Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rorschach

What did you think of Rorschach? I found him really likable, despite his being a total sociopath. Why do you think that is?
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4 comments:

Ben said...

Two things come immediately to mind: his vulnerability, and the fact that a couple of the characters remained loyal to him.

As the story went along, we saw more and more how vulnerable and human he was, despite how awful and crazy he was. And when I saw that those two characters stuck with him, it made me feel okay about liking him.

And the story starts with him. And it has his diary. There are all sorts of little things that make the reader connect with him.

4:29 PM, May 28, 2009
Erin said...

Yeah, I think his shitty childhood probably has something to do with it.

8:22 PM, May 28, 2009
kc said...

Yeah, those things played into it.

I liked him because he wasn't an egoist. He didn't want control of anything. He didn't want to be rich and powerful and lord it over everyone. His costume was humble and downplayed his physique, as opposed to glorifying it, which seemed to be the preference of most of the glitzier superheroes.

He didn't hurt people gratuitously — but only if they were in his way or doing something they shouldn't be doing. And he didn't seem to take any grand satisfaction in hurting anyone, even when they totally deserved it. He just took it in stride as a necessity.

I understood him to have a deep core of empathy, even if it was masked by cynicism and a scowling disdain.

The scene after the jailbreak where he confronted the landlady/mother who had lied about his sexual advances was interesting. The worst he did was call her a whore. I had the feeling that others surely would have killed her.

10:54 AM, May 29, 2009
Erin said...

Oh yeah, that was a good scene. He looks at the woman's children and decides to be merciful.

And yeah, I like the fact that he wasn't doing the superhero thing for personal glory, and in fact didn't want people to know his real identity. The glitzier heroes sort of make you gag with their tight outfits and magazine interviews and book deals.

2:50 PM, May 29, 2009

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