V For Vendetta Analysis

887 Words4 Pages
“Vi veri veniversum vivus vici”: A Character Analysis of V in Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta Using Sigmund Freud’s Theoretical Concept of the Id The personality is a very broad and intense topic that people either do not understand or do. Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern day psychology and psychoanalysis, describes a personality to consist of three components -the id, ego, and superego- that work together to create complex human behaviours. The id is completely unconscious and is the only component of personality that is present from birth. It is driven by the pleasure principle, which strives for the gratification of all desires, wants, and needs. Freud’s theories are considered to be very influential in today’s modern society as it can be use to analyze one’s behaviour. However, these theoretical concepts can also aid in character analysis of different forms of texts, such as Alan Moore’s graphic novel, V for Vendetta (1989). In this essay, I argue that in V for Vendetta, V’s actions are motivated more by the impulse of the id. This is proven when he murders Lewis Porthill, destroys the Houses of Parliament, and attempts to create anarchy. This theoretical concept is significant in analyzing the protagonist’s behaviour in V for Vendetta. Norsefire, a fascist group, has taken control of the government in England during the 1990s. This group did precisely what the Nazis did during World War II, send “undesirables” such as blacks and homosexuals to concentration camps where they are inevitably executed. Amongst these group of people was V, where he was subjected to horrific medical experiments. After escaping the concentration camp, he sought for vengeance. When confronting Lewis Prothero, a former commander of the Larkhill concentration camp, he sarcastically says, “Admirable concern, commander. Yet it’s deuced odd, isn’t it? How you can show so much concern

More about V For Vendetta Analysis

Open Document