First off, hooray that the Blog is finally working again! Second, get ready to share your view on V's address to the nation in Book II Ch IV, "A Vocational Viewpoint." In this chapter, V broadcasts a message speaking to the people as if they are his "employees" and have been doing a terrible "job" governing themselves, encouraging them to rebel, and even threatening them if they don't. Your goal is simple: write a paragraph, or a serious of bullets/questions, expressing your reaction to the speech. Is V too critical of the people? Is he right to encourage rebellion? Or is he not considering the Thomas Hobbes argument that this can lead to chaos? Be sure to cite at least TWO images that V shows in the speech - the dictators, the historical scenes, the monkeys, the Buddha, etc. Try to bring together the thoughts you've been having throughout our discussions into a smart post! If you want, you can see a video of someone reading the words aloud with the pictures in the background here. You can also watch the movie's version of the speech, which is quite similar in content but VERY different in tone - if you discuss this version in your post, be sure to contrast it with the harsher, more sarcastic original..
31 Comments
Brad Chavero
12/6/2015 06:30:59 pm
-V is right on most of his points but I feel that he is exaggerating quite a lot on the scale of the situation. It is true that the circumstances now are very anti-democratic, but it has not always been this way.
Reply
Biggs
12/7/2015 04:04:29 pm
Brad, I think V is speaking to the Londoners as representatives of the overall human race - so yes, he is addressing a larger audience, in a sense, even though only people in London will hear (and it's not clear if there is much left of society elsewhere in the world). He does seem hypocritical for assuming the position of a demanding "boss" whole condemning the gov't for the same authoritarian posturing, but I wonder if his point is that the people are still UNFIT for freedom, UNABLE to handle anything but commands at the moment. Is he trying to push them to evolve through suffering (as he will later do to evey)?
Reply
Brad Chavero
12/8/2015 06:50:43 pm
I agree he might be pushing the people through suffering, but how is this supposed to break the loop of commands as he says in his speech that humans have "deliberately" made this same mistake over and over. V has great ideas and methods, but I do believe even he's not a perfect pure hero as he tries to make out to be.
Rachel Kline
12/6/2015 06:33:20 pm
V is very harsh on the citizens. He is pointing out all these things they do wrong, while in the meantime, they have been living under strict circumstances for a long time. The citizens are very clueless on what they are supposed to be doing as a community because for the longest time they havent been able to do anything or make any decisions on their own. I think by using the monkeys as a picture in the background, he is trying to represent chaos and an uncontrolled environment. That is what he is trying to tell the citizens to do in his speech, but i think that is a terrible idea. The government is strong enough that if people were to rebel, they could stop them. The government might even make rules and regulations more strict if something like that did happen. I think he also uses the picture of the astronauts to represent the power and strength that the people have. He wants them to understand that they have the strength to overthrow the government.
Reply
Biggs
12/7/2015 04:07:45 pm
The monkey could definitely be a reminder that chaos lurks behind civilization - we evolved from monkeys and could de-volve back to that state if we don't "grow up" and evolve within our current societies. Or does V want us to embrace that inner chaos to transform the world, which, as you say, could be a disaster with the citizens being slaughtered en masse by the State? The question comes down to whether that strength you mention, the human strength that got us to space, is enough to also overthrow tyranny.
