English
V for vendetta is a film and book series about social change. It depicts a futuristic view of the world in which free men find themselves getting more and more oppressed. The United Kingdom is under the control of the nosfire party which rules with an iron fist to say the least. This party is merciless and relentless in its campaign aimed at ethnic cleansing. This ethnic cleansing includes but is not limited to the elimination of groups that the party considers as undesirable. Such parties include homosexuals, Muslims and members of the opposition party. In these dark times a symbol of heroes emerges. The people are desperate for a hero and that is exactly what they get. Their hero takes the form of a mysterious man wearing a mask and exacting acts of revenge and extreme violence against the ruling party. This hero hopes that if the people see just how vulnerable the ruling party is they will take up arms and take their country back. The book rhetoric for radicals captures this ideology in the words”you need to find thatcommonality and use it as a bridge.” (Gandio, p.65).Evey Hammond is one of the main protagonists in both the film and the graphic novel of the same title. There are however certain differences between the Evey Hammond in the graphic novel and Evey Hammond in the film. The following essay takes a detailed and in depth look at the character of Evey Hammond both in the graphic novel and in the book. The essay also explores the psychology of Evey Hammond in her two portrayals that might have influenced her actions and made her act in a somewhat different way in the two instances.
The character of Evey Hammond in the graphic novel is almost completely different from the character of Evey Hammond in the film except for the name of course. In the graphic novel Evey Hammond is an orphan who turns to prostitution as the only available avenue to make ends meet. She ventures into the craft of prostitution at a very tender age, her teens to be exact. In the novel Evey has a sense of hopelessness attached to her. She is all alone in society and with no one to turn to. This is perhaps the reason why she turns to prostitution as her only way out of poverty. Evey Hammond in the film could not be any more different than the Evey Hammond just described in the graphic novel. In the film Evey Hammond is an established young woman. She is stable financially and happens to work at a national television station. Her demeanor is not that of a hopeless woman, in fact she has a lot going on in her life. She works long hours till late in the night which shows that she is a very busy woman and a very important employee at the television station where she works. In the film prostitution is a concept that has never crossed the mind of Evey Hammond. She is a diligent and hard working woman who works late even past the curfew hours set by the government in power. If someone told Evey Hammond in the film that she was a teen age prostitute in another lifetime I am sure she would have nothing short of a heart attack instantly. Evey Hammond in the film is completely unfamiliar with all matters relating to prostitution and its related arts.
The family background of Evey Hammond is also very different in the graphic novel and in the film. In the graphic novel Evey Hammond is a teenager all alone in the world. She has no one she can confide in or find a sense of solace in. She is orphaned. She does not have any siblings with whom she can relate or identify. She is the perfect example of a modern day orphan with no parents or family members she can stay with. She is all alone in the world to say the least. The family background of Evey Hammond is rather different in the film from the family background previously described. In the film Evey Hammond is not an island of solitude or an element of loneliness as she is in the graphic novel. In the film Evey Hammond has an actual family, she has a brother. Her brother is however killed as a result of a virus that swept across Europe and left millions of people dead and the continent in a hopeless state of disorder and utter chaos. In the film Evey Hammond has parents. These parents are political activists. They participate in riots and demonstrations against the government for all the crimes that the government has committed and simply walked away without being held accountable by the people. Evey’s parents are arrested by the government as a result of their ties to antigovernment forces. This alluded to rhetoric for radicals which stresses on “use of thought, provoking analogies and metaphors,” (Gandio, p.66) Her mother starves to death. This is as a result of a hunger strike protesting the brutality of the government. Evey’s father is shot dead by a contingent of British soldiers. This happens during an assault on the prison where he was being held. Evey has actual memory of her mother. The last thing she remembers about her mother is her head being covered by a black bag as she was being dragged away. In the novel Evey has absolutely no memory of her mother whatsoever.
In the graphic novel Evey Hammond is so caught up in the campaigns of V that she takes up his mantle after he dies. After the death of V Evey puts on the mask and becomes the new symbol of inspiration for the people of the United Kingdom. Her putting on the mask ignites a whole new series of antigovernment protests. She becomes the hero that the people of the United Kingdom desperately need. She is no longer just an associate of V or his side kick but she becomes V. When V died Evey could not take off his mask. Here exact words were “if I take away that mask something will go away forever,” says Evey (Moore, p.250). She is alluding to the symbolism attached to the mask. The mask has become a source of inspiration. In the film Evey Hammond does not take up the mantle of V after his death. She does not put on the mask to become the antigovernment crusader that the people look up to. She however grants V his dying wish. V had wished to be buried like a Viking. Evey honors this request and does just that. She puts his body on a train full of explosives and sends the train on its way thus honoring the requests of V. Though she firmly believes in the ideologies of V in the film she is not daring enough to put on his mask. She is not daring enough to go out and become the hero that the people need.
Evey Hammond is much better in the film than she is in the graphic novel. This is because in the film she is a morally upright lady. She also agrees with the ideologies of V from a more politically aware point of view. She is also more conscious in the film than she is in the graphic novel she has a higher sense of self identity and dignity. Evey talking to v said the following words,” I am nobody special like you,” says Evey alluding to her low self-dignity (Moore, p. 26). She does not think that she is a special member of society and thus has a low self-esteemEvey in the graphic novel seems to lack a sense of self dignity. She is a girl who has grown up on the streets and as a result she is a product of the streets. She embodies certain aspects that are negative and can be attributed to her upbringing. Such aspects include her consideration and eventual venturing into prostitution as a career. She ventures into prostitution at a very tender age which shows the extent to which her upbringing was influencing her mentality and her way of thinking. She does not think her life is worth much. This is clearly evident from the way she conducts herself. This is evidently a woman with low self-esteem. Her conduct and speech patterns clearly show that she does not value herself as much as the normal lady would and she does not find much pride in her life. This is very different from the Evey in the film who is the perfect embodiment of a modern day lady. From the way Evey conducts her in the film to her speech patterns it is clear that this is a lady who values herself as well as values her life. She is ladylike and has a very high sense of responsibility. She is very hard working and is not ignorant of the political situation in her country. She is able to identify with the mysterious masked rebel because she knows the crimes that her government has committedI’m
Works Cited
Moore, Alan. V for vendetta. New York: Vertigo/DC Comics, 2005. Print.
V for vendetta.Dir.Natalie Portman.Perf.hugo weaving. Warner Bros. Entertainment ;, 2006. DVD.
Gandio, Jason. Rhetoric for radicals a handbook for 21st century activists.Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers, 2008. Print.
Katope, Christopher G., and Paul G. Zolbrod.The rhetoric of revolution. New York: Macmillan, 2005. Print.
Nobody special, not like you.
