V for vendetta

Brainwashed or Truly Embraced? V for Vendetta By Alan Moore and David Lloyd “ 16. Was Evey brainwashed by V or did she truly embrace V’s ideals” A teenage girl saved by V while she became involved with a gang of London’s secrete police while looking for a way to escape her social, economical and emotional needs. That’s how Alan Moore and David Lloyd introduce Evey Hammond, a fictional character and one of the protagonists of the comic book series V for Vendetta. Growing up on Shooters Hill in southeast London, she lost both her parents, and was struck bypoverty.

Trying to escape poverty she became a prostitute at only 16 years old. When she approached her first potential customer, which happens to be a Fingerman, a member of Norsefire’s secret police the man tried to rape her, but she was saved by a mysterious man in a Guy Fawkes mask and black cloak, which calls himself V. Being a naive young women, Evey falls for this V character and from that day on shows what could be questioned as a brainwashed by V, or a loyal follower of his unique ideals.

If we divide the book into three different sections, we can see how Evy Hammond changes her point of view towards V ideals throughout the comic book. At the beginning we can see how she wasn’t totally convinced by his ideals, way of manipulating and spreading his thoughts but was still loyal to him even though she stayed at his house for convenience and protection rather than forloyalty. Since V appeared and saved her from those Fingerman, Evey showed an expression of gratefulness and relief him.

In page 11, panel 3, 8-9, we see how sad, nervous and lost she felt in the presence of the secrete police thanks to the sexual tension between them. After V appears in page 12, panel 6 we see how Evey expression changes, showing relief and emotional stability compared to her previous face expressions and gestures. Even though she realizes what she is leaving behind, she doesn’t think its valuable enough to turn down V? s proposal about going to live with him even though she knows she might be getting involved with a potential terrorist. When she arrives to V? s ? house? he had an idea of what kind of person V was and still didn’t fear or ran away as a regular 16 year old girl would have done. In page 18, panel 2–5 we can perceive she was in her comfort zone regardless of the situation she was passing through. The act of staying not only shows us the instantaneous loyalty and gratefulness she feels towards V, but the desperation in which Evey was before being saved by him. As time starts passing, Alan Moore and David Lloyd, starts to modify Evey Hamond character, revealing a doubtful, confused side, which the readers did not know of.

Thispersonalitytrait is reflected when she doubts about V’s person under the masked, having the bravery to ask him if he might be her father. Through the second thirds of the book we see how Evey loyalty start to increase each time regardless of the physical or psychological distance that is between these two characters. When she is kicked out of The Shadow Gallery, she is left in the streets with nothing but V’s memory, because who thought they were going to see each other in a not so far away future?

She goes to a friend’s house who gives her a place to sleep, food, and comfort, which is more likely what a teenage girl needs. Around this time was that we started to notice the strong connection there was between these two characters. Even after he had the nerve to kick her out she was still loyal to V, this is the point where we start to believe it’s a true loyalty instead than a game of manipulation and brainwashing as V’s common games. In page 124, panel 7-9 we see how even in a daily basis, she keeps thinking of him even though she tries to hide or forget it.

When V captures Evy, someone who supposedly he loves, he tortures her physically and psychologically, until her breaking point. When asked to testify against V, her loyalty was so pure and profound, that she preferred to die for him that to say the reality of where he was hiding. Distracted and brainwashed by the emotional weight of Valerie’s story (pg 154, panel 6), we question again if her loyalty is pure or if it might be one of V tricks. If her loyalty was all a mind game, V was managing to do a great job do to the fact that not everyone would risk his/her life to say no words about the location of a terrorist.

V keeps Evy locked up until she is tortured and manipulated to the extreme where she finally sees justice through V? s point of view. When she does, she is finally allowed back to the Shadow Gallery. Using such extremes to convince Evy of his perspective makes the reader question, once and for all if she is brainwashed or truly follows his ideals. Reaching the conclusion of truly embracing his ideals thanks to her strong determination about dying instead than revealing about her sentimental partner.

When she is finally free from the cell, she embraces V ideals completely, to the extent that she even plans to execute his cruel plan, and torespecthis death wishes about leaving his mask on regardless of his state. The moment one is completely sure about this loyalty is in my own favorite panel, located in page 251panel 8, a panel full of symbols that convey a unique message to each reader. Mimicking V? s smile, this final panel, close to the end demonstrate that even though Evy Hamond might not have believed in V? ideals at the beginning of the book, she grew to adopt them as if they were of her own. She got so involved in her new life living with the guy in the Guy Fawkes mask that she forgot her complete identity thanks to his manipulation, torture and charm. Giving V the tranquility of dying knowing that the idea survived his death rather than dying with him. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Potential terrorist, considering the fact he just blew up the House of Parliament in her presence.