Reply
Willow Martin
12/6/2015 07:27:32 pm
V, in “A Vocational Viewpoint,” criticizes the history and present state of humanity. In his speech, he refers to the people as workers in “the company” of mankind. This metaphor gives the reader an important view into V’s ideology: while he does believe in anarchy, in humans taking control of their own lives, he does also believe in a sort of kinship of humanity, in which we all strive to function in conjunction and progress as a species. That is why he acknowledges the “contributions… made to the company,” illustrated by the background image of an astronaut on the moon (144 Moore). V celebrates humanity’s endeavors to explore and progress. However, he believes these accomplishments have been too few and far between, for we as a people have unjustly excused ourselves from progress by blaming authority. We have cased to strive forwards, and have relaxed our efforts to progress. We, according to V, have allowed horrific leaders to take power. We then used their totalitarian rule, “bad management,” as an excuse for our lack of evolution (116 Moore). Time and time again, we have elected poor leaders, and in this condemning ourselves to commit the evils they later will demand us to. And after oppressive societies are established, we passively function under them, passing by all opportunities to rebel or follow our own paths. V discusses how we have been given multiple chances to become our own rulers in the panel in the bottom left corner of page 114, drawn with a Buddha statue in the background. The Buddha alludes to the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is comprised of 8 steps (right view, right intention, right action, right speech, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration), which help to eliminate delusions in one’s life, to clearly see reality. However, the people have willingly kept their blinders on. They do not want to see reality clearly, for then they must take responsibility for themselves and rebel against the corrupt society. Humans, to be blunt, have become lazy. They would rather play as pawns then take control over their own lives. They enjoy the crutch that authority provides them with. Such negligence can be viewed in current society, evidenced especially by humanity’s response, or lack thereof, to climate change. The evidence of climate change is irrefutable (http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/). We have the knowledge. We are aware, just like how the British people in V’s society were aware of their own oppression. However, because there have been no laws passed forcing us to do so, multitudinous humans still drive gasoline powered cars, waste paper, leave their lights on unnecessarily. So many of us can’t even bear to make the little changes necessary to save our planet. As individuals, many of us refuse to take the steps necessary for progress. And if society was purely comprised of these people, I would say V is not at all being too harsh in his address.
Reply
Biggs
12/7/2015 04:28:12 pm
Great connection to Buddhism and the eightfold path! You'll notice Evey has an orange gown similar to Buddha's (and a shaved head, too) at a critical moment that serves as her own "Enlightenment"....
Reply
Hannah Daitz
12/7/2015 12:42:58 pm
V is very critical of the actions of the citizens. He demands change since he exaggerates and says it has been 10,000 years since change has occurred. At this point you can see the imagine in the back ground of a monkey, suggesting things have been the same since before humans, when we were all just apes. V goes on to say that they workers are too “go with the flow” and show a lack of independence. The workers don’t try to spark change and ignore issues that bother them. V speaks specifically about Mr. Almond when he talks about a man beating the one who he is supposed to love most. Lastly, V blames the citizens for this government since they have allowed the corrupt government into power. Here we see pictures of villains, specifically one who resembles Hitler. Overall I agree that the citizens are to blame for the society, but I do empathize with them since most of them were born into the society and do not know better.
Reply
Ford Zacks
12/7/2015 03:41:24 pm
First of all, I would like to point out that I agree with V. He criticizes the people for aimlessly following along without questioning anything or acting to change something. He uses a picture of a monkey to illustrate his point of mindlessness. At least for this specific society, he is speaking the truth. The people are not thinking for themselves. I do not think V is being too critical of the people. If V did anything wrong, it was that he did not directly tell the people what he was saying. They should be able to realize that the government they are living under has too much control. Even while they exist within this obviously overpowered system, the people continue about their days barely even questioning what is happening around them. After V accuses the people of not acting against this horrid system, he tells them that they are encouraging it. While he does this, there is a picture of Nazi soldiers in the background promoting the Nazi party, one of the most evil groups that has ever existed. The Nazis gained all of their power through support of the people. This point is where V’s argument could be considered harsh. However, I think what V says is very logical. Most people would think that if you don’t favor or dislike something, you should be considered neutral on the matter. In this case, if you do not actively oppose the government then you are still helping them. You are still a person that they have control over. This makes V’s statement true. All of the people who are not acting against the malicious system may as well be fighting for it. This is why a rebellion is required for anything to be done.
Reply
Melissa Velazquez
12/7/2015 04:15:07 pm
In V's speech, he expresses his message as if the people are his helpers in a way. He addresses the cameras as being their "only protector". Meaning, being surveillance makes the people feel safe. The government has the power to change their everyday lives. V is telling them in advance and use the image of the monkeys to visualize that without the government and just living under your control could lead to chaos. just like monkeys, we see something and need it to fit into society and then go into a complete riot. He uses the term love and it certainly catches the attention of the people stating that we wouldn't hurt our loved ones. In the movie version, there are young kids watching and look engaged. i believe this shows how they grow up to a society just like we all do and grow to believe that this is right. V is encouraging the audience to rebel against the government. But V is basically being the one in control making them be under his control in a way. I believe this triggers the government to make even more rules.
