Clocks and Watches
Clocks and watches are recurring images in the novel, as time is a major theme. Humanity is teetering on the brink of extinction and the Doomsday Clock is the metronome that dictates the pace. The heroes are likewise, time-lost individuals--mere ghosts of their former glory. Many of them are well past their prime and some of them, like Rorschach, are stuck in the past, unable to move forward. Some of them, like Ozymandias, are hell-bent on dragging humanity to the future, even if he must kill most of them to do it.
Happy Faces/Smileys
Comedy and tragedy are but two faces of the same coin and both abound in Watchmen. The Comedian typifies this duality of themes better than anyone else and the smiley pin on his lapel is used both as a foreshadowing device and a cynical visual irony that the fate of mankind hinges on the machinations of a mad genius.
Mirrors and Shadows
A mirror allows the viewer to see their reflection revealing details previously unknown, and in a similar manner characters in the novel are revealed to have not just unknown details but hidden darkness within them. The Comedian tries to violate the Silk Spectre, thus revealing him to be capable of villainy despite being a self-proclaimed “hero.” Mirrors and shadows are the imagery that prompts the viewer to re-assess these heroes and question their real motivations.
Locks and Knots
In the novel, there are references to the “Gordian Knot Lock Company” and again the Gordian Knot is mentioned in Ozymandias’ monologue about his idol Alexander the Great. Knots and Locks are used as a metaphor to inform the readers that indeed, things--allegiances, plots, plans--are much, much more complicated, more convoluted than it would seem.
