Source: https://biggsrbr.weebly.com/2016-honors-blog/has-v-gone-too-far-or-is-freedom-just-terrifying
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 08:12:47+00:00

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At this point in the book V’s values about their society are feasible to understand. As I read the story and see the kind of government, V and Britain are living under, I understand why V feels like he's been in “prison” all of his life. Since Evey has been living under the government’s power all of her life, she doesn't know what freedom really is. I agree with V because living in the United States we have much more freedom than many other countries. For example in North Korea who is a communist country, their citizens don’t have much freedom. However they might not know that because, they have never experienced a society with freedom. Just like in V for Vendetta, Britain never knew what society would be like without the radio and constant watching from the government. When V blew up the Jordan Tower, chaos broke out because the citizens didn't know that to do with their freedom and without the security of their government. Although V’s ideas on society are extreme, he has to take drastic measures because he lives in a society where nobody knows what freedom actually is. I also believe that V’s argument of putting Evey in jail is feasible to understand. Although it was an extreme measure, Evey needed to experience it to open up her eyes. She was living her life “ behind bars” . All of her life she thought she had freedom but she didn’t. She didn’t know what freedom was until she chose her principles and beliefs over her life. It's hard to change someone's view of freedom and society overnight, V needed to take that measure to open up Evey eyes.
In Alan Moore's "V for Vendetta" the character V has made some controversial choices regarding his way of going about things. To prove that they are all in a prison and need to be freed he kidnaps his "friend" Evey and tortures her to the brink of insanity. He did this to allow her to escape the prison of her mind. We see here that V takes things to the extreme but the question that needs to be asked is if this extreme is acceptable. I do believe that in the extreme fascist society they live in these measures need to be taken in order to obtain the freedom they so desire. Sometimes people need to scared or hurt to learn the truth so you could see why this needed to be done. Evey might have been unhappy with V but she finally understands what it is like to be free and willing to die for something. Although Evey is unhappy with what V did it opened her eyes to show that she truly was in this prison her whole and this situation has allowed her o become free. Without taking these extreme measures she might never have experienced the feeling of being truly free.
I think that V has gone too far although he was apparently just trying to help Evey he put her through a lot of pain in the process. V put Evey through exactly what he was put through but he hated it so much and that's why he has so much hate in his veins now, so I don't know why he would do that to her when he knows what its like. So I think that V did go too far in trying to "help" Evey out.
If V has so much hate in his veins, why does he care about what society is like?
I agree that V has absolutely taken it too far with Evey. He had the same pain in his life which is why he has so much anger. This is unfair though because he is taking his anger out on Evey and causing her misery. What he thinks is helping evey out really is not and he took it way too far.
V knew that Evey would not be able to escape the feeling of needing someone to protect her or having guidance without being broken down to the point she was by V. She lost almost everything during her period of torture, except for her integrity. When she was broken down to the point of near insanity, she was asked whether she would like to die, or give up her integrity and live. Seeing as she had no reasons to hide what she wanted and the she had no one holding her back, she chose to keep her integrity. This is how V wants Evey to feel all the time, and not have anyone hold her back, so that she can experience true freedom. However the only way she could get to the point of experiencing freedom for the first time was breaking her down so much, so she could build herself back up on her own.This was the only way that Evey could be freed. Many times the quote "break them down to build them up" is used in real life. It shows that to change someone's ideals, you have to remove and integrate a new system, and the only way to remove the previous beliefs that they have been taught by others is by destroying that and anything else in their mind which would hold them back from experiencing a new belief.
I believe that V had good intentions when he tortured and kidnapped Evey, but I also think that he took it almost too seriously. V put Evey in a prison that was supposed to be the same type of prison he was in so she would learn not top fear anything. In dong this, he tortured Evey almst to the point where she went insane. Once Evey finds the letter from Valerie, she starts to believe that her integrity is being taken from her while she is in the prison while she is being tortured. She repeatedly refuses to tell the guards anything about V, and she is prepared to die to protect him. When V lets Evey out of the fake prison and she finds that V was the one that did everything to her, she hates V. But as the conversation goes on, V begins to in a way persuade Evey that he did this for her own good, and explains that he went through that exact thing that he put her through. While they are on the roof, Evey becomes a second V in a way because she overcomes her fears and begins to rebuild herself.
