Take Home Final Exam

FINA-A280

Take Home Exam II

Directions: You will be provided 12 questions, of which you must answer 10. If you decided to answer all 12 the four additional will be considered extra credit and worth a total of 10 points each possible. Each question will be worth 10 points possible totaling 100 points. Some of these questions were discussed in class during group work and others are more overarching questions. Be sure to answer each question as thoroughly as possible to receive full credit. You may also provide your own scholarly input for the questions posed, however, most of your analysis should entail the scholarship discussed in the Watchmen graphic novel. Remember to cite specific sources within your answer as well. Fonts no larger than 12 point please. This Exam II is due via Canvas uploaded or commented directly into the submission box by 11:59pm on May 4th. Late submissions will not be accepted. The best of luck to you.

• What does Rorschah’s journal tell us about society and the mental state of the character in the opening panels of the graphic novel? Why add this to the beginning of the graphic novel? Would this element be successful anywhere else in the story? If yes or no, why?

• What can a graphic novel (or this graphic novel) do better than a traditional novel? What are its limitations? Please provide at least two examples to support your claims.

• Discuss whether the author has remained faithful to historical superhero archetypes and how he has deconstructed them or both. What is the tone of this story so far? Do you like it, if yes or no, why?

• Jon Osterman starts life intending to become a watchmaker. On Mars, he constructs an elaborate and enormous clockwork mechanism. Describe the symbolic representation of time within the graphic novel.

• The 5th chapter of the novel centers on William Blake's idea of "fearful symmetry," every individual vignette ending with a visual and/or verbal link to the beginning of the next. How is this theme of symmetry relevant?

• Discuss the progression of the character of the psychiatrist in Chapter 6 (note the Nietzsche quote at the end). 

• Are there any true “heroes” in Watchmen? Are there any true “villains”? Is killing millions of people to ensure world peace and acceptable price to pay? Is it troublesome that only Rorschach refuses to accept Ozymandias’ logic?
• The novel ends with the destruction of New York by Ozymandias, who has hands stigmatized by "catching a bullet." When he asks Dr. Manhattan "I did the right thing didn't I? It all worked out in the end," Manhattan replies, "Nothing ends Adrian. Nothing ever ends." What does this imply?

• Graffiti artists tattoo the question "who watches the watchmen?" across this fictional world. Why? Who watches the watchmen in our culture? The informed citizenry? The press? How do citizens and press in the book compare to our own?

• Watchmenwas published over twenty years ago, yet it is currently reaching a growing U.S. fan-base. Why would American readers be particularly attracted to these flawed, masked adventurers now? What limitation, need, fear or hope does this kind of story meet?

• What’s the significance of the panel layout in the graphic novel and what is the significance in the development of Rorschach’s character, particularly in regards to the Kitty Genovese case? 

• Which is your favorite character from the graphic novel The Watchmen and why? Provide a detailed analysis of the disposition (attitude) of the character along with the goals, motivations, and visual look of this character. What is another way to design the character you’ve chosen? What differences would you provide the visual makeup of the character, what parts of the costume would you change and why?