Essay Questions

There are some brief mentions of LGBTQ+ people in Watchmen, with Silhouette's murder and Kitty Genovese both featuring. What statement does Watchmen make about LGBTQ+ rights?

Watchmen points out the societal homophobia that was so prevalent in the 1980's by highlighting two murders of out lesbians. Silhouette is famously outcast from the group after she falls in love with a woman and is murdered along with her lover days later. Similarly, Kitty Genovese was a lesbian murdered outside of her home while onlookers ignored her, and her case subsequently became a psychological example of the bystander effect. By painting these events as tragedies, Moore comments on the mishandling of LGBTQ+ issues in the 1980s.

Rorschach's mask is always shifting and changing. Analyze the changing mask in relation to Rorschach's mental state and morality.

Moore masks Rorschach in an ever-changing hood to show his black-and-white sense of morality. The icon of the mask is simultaneously eerie and familiar, allowing the reader to identify with Rorschach almost immediately. The simplicity of the icon gives the reader room to project their own identity onto Rorschach and experience his morality, aligning it with their own. Rorschach's mask changes as his mind becomes more and more deranged, and he commits more and more violent acts. In these moments of conflict, the icon of the mask itself becomes a measure for morality in which the shifting blots reflect the situation. Its black-and-white markings represent his sense of morality, painting him as a hero in a society that refuses to accept morals.

The rape of Sally Jupiter features prominently within the book, along with the murder of Silhouette and similar atrocities against women. Is Watchmen a feminist book? Explain.

Several arguments can be made for and against Watchmen being a feminist text.

Sally Jupiter's relationship with her rapist could be viewed as rather dated in terms of feminism. The idea that a woman would go back to a man that attacked her is hard to believe and belittles Sally's trauma. Silhouette's murder can also be viewed as an anti-feminist, since the murder of LGBTQ+ women is a common trope used to propel male characters in their stories.

However, Watchmen does feature strong female heroes in the forms of Laurie and Sally Jupiter, both of whom have a sense of agency on their own and are well-developed. Laurie is a hero in her own right and fights to exist outside her relationships and her superheroic legacy, painting her as a strong feminist character.