After V torturered Evey I started to think he was kind of a jerk. I understand what he is trying to do but I think his motives were too extreme. Evey did need to realize the truth and becom steady to face freedom but I don't think toruturjng her was the way to go. Maybe driving her to the brink of insanity is the only way to make her see the truth but I do agree with what Evey was saying too. She was happy with Gorden and he shouldn't have the right to say what she should do. Plus she had to become close with Gorden only because V threw her out onto the street. She was happy but also not happy at the same time. This brings up another question of whether fake happiness is okay or you can only have real happiness to live. I think V should have gone a less extreme route to make her see the prison she's in but in the end Evey will truly understand why V did what he did. V is trying to do all the right things but I think he's actually insane so he automatically has crazy plans. Overall I think V's motives are justified just a little too extreme.
Good point! V might have the best intentions, but dangerous methods for achieving them - especially if he's really insane.
While reading the book, and after reading the scene, I did not like V at all. I thought what he did was wrong and that he should not have done it. Later, I started to think about it again. I realized that what V did was for Evey’s benefit. She was born into a society where one person had the power to control everything and everyone. For example: the Voice of Fate was something that gave people hope and comfort, knowing that they are in good hands. These people did not know the reality of what was happening. They only knew what they were being told and relied on people with high powers to control their daily lives. This made them feel safe and happy. They never really received freedom, but did whatever they could to keep themselves happy. What V did to Evey made her realize that she’s been in a prison all of her life. She has been doing things to keep herself happy all her life, like staying with Gordon and falling in love with him. Evey never realized the reality of what she was doing. Gordon made Evey happy, and she loved him, but ignored the fact that he was working or had worked in the black market, and was dealing with some very bad, harmful people. The only way V could have released Evey from this prison was torturing her, showing her the reality of life, that not everything and everyone is perfect. He opened her eyes and her mind, creating a new Evey that is free from jail.
So it's like, the ends justify the means. It wasn't the best thing to do on its own, but in this context/for this purpose, it's the only way and therefore justified?
I believe that V is right. Evey is too caught up in her own little world and doesn't see what the real world has turned into. After the Nuclear War it seems that Britain and it's government have drastically changed and they are completely cutting off the people's freedoms. Essentially they are putting them in a prison like V said. They are locked away with no access of creativity or original thoughts. The government believes in no freedom, no individuality, and no luxuries. They believe in the country surviving not thriving, and in prison people are trying to survive. I think that V's ideas behind his actions are right, but he went way too overboard. He didn't have to torture Evey and pretend to stick her in a prison where she would die. But if he didn't do that maybe she would've never realized how bad things can get. She needed a reality check, but that might've been too much. Evey seemed very upset about what V did to her, and she has every right to be. The problem is that it seems like she didn't get out of it what V wanted her to. The only thing she got out of it is that she hates V. She doesn't realize that that's what the real world is, she is just extremely angry at V. Maybe when she cools off she will see what V was trying to do and thank him, but that could be in a couple days, a couple weeks, or a couple years. She may never see it, so V could've done something that would've showed her reality without scarring her for life and making her hate him.
V has made very controversial decisions throughout the novel of "V for Vendetta". One of his most controversial acts was putting Evey in a fake prison. V told her he tried and succeeded in freeing her from her own prison. I agree with V because sometimes you need to leave your comfort zone to get back to reality. Evey was too comfortable being controlled by someone she believes is wiser and strong. Evey wants protection from the world and V decides it is time to break that mindset. Evey has every right to be angry, but she now sees how the world is and that nothing is perfect.
Is there such a thing as going too far outside one's comfort zone? Like, so far outside that you lose yourself? Maybe that's not what happened to Evey, but if it was a possibility, does that make V's actions more questionable?
Maybe V forced Even to go so far outside her comfort zone that she found herself. She may have lost her innocence but V knows that that is what's necessary for her to fight against an oppressing rule.
Is it really V's choice to take Even out of her comfort zone? Even if she is living in a false reality, what gives V the right to snap her out of what she believes is her happiness?
I believe that in any other situation, and if V and Evey were living in a different world, I would see this as unfair and not right. Yet, considering the kind of corrupt world they live in, I feel that V did what was necessary to break Evey from the "prison" she's been living in her whole life. V had to break Evey, because it's almost as if she's been programmed to accept others telling her what to do, and she's been programmed to be unoriginal and that's why he had to break her. She was exposed to that government for too long to be shaken out of it's ideals with a simple lecture, V had to go to the extreme. I believe that V thinks that sometimes it takes being in a prison to realize that the life you're living mirrors a prison. It might come off as harsh, but this is what he went through, and the same things that Evey went through was what he had to go through prior to realizing the errors of the government. He was trying to enlighten Evey using the same principles that enlightened him because it's all he knew. I can't really fault him for thinking that way. V is damaged, and it was because of that damage that led him to seeing through the holes of this overpowering government. I also feel like in the end, Evey will be thankful for V opening her eyes to what was really going on. She won't hate him forever and I think V knew that going into this whole thing. Yes V's actions were harsh, but they were definitely necessary.
