The Depiction of Trauma in Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta and Watchmen

Abstract

This thesis will explore the depiction of trauma in Alan Moore’s graphic novels V for Vendetta and Watchmen . It aims to examine how something as unrepresentable as trauma can be portrayed using a balance of art and words in these two narratives. Writer Alan Moore and illustrators David Lloyd and Dave Gibbons have created alternative worlds with recognizable history and realistic characters who endure traumatic experiences that are presented using iconic language. I hope that my readers will gain a greater appreciation for this type of literature after understanding the potential it has in telling stories of importance and sensitivity surrounding trauma. It offers an alternative way of reading that challenges ordinary ways of thinking and tests our interpretation skills. Alan Moore offers a different way of perceiving history and considering not only our past but our future.