Reply
Luke Devine
12/7/2015 04:19:01 pm
I believe that V is very justified in his speech towards the citizens. He talks to the citizens as if in a job review, as it is their job to rule themselves. He then speaks about monkeys, as humans originated from monkeys. V is saying that humans should live a society like that of monkeys, where they rule themselves. V starts talking about human achievements, specifically about the moon landing. He says that humans achieve great things, but too many problems have occurred alongside them. If the people rule themselves, there will be significantly less problems. V's speech is definitely justified, as human life would be greatly improved without oppressive governments controlling the people.
Reply
Olivia Jordan
12/7/2015 05:24:42 pm
V's speech was a wake-up call for the citizens as well as the government. He sounds as though he is directing towards an individual through his constructive criticism and condescending "boss-like" wording and tone. On page 114 V is pictured with a buddha and the actual meaning of the word buddha is "awakened". Going along with the meaning V is awakening the true corruption in the government. On page 116, V is also pictured with a child which symbolizes the "innocence" and the citizen's lack of knowledge of whats going on with their authority. Knowledge equals power and without knowledge the citizens are left powerless to the fascist society. I believe that in order for the citizens to be free, V has to be their savior. A similar situation to this is in the short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," by Flannery O'Connor. The Misfit must save the female race against male domination through death. V's methods as well as the Misfits are not morally correct from my viewpoint, but is living in a society of such control any better than violence or even death? In a government such as this one, the only way to truly make any sort of chance is through an even bigger opposing force and I think that just might be V.
Reply
Kay Franzese
12/7/2015 05:38:13 pm
V's speech is very demanding of the people and it did come off very harsh. He is demanding a lot from the people and maybe he was demanding too much too fast because ,like Evey, many of the people might be scared of the actual meaning of freedom. He did criticize the people very harshly, but I believe his intentions were very good and for the better. No one would listen or follow someone who lead peaceful protests against the government, because they knew they would all get killed. I view V's speech as tough love. He knows what has to be done and he will go far lengths to get the people to do what is best for them. He knows people have potential to rise above this terrible society because in his speech he showed a picture of monkeys and one of people walking on the moon. These pictures are saying that if you can evolve from a primate into an intelligent human being and travel beyond our own planet, then we could overthrow a dictator and his government. V showed the pictures of the dictators to question the people and ask them to think about who the men were and what they did to the world. He is asking them if their leader is the kind of person they want to be following because like all the other dictators in the background, their leader is ruling them through fear.
Reply
Trey Soya
12/7/2015 05:56:36 pm
-V starts saying that he's upset with the rebellion against the government and how no one is standing up against it.
Reply
Sydney Gannon
12/7/2015 06:39:54 pm
-I do not believe V is being too critical of the people because they only do what the government tells them to. The people can be seen as children and the government could be seen as the adults. I can see that during V's speech when he mentions the children being unaware of things as the people who are clueless to what is actually going on.
Reply
Erin Ostrowski
12/7/2015 07:04:04 pm
In my opinion, V was not being too harsh on the people in his speech because all of his points were valid and the people already subconsciously knew those things but wouldn’t admit it to themselves. They have been sitting quietly while their government is becoming way too powerful and oppressive. V openly tells them how it is mostly their fault that their society has turned out the way it has. For example, on pg. 116, there are pictures of infamous dictators who did a terrible job at ruling their countries. Rulers like Hitler and Mussolini were elected by the people who only have themselves to blame for allowing other influences to cloud their judgement of who should be in charge of their government. V explains how they blame the “bad management” or the leaders, but they are only in charge because everyone voted for them to be there. There have been many opportunities for the people of London to make a difference and rebel for a change, but instead they again and again stayed silent and refused. To continue, on pg. 113, there is a picture of a monkey behind V symbolizing that going as far back in time as before the evolution of humans from apes, we still submitted to a leader and followed them with no questions asked. I believe that V was acting as a third party mediating two extremes because the government became corrupt and oppressive and the people of London are submitting to it anyway. V was the little voice inside the minds of the people telling them to wake up and do something about the terrible society they live in. This encouragement of rebellion is a good thing because the British government is way too controlling of its people and strips them of many of their natural rights in the novel so a rebellion can only make things better for everyone as a whole.
Reply
Shelley Banfield
12/7/2015 07:42:00 pm
I agree with V's message to the citizens comparing the corrupt government to a business. V points out their willingness to comply with any sort of order placed upon them.
