Character Struggle Utopia Narrative

¶ … Character Struggle:

An Analysis of Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen

and Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once wrote that, "Nothing endures but change." In the novels Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons and Looking Backward: 2000-1887 by Edward Bellamy, character development is used to explored the novelists underlying perspectives on the meaning and possibility of a utopian human society. In Watchmen the character of The Comedian transitions from one of a socially-conscious war hero to that of a nihilistic vigilante with little regard for human life which reflects the authors' larger philosophical message that a utopian society is impossible as the "watchmen" who would defend it would inevitably become corrupted by their power. In contrast, in Looking Backward, Julian West transitions from embodying the harsh, competitive world of the Nineteenth Century to understanding the social equality and utopian nature of a fictional Twentieth Century by forging a relationship with Dr. Leete and by falling in love with Edith. In both works the authors utilize changes in characters' personalities and outlooks to represent their larger philosophical messages about a utopia.

In Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, the murder of The Comedian is the instigating event of the entire story. Though much of the plot focuses on why and who order the assassination of this superhero, a great deal of the philosophical message of the work can be understood through analyzing who exactly the Comedian was in life. The Comedian's real name is Edward Morgan Blake. Very little information is provided regarding his earlier years besides that he worked to fight crime and that he fought for in World War Two in the Pacific. Where we do see the transition of The Comedian's character is in the novel's present. A number of conversational exchanges capture this character's burned out and nihilistic perspective. The Comedian states that, "Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense, and, "Yeah. Yeah, that's right. Pregnant woman. Gunned her down. Bang." These quotes demonstrate The Comedian's complete lack of moral compass or belief in the moral rightness of what he is doing. The Comedian also comments on his lack of belief in the prospect of an American utopia guarded by The Watchmen when Dan Dreiberg asks him, "But the country's disintegrating. What's happened to America? What's happened to the American dream?" The Comedian responds, "It came true. You're lookin' at it." In short, the character of The Comedian is central to both the plot and the underlying message of The Watchmen as he embodies the authors argument that establishing a utopia is impossible.

In Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward: 2000-1887, the character of Julian West serves an opposite function to The Watchmen's Comedian. After being hypnotized for more than a century he awakes in the year 2000 to find the world transformed into a socialist utopia where the problems of economic difficult, human hunger and gender inequality have been resolved. This transition along with his newfound relationships with Dr. Lette and Edith forces West to reflect on his own character and biases and in so doing to change for the better. The philosophy of the old Julian West is described best by Mr. Barton when he critiques that, "if you would see men again the beasts of prey they seemed in the nineteenth century, all you have to do is to restore the old social and industrial system, which taught them to view their natural prey in their fellow-men, and find their gain in the loss of others." As the events of the novel unfold and Julian West comes to see more of Twentieth Century utopia he turns from his century's ways to realizes that the utopia embodied, "the rise of the race to a new plane of existence with an illimitable vista of progress, their minds were affected in all their faculties with a stimulus, of which the outburst of the mediaeval renaissance offers a suggestion but faint indeed. There ensued an era of mechanical invention, scientific discovery, art, musical and literary productiveness to which no previous age of the world offers anything comparable." In summary, the Julian West embodies the author's argument that the fault for social problems is not due to people's personalities but larger social factors that can be overcome thereby enriching humanity.