At this point in the book, V seems to be untrustworthy, cruel, yet enthusiastic about freedom. Because he tortured Evey it was all a test of trustworthiness, however it seemed to lack freedom. Although, this whole Mock jail was to have Evey realize an idea that is no longer present in their society; self independence. V states the symbolism of the bars that echo the lack of free speech and even self determination. Some of these ideas were lost causes throughout their society... Except this is all part of V's plan, he tortured Evey knowing she will understand that this inhumane action he put upon her will force her to believe in self-liberation; thus move on from the unjust British Government.
V went through a tough time in his earlier life. I believe he is just trying to get Evey to have the same point of view as him. It's hard to understand what being in prison and being tortured is like without actually experiencing it. V has a very unique view of the world, he wants someone that has the same view as him. The only way he knew to make someone end up like him is to give them the same experiences he had. It may have been tough for her but in the end it made her a stronger person. That was the reason V did it in the first place.
V had to shock Evey into understanding how cruel the government actually was. Freedom isn't free and Evey never really understood the value of the Freedom which V created around her. To quote Jim Morrison "Expose yourself to your deepest fear. After that... you are free." V simply did the exposing himself instead of waiting for Evey to work up the nerve. V did use extreme measures but I believe extreme measures are necessary to jar Evey out of the Totalitarian blanket she grew up in. V had to make sure Evey would uncover that spark of rebellion at the core of all humanity. She did, so V let her go. Evey proved herself to be rid of the brainwashing of the Norsefire indoctrination, and V had to know.
V is not in any way changed from the beginning of the story, he is simply doing what is necessary for him to carry out his plans. He's just trying to swing an actual convert to his side- someone who understands the true meaning of Freedom as well as he does. Someone who has been tortured and treated as subhuman, someone like him. Now that she has endured the awful of captivity, she is free to become a full-blown anarchist. V's got this down.
On one hand I feel, in general, torture is unjustifiable and wrong. V kidnapped Evey, starved her, shaved her head, tortured her and he did it for a justifiable reason. When V was put in one of the camps he went through the same thing, the lifestyle that shaped him into who he was in the movie. We need to ask ourselves certain questions when determining whether V went too far or not. Is Evey honestly transformed into a more authentic human being after her torture or is she merely brainwashed into believing she is? Was an inauthentic event able to allow her to find truth in herself? V claims that the lie he creates for her allows Evey to discover who she truly is. The perspective the film takes on is that Evey was honestly reborn as seen in her walk into the rain or her rebirth. However, others view her realization that her beliefs mean more to her than her physical body as a product of the physical and psychological manipulation she underwent, not the product of a genuine realization. I believe human beings can find truth in both authentic and inauthentic situations. If a human is placed into a scenario that is false, they still have the ability to pull truth from it, as long as the emotions they draw from the event are authentic. This is what IO feel Evey did. V told her that she was never free and that all he did was show her the bars. This basically means he showed her how the government really confined the people for what the did and who they were. Humans can use events in their lives as tools to discover more about themselves or their beliefs. The event does not have to be real in order to create authentic interpretation. Also in Evey’s case the event of her torture is trying to show her that there is more to her life than her physical being. Although the event itself is a lie, it is up to the individual to interpret the situation and draw lessons from it. In Evey’s case she learned her torture reflected the physical torment she lived through. However, it is possible for an individual to draw truth from lies as shown with Evey in the jail scene.
V did what was necessary for Evey to experience real freedom. She had been under a fascist regime all her life and has never experienced freedom in the way we know it. America gives the people many freedoms, where as this type of government has everyone watched everywhere they go, conversations recorded, and even a voice to guide them on how to act and how to live. Even though V had to take extreme measures for Evey to experience the breakthrough he had before, but it allowed her to uncover her inner anarchy and freedom. Evey proved herself to value her principles over life, which allowed V to release her, She was ready for freedom. She looked fear in the eye and did not shake. V gave her the tools needed to break out of the prison that was her life. Overall, I believe that this society caused V to do what he had to to Evey, just as it had been done to him. Now he has someone on his side that knows what freedom feels like and will help bring it upon everyone else.