Reply
Bridget Kelly
12/7/2015 07:45:35 pm
I don't think V was being too critical of the citizens, but I don't entirely agree with some of his points. He was correct when he said that it's their fault that the government has so much power and they could have done something to stop it from happening. The wrong side I see of this is that citizens can't fight against governments orders in a society. Citizens may be completely aware of how wrong society is, but they know how dangerous it is to speak against it all. But maybe with the broadcast V made, they will suddenly see that maybe they can rebel against what they think is wrong. Government always scared them from doing anything like that, but knowing that someone like V is there to support them, they may feel powerful enough to take action.
Reply
Olivia Smelas
12/7/2015 08:32:39 pm
-Though V speaks harshly, and maybe exaggerates a little here and there, he is spot on with most of the points he makes. I don't think he's being too harsh on the people... More often than not, harshness is the driving force behind anything that needs to happen or the cause of something that has been done.
Reply
Kelly Farley
12/7/2015 08:56:16 pm
-I agree with V, I think that their government is extremely corrupt and there needs to be change.
Reply
Ash Riegler
12/8/2015 03:04:48 am
I would agree on the main point of V's speech, or at least the point I believe he is trying to get across. Something does need to change with the way all these people are acting- the way things are. But then again, V is always a bit dramatic and it seems as though all of this will unwind in some disasterous way. The best course of action, then again, would probably not be unorganized chaos but it seems to be what he is implying in some way. The picture of Buddha, pg. 114, that shows up behind V could hint at the purpose behind his speak. Buddha actually means 'awake' and it can mean in this case that V is trying to get the people to wake up and see the injustice right in front of their noses. The people have done nothing but sit back and let the bad things happen. And then on page 116, V flashes an image of rulers from the past who all were terrible 'managers' in this case. He is trying to get the people to take a moment and see what is happening around them. 'Awaken' them to what is really going on. He essentially wants them to do something about it. To fight back against these rulers and authorities. But I'm not sure the way he went about doing it will result in good things. True, something like this could end well, but what are the chances? V had good intentions (maybe) and was right to give the civilians a wake up call- but acting as if he was some God, might not have been the best way. But then again, since religion seems to still have a hold on these people, perhaps the fear of an angry God will push them over the edge. An uprising is to occur, that is for sure. But who will it be against? V? Or the authorities?
Reply
Matthew Vanderveer
12/8/2015 05:24:10 pm
I completely agree with V, the people should fight back. The lowest class always greatly out numbers the highest class, which would make it incredibly easy to overthrow the government. The people just need someone like V to give them the opportunity to fight back. They need time to organize their rebellion but if they can organize it they would undoubtedly be successful. This is why V is speaking directly to them and telling them that he is disappointed in them, he knows that they can easily defeat the government but up until V there has been nobody willing to start the rebellion. Now that he has set things into motion there will be many people to follow his lead.
Reply
Suubi Mondesir
12/8/2015 06:25:43 pm
My overall reaction to V's speech is, its necessary and proper. He had to eventually reach the people of London because there is strength and force in numbers and V knows this. He may be strong and almost superhuman, but he still needs army like-support behind him to get to the finish line. In order to accomplish this he had to address the people of London in a strict yet understanding manner. First he had to appeal to the people by putting himself in their shoes. He did this by recognizing how fear translated to their subconscious obedience to authority. Then he commended their achievements in reaching the moon. However he had to use a stern and forceful tone to shake up his listeners, almost as if he was waking them up and forcing their eyes to look at the harsh reality they allowed to come to fruition. For example the dictators, signifying the peoples down fall and why he disapproved of their current state. I don't think V was too critical of the people, but rather telling the whole truth which could come across as critical. V also believed the only way to erase years of brain washing was to use rebellion and violence. He had to do what was necessary and proper to break through the tough skin the government plastered on the people of London. For these reasons I agree with V's speech and how he choose to execute it.
Reply
Tyhler Harty
12/8/2015 08:46:29 pm
When V gives his speech to London he is very harsh on the people. He tells them that they are the ones that have chosen the path of being ruled by a an evil computer loving dictator by electing him and his party. From electing this man the people let him take away every person born rights(life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) and the people are put under an oppressive fascist government that only wants people who only white straight people. He compares the people of London to people of the past who elected dictator like Benito Mussolini , Hitler, and Stalin. The reason why these men were elect was because they provided a scapegoat so the people can be angry at, for example Norsefire(the government) kills off all peoples who are not white, straight, and do not hate the new party. Now V has the right to incite the people to revolt since the government is oppressing the people and not letting people live the way they want to live. V shows many historical scenes in his broadcast and says the people have strayed away from the path of success and have began to regress, but they can still get back on the path of success. What this means is that V believes in the populace and knows that they themselves can lead themselves from this dark time.
