Silhouettes in Watchmen

By Jordan Berka

Hiroshima Lovers

Hiroshima Lovers

Common graffiti in New York during the actual the Cold War in 1985

Commonly appears throughout the novel

Sprayed by Knot TopsNew York City gang

Similar to skin heads

Top Knot hairstyle

Anti-nuclear war

Many characters are put at unease due to this graffiti

Rorschach

Malcolm Long

Terror of Nuclear War

The heat and light from a nuclear bomb burns the skin and shadows of people affect onto nearby walls

Inevitable disaster and death

Foreshadowing the end of the comic

Common theme throughout entire novel

Unity

The imminent threat of a nuclear bomb causes characters to realize that the fear of nuclear war has caused them to become isolated.

Forces them to come together!

Coalescence

Love and Compassion

Rorschach's Past

Rorschach had a troubling past

Silhouettes remind him of the time he walked in on his mother having sex

Silhouettes are a source of tension in Rorschach’s life

Rorschach’s Mask

ConclusionSilhouettes are used commonly throughout the entire comic.

They are used to evoke certain emotions from characters such as Rorschach and Dr. Malcolm Long

Emotions of fear and anxiety.

They are used to show humanities attempt to come together during the final moments and find some consolation and comfort.

They are used to project the hopeful future through the loving relationship between Dreiberg and Laurie.

They are used to show the tension between past and future