I think what V put Evey through was harsh but necessary. She had to be snapped out of the trance society had put her in. V knew from experience how hard it would be. She would have to read Valerie’s letter and choose death over submission to the government before she could see how great a role restriction had been playing in her life. I think everyone understands V’s purpose of creating the fake prison and torturing Evey to this point of “insanity,” the only state where she truly allows herself to question everything she previously believed in. The real question lies less in why did he do it and more in whether or not he had the right to. Evey never craved freedom because she never knew freedom. But did V have the right to show her? Especially if he had to put her through such terrible things to face an even more terrible reality? After all, ignorance is bliss. Evey may not have been happy at the beginning of the novel, but she certainly was not as troubled as she is now, that’s for sure. So, were V’s actions justified? Let’s put ourselves in Evey’s shoes for a moment. You fall asleep. You are somewhere pleasant. No stress or problems or responsibilities whatsoever. As you may recall, in dreams we forget reality, but everything feels real. If someone told you you were living a lie in your dream what would you do? Me, I’d do everything in my power to prove them wrong. Or I wouldn't listen in the first place. Think about how scary it would be to have to question the only thing you know? How ridiculous would that seem? The world you have been living in your entire life, fake? The principles and values and belief system that make you up as a person, lies? You wouldn't want someone to rip you out of your reality. You wouldn't want to wake up. Right? No? No, that isn’t right, is it? You sitting here reading this knows that dream world is fake, that this is reality. Sleeping you doesn’t. Sleeping you has never seen the real world. But even if this real world is much worse than your dream world, wouldn't you still want someone to wake you up? Would you want your life to be based on a false reality? If you knew you were dreaming, would you want to stay asleep? And if someone found your sleeping body, a body that would continue to sleep for eternity unless awaken, and you could speak to them right now, what would you say? I would say “wake me up.” I would even beg. And if that person had to slap me in the face to wake me up, so be it.
This reminds me of the film The Matrix!
I think that V has gone too far. V had no right torture and pretend to imprison Evey. I understand how V thinks he is helping Evey, but that doesn't mean what he did was okay. When V says he didn't put Evey in prison, he just showed her the bars this shows he is wrong. In truth V did put Evey in prison he kidnapped her to do it as well. Also, this happened to V and he didn't like it so I am not sure why he thought Evey would be okay with it. Overall, I think V has gone too far. V is now controlling Evey's life like a "father figure" in a sense that he put her in this position.
I agree with Hailey. V actually created a scenario where he almost seemed like a dictator. He forced Evey into a torturous prison, exactly like the one he suffered in and made her stay in there for a whole month. I understand that V wanted to teach her a lesson, but he did more than just show Evey the bars, he acted like a dictator and made her suffer.
V's argument including putting her through so much pain and torture to a point where Evey had no more hope and the only thing she could count on was herself. It accomplished V's mission but in the way he did it was absolutely insane. Putting someone through that is selfish and I feel that there was another reason why V was so aggressive with this. He has been alone most of his life and now that he feels he can form Evey and mold her into any shape he wants, he took advantage of. He wanted to spread what he went through and feel like he wasn't alone in his thinking that people need top be their own bosses.
I feel this was counter productive because he wanted Evey to get rid of him as a father figure but at the same time grow as a person. Stockholm synmdrom is the feeling of attachment towards a captor. Evey has presented this at the end of book 2 because now that she has this knowledge she's mistaken codependent as companionship and with the knowledge shes' falling down the same hole, just a different location.
I think that V went too far in his attempt to make Evey think that she was in jail. Yes, I know he loves setting the scene and makeing everything more dramatized but this was a little over board. Treating her horrible and punishing her was just an effect that was down right not needed. I understand he thought that he was helping her and that he isn't totally there because of all the treatments that he went through, but that really isn't any real excuse.
While many of us will have different opinions on V's actions to force Evey to grow up, I believe that his explanation was fair. It is a blessing when you are completely independent and reliant on no one else, but yourself. V gave this gift to Evey. In the society they live in where everyone is expected to bow their head at the mere word of government this ability to be self-sufficient is rare. On top of the government's tyrannical nature, Evey dealt with the loss of her parents which encouraged her to search for father figures. In V's eyes these factors were what made Evey a child. He believed that she wouldn't mature soon enough and that the only way for her to become a woman was for her to have no fears, including death. V put Evey through some of the most traumatic events of her life so that she could cross the line between girl and woman. Without this crucial step in Evey's character development I don't believe she would've been able to withstand the fascist world she lives in or survive difficult circumstances in future events in the book. As much as I wish I could say I hate V, I am thankful for his bold choices that will benefit Evey in the long run.
Do you think this is how Evey feels, too?
I believe initially when Evey realized it was V who was the one that tortured her she hated him with every cell in her body. As time goes on she will realize that what V did was necessary and crucial. The experience gave her a certain wisdom and knowledge that nothing else could have gave her. She will be able to use this power to continue on successfully later in life whether she is with or without a companion.
