter. The author uses these images to draw the reader into the story, and there is a lot of complexity in every image being used. It is a graphic novel after all, so every page has plenty of images. There is meaning behind these images, however, and the author does a great job of exhibiting it.

Quotes:

Page 281- "We're all puppets, Laurie I'm just a puppet who can see the strings."

Page 282- "There is no future. There is no past. Do you see?"

Page 293- "I return to earth at some point in my future, there are streets full of corpses. The details are vague."

Page 319- "That's bullshit. you need darkness to work with, just like I do and we both needed the sleep we grabbed."

Page 323- "When death was assured, registration lent her eyes a certain maturity."

**"I will return to earth sometime in the future, i see the streets filled with corpses, the details are vague."-Dr.Manhattan** **"Come dry your eyes for you are life, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Hisenberg, the clay which i all things leave their in that shape all things leaveave their fingerprints most clearly"-Dr.Manhattan** **"you, you are a good friend, sometimes it is difficult for me to believe that"-Rorshaque** **"He could kill us both, right there in the snow, and noone would ever know"- Rorshaque** **"My intellect set me apart, made me make difficult choices,I knew nobody whose advice would prove useful. nobody living"-**

Questions: Why does Dr.Manhattan bring Laurie to Mars? Do you think Dr.Manhattan has the right to set the earth's fate because of Laurie? Why does Dr.Manhattan make Laurie tell her earliest experience? Why is Dr.Manhattan using Laurie's relationship with Dan to decide earth's future? What is Dr.Manhattan trying to prove to Laurie?

Summary chapters 9 and 10

In the beginning of the chapter Laurie and Dr. Manhattan go to mars where Dr. Manhattan had been hiding from the world. Dr. Manhattan tells Laurie that she will try to convince him to save mankind but that she will not succeed. Laurie and Dr. M go back in forth on the subject of humanity and what it means to be human. Laurie becomes very upset as the conversation goes on because she feels like Dr. M has lost all faith in mankind and is no longer human in any way. Towards the very end of the conversation Laurie and Dr. M start to talk about the Comedian. Dr. M knows something that Laurie hasn't had the time to go over in her head. After arguing about the Comedian Manhattan reveals that Laurie missed something very important about the Comedian, it turns out that the comedian was Laurie's father. Laurie is devastated she hated the Comedian and feels like her life has bin a big joke. She breaks down and cries her emotion convinces Dr. M that he will help save the Earth from Armageddon and he and Laurie return to Earth. -  __[|Star Wars: The Old Republic Volume 1 - Blood of the Empire] __ __Quotes from reviews__ __1." It's always interesting to read a Star Wars story told from the point of view of the Sith." __ 2."Red Harvest, the Darth Bane books and several others show that the Sith can be just as compelling and interesting protagonists as the Jedi."  3." If I could sum up the theme of this story in one word it would be loyalty. "The Sith always betray each othere" is a well known Star Wars quote." 4."Moving on, if you've been following the the world of Star Wars: The Old Republic like I have in anticipation of the game, then the lore this story provides is some very heavy stuff. Especially as it relates to the mysterious Sith Emperor." 5."All in all, any Star Wars fans who likes the Sith or those awaiting the MMO would be well advised to pick this up. I'd also call it a good pick for more casual SW fans interested in a story that's a bit different but still good Star Wars."  