Reply
Meghan Pawlam
12/9/2015 04:29:57 am
Over all I feel as though V did a good job in getting the audiences attention, willingly or not, and giving them a good slapp of reality. While he have been harsh at times with his choice of words such as that of sucking dinosaur eggs. One thing that really stuck out was when the picture of Buddah indicating that they have the potential of working towards peace and inner harmony. The one panel where there 4 men's faces (Hitler, Stalin, etc) one of them was President Nixon showing how well the government can cover up its mistakes or true intentions. V gave the speech quite nicely and inspiring the citizens to revolt over something that they can control despite them being constantly told that they can't.
Reply
Courtney Fenty
12/10/2015 01:51:43 pm
I think V was right for saying what he said in his speech. V called the people out for not having their own minds and for going along with this dictatorship-like government. V showed the people pictures of men landing on the moon to show them some of the good aconplishments they had like having people land on the moon. V also showed them pictures of the holocaust which showed them some of the terrible things that they just went along with. Authority scares the citizens on London and they don't want to get killed or thrown into jail just for being different. Just like in the real world a child is scared of what their parents will do say, if they get a bad grade on a test. They don't want to be grounded so before the test they study and try to do the best they can even if the subject is irrelevant to real life or is not interesting. In the work force some people are "forced" to fire others just because the boss told them to, and they don't want to lose their job either. V wants the people of England to become their own leaders and not to be scared to stand up for their morals and what they believe to be right, and to also embrace their individuality.
Reply
Jackie Izzo
12/13/2015 10:42:27 am
In v’s speech he is stating how the citizens under the very powerful society are falling into their trap. He is concerned that is they continue to follow the path of the all powerful state, they will become brainwashed slaves, that adhere to only one leader. V feels that the state the people live in are similar to a monarchy. In his speech he speaks to the people of London as though they are workers in a company. He explains that they have done a numerous amount of achievements independently like the creation of the wheel. Those accomplishments do not matter to V because of the way their behavior is today. I feel V’s criticism of their lifestyle is very necessary because they are only relying on their terrible government, and not even themselves. He needs to push the people to rebel and threaten to kill them only to help the citizens in the future. I feel V only wants good for the people. This will most definitely not lead to chaos because only fear can push these people towards insurgency.
Reply
Makenzie Lowrey
12/13/2015 05:31:51 pm
V's speech talked about how society was crumbling under the regime of the Leader. I thought the most interesting thing was the leaders he pointed out. Now, he pointed out Hitler and Mussolini... but he also pointed out one of OUR own leaders, Richard Nixon. To my knowledge, we haven't had any dictators, but Nixon was part of the Watergate scandal, which (according to Mr. Biggs) was the first big presidential scandal in our US history. I just thought it was interesting how V points out that even countries without dictators are created and run on lies.
Reply
Kathleen Patterson
12/14/2015 10:01:46 pm
-In the grand scheme of V`s actions, I believe that this speech is one of the least harsh things he has done. Even though some images paired with the words made for an extremely strong message, the people he is speaking to are so used to the stronger media that they might not have responded to anything lesser.
Reply
Some Person
4/10/2023 02:32:07 pm
On page 116, the fourth image of a dictator that's partially hidden by V's speech bubble is a semi-famous photograph of Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the New Party, later rebranded as the British Union of Fascists. He was elected to parliament on multiple occasions prior to that rebranding. At one point, the BUF had upwards of 50,000 members--about 0.1% of the total population of the UK--roughly one fascist for every thousand non-fascists. For reference, the modern Labour party has 431k members, and the modern Conservative party has 200k. Moore is pointing out that as much as the UK might like to pretend it was a bastion of freedom and democracy in this time period, in reality it boasted a larger population of fascists than most 'patriotic' Brits would ever admit. Sorry for the necropost and the pseudonym.
Reply
Some Person
4/10/2023 02:34:39 pm
I've just realized that this is a school's public blog, and not a public blog post. Sorry for the trouble; I'm procrastinating on my own schoolwork something fierce.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
AuthorMr. Justin Biggs Archives
August 2016
|