English 151: Wp2:Final Copy

Authors Note:

The writing process for the second word project was a very interesting process. First of the process of picking a comic was a very hard process. I never thought I was going to have to analyze a comic in my life, so I didn’t know where to start. I looked around the internet, and looked at a bunch of different sights that I knew of, but there was nothing that stood to me. Then I went to a medium of comics that I knew very well, graphic novels. Ever since the craze of graphic novels being made into movies, I have taken a liking to them. The comic excerpt I chose was from one of my favorites, a graphic novel named V for Vendetta.

There was a lot of revision that took place from the first draft to the second draft. One thing that really stands out to me is the fact that I thought through a lot of the ideas that I had from my first draft. For instance in the first paragraph, and talked about the face of V wasn’t drawn in a “cartoonish” fashion, and how this “makes the audience see the comic in a more serious light.” I also added that the emphasis on the words “Kill”, ”Idea”, and “Bulletproof”,” add legitimacy to the argument, and drives it home, making sure it stays with the audience.” Last but not least, I moved the comment about the cold war in the introduction. I thought it would better suit the last paragraph because it refers to a historical context and a talk about communist Russia in my second to last paragraph.

The revisions made between the second draft, and the final copy that were very drastic. I changed up a lot of arrangement throughout the piece, moving different paragraphs to make more sense. Some examples would have to be that I moved the paragraph that starts “V’s words and face make him seem like he is not human, like he is just an idea,” just after the paragraph where I talk about the words “Kill”, “Idea”, and, “Bulletproof”. I thought that this would make more sense because they are all talking about words, and how V is an allegory.

I also changed up the argument that I thought the comic was trying to make. I change it from “Ideas and concepts cannot be killed by force,” to “Ideas and concepts are mysterious, and complex, and cannot be killed through bullets and force.” I felt that this better embodied some of the rhetorical concepts I was using to help support the authors argument. Finally I cited my sources, and gave people credit when I used their information. I made sure that I had a works cited at the end of my paper. I also made sure to cite my sources in my paper. When I talked about McClound, and quoted him from my essay, I made sure to give him credit by putting his name after the quotation. As you can see there was a lot that I had to do to get to my Final copy. It was an interesting process, and a lot of fun.

Wp2:Rough Draft 2

Wp2:Rough Draft 1

Wp2:Statement of Purpose

Final Copy:

The Comic I chose was an excerpt from the Graphic Novel V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, and David Lloyd. The graphic novel itself is one about freedom and revolution. It depicts the main hero of the graphic novel, V, and he is standing holding a man who is just trying to kill him. He makes a statement about how there is not, “flesh and blood under his robes, there is only an idea”. Then he goes on to state that, “Ideas are bullet proof.” There are many different rhetorical concepts, like the representation of V’s facial region. There is also the aspect of the allegory of V not being a human but an idea, cementing the main purpose of the comic. That argument is ideas and concepts are mysterious and complex, and cannot be killed through bullets and force.

One of the most critical arguments in the comic would have to be the realistic representation of V’s facial region. There are many abstractions and many different rhetoric terms that lie in the facial region. A lot of times we see comics that have drawings that are more cartoonish. I think the author wanted to stay away from that because the message he wasn’t to portray needs to be taken seriously. He wants his message to be brought into a different light than most comics. These concepts helps the audience take the message more seriously, and solidify his argument.

The concept of V not being a person, but embodying and idea, is an excellent example of an allegory. This is a very interesting concept; I think that the author put this in so that they can cement their argument of an idea being indestructible. You see in the first panel that V declares that he is not made of flesh and blood, but an idea. While he is saying this you see what looks like a gun. It is apparent at this point that the man he is holding in the comic was trying to kill him. As you can tell he is unsuccessful, but V reiterates the fact that an idea cannot be killed through those conventional methods. V himself embodies the idea, but even if he was killed, the idea would continue to live on and exist. V is like a symbol to the idea, not the idea itself.

The word bubbles themselves add the concept that V is almost not human. In most comics when someone is talking you have your basic world bubble; it is a basic oval, or circle. Then you also have your basic thought bubble, which is that of the shape of a cloud. When V is speaking in the comic his bubble is neither. It looks like it is a combination of the two, like what he is saying isn’t exactly word, but isn’t exactly thought. It adds to the allegory that V is not necessarily supposed to embody a human, but an idea. This idea that he is embodying isn’t necessarily physical, so it doesn’t deserve the regular word bubble that we see in most comics.

There is also a unique way the author bolds and italicized some aspects of the comic. The words “Kill”,”Idea”, and, “Bulletproof”, are all italicized and bold. This makes you look at these words first. Since the author chose to do this, there is more emphasis on these words themselves. It makes the words more important. These are all words used in the main argument, about how hard it is to kill an idea. It also helps add to the mystery of the concept of an idea, and adds to the mystery of V not being real. These words are the main concepts that are represented by V himself.

V’s words and face make him seem like he is not human, like he is just an idea. When you look at the comic you will notice that V’s face is mostly in shadows. In the second panel you can see his eyes; they are engulfed in darkness which adds to this illusion of him being almost inhuman. This style almost embodies ideas themselves. An idea isn’t always straight forward and clear. This goes back to the main argument of the complexity and mystery of ideas. This goes back to the original argument that ideas are complex, mysterious, and hard to kill. All these rhetorical concepts come together to inspire pathos.

In the McCloud essay, he states that “We see ourselves in everything.” and that “We make the world over in our own image.” (McClound) This is apparent in the comic. The author wants us to be able to relate to the main character. This also inspires more pathos through the comic. Since we can see ourselves in V, we can relate to his allegory of V embodying an idea. We can see ourselves in the face of V, the audience can take more from the argument and it can have more meaning. However, there are also other types of pathos that can be found throughout the comic.

Another type of pathos that is established is that of hope. Because V says that an idea cannot be killed or destroyed by bullets, this makes you the audience hopeful for the ideas that you have yourself. It relates back to the main argument about how ideas are mysterious, complex, and hard to kill through conventional means. It gives you hope that even if some people try and stomp out your idea, that your ideas are too powerful for one person to try and destroy. Your ideas can live on, and be there to inspire others to initiate them and carry them through.

We don’t even have to look very far back in history to see how this comic can relate. Many different wars and conflicts where caused by ideas, and a lot of times these ideas were never killed a carried on till this day. One that is apparent to me and, is still being practiced today is the idea of communism. When this comic was made communism was in full swing in Russia, and many people did not like the idea. The United States was in the cold war, and the threat of doomsday was ever eminent. During the 90’s when the Russian communist party formally disbanded, the idea did not die here. The idea of communism was not destroyed and is still practiced in countries today such as Cuba, and North Korea. (Wikipedia)

In the end I think it is clear that the statement of purpose is achieved. This argument of an idea being complex and bulletproof should be taken into consideration when one is coming up with ideas. The fact that we can come up with ideas that we don’t necessarily understand at first, but can fester into something great is our right as a human. One should not be scared about an idea no matter what the circumstances. You need to stand up and take a chance on your idea. People may be against and you may even be punished, but just know that how hard they might try, your idea will not be killed. If you look at examples through many different revolutions over the course of time, you can see that a lot of those ideas have been used and carried on today. Your idea will carry on, and hopefully one day achieved.