V is very complex and hard to understand. He is all for freedom, yet he put Evey in a fake prison? He is controlling her, even though his intent is to set her free. Doesn't that correlate to most human relationships though? Think of siblings. The older one will try and dress up, control, and play with the younger sibling even though they may not want to. The older sibling doesn't really care, they just do it to have fun. That's similar to Britain's government. They place all these unnecessary rules and restrictions on the people to feel powerful, and essentially just for self benefit. That is basically what V is coin, however the essentialitty of his control is that Evey will be released from her child0like state of mind, which served as a prison. Now, she is independent and doesn't rely on anyone anymore. She svn put her values and beliefs in front of her own life, similar to V. That is the difference between V and the government; V is helping someone other than himself. Although the method of puttting Evey into a fake prison was traumatizing and abhorred, I understand his passion for freedom and freeing others trapped in a prison that is not yet set by heavy iron bars but malleable, soft bars waiting to be molded.
Putting evey in a prison was a very bold move on Vs part, but I beleive it was necessary. Evey has been through a lot in her life, and she's so used to being left. He knew although she says she wants freedom she didn't, she liked having someone to follow and rely on. It was going to take something extreme to teach her that she's the only person that can help her escape this fear that's holding her back. The isolation helps her realize she can survive on her own, and to never give in her beliefs for anyone else. It took a little for her to understand but once she was "reborn" she understood. Now nothing was holding her back. V is an intense guy, and I beleive he was right. You learn your lesson better from these big events in life.
Because a small talk doesn't really help you understand as well as experiencing.
I do think that V's argument was valid. It would also be very easy to believe in because of how far from freedom most people are, whether that's physically shown in the government they live in, or how they relatively define freedom. Freedom is scary. Making your own choices by yourself without any other influence is scary. Evey hadn't even experienced small freedoms in her life such as being a reckless teenager, picking her careers, or even just staying out past curfew. I disagree with the torturing that V pressed upon Evey, but freedom is painful and can the process can be manipulative upon gaining it. V perfectly showed that. Throughout history, when countries fought for their independence, it was never easy. People died, suffered, became bankrupt, and had to come across difficult decisions that would change their lives and morals forever. Evey did the same thing, and she won her independence.
It's interesting to put Evey's experience in comparison with some of the terrible things people have experienced throughout history. It certainly wasn't as extreme. Nonetheless, the question remains for us: without going through something like this, can WE ever be truly independent?
So is Evey just brainwashed by his manipulations when she thanks him for this experience? Has he just put her back into another kind of control instead of freeing her from all jails?
I believe that what V did was actually good for Evey. Her whole life, she's been trapped in the facist society. She has been stuck in it her whole life and unable to escape.V puts Evey into a prison and touters her. He does this to show how she is trapped in not only society, but also her mind. V's actions may seem harsh to many but he had good intensions. He in prisoned and tortered her to make her free from her mind and the uber facist society. After much time, Evey forgives V. He realizes in fact that she was trapped in her mind and she finally realizes she is free.
There's a condition called "Stockholm Syndrome" wherein a captive begins to identify with and even love their captor over time. Could Evey be a victim of this? Would it go to far to argue that V "gaslights" and psychologically controls Evey in these scenes? I ask just because a lot of times people see joining a cult as "freedom." It's arguable Evey falls into that kind of pattern when she accepts V's torture.
V, I think went a little too far by showing Evey his values. I understand his point in showing Evey what he went through, however I don’t understand why he would try to starve and torture someone he loved so much. Evey to his credit, did eventually learn that giving up her life for a cause instead of living with the guilt of abiding by society's rules was necessary. Although Evey did have a self-enlightenment, I think it was so cruel to torture her for a whole month. She could’ve died in the fake jail; it just seems terrible that V would be able to live knowing that Evey was suffering just as much as he had. Why would he want that for her? It just makes me think that V had more evil in him than I initially thought. At this point in the story, his values have reached an extreme. For instance, he set aside the time to record many different voices, so that Evey would be tricked into thinking the mannequins were real people. Also, he delivered terrible food to Evey every night, and made the rat move similar to how it moved in his jail cell. All to teach Evey that she needed to fend for herself and to fight for her beliefs, V’s plan just seemed over the top. Evey already lost her mother, her father, lost V for a short period of time, and then lost Gordon. Therefore, Evey already suffered enough. Why wouldn’t V see this?
I believe that V’s argument is valid. He believed that the only way Evey understand his philosophy and point of view, was to put her through what he went through in the prison camp. Although he made Evey feel imprisoned, he showed her how to stick up for what she believed in. After the imprisonment, V says that, “They offered you a choice between the death of your principles and the death of your body. You said you'd rather die.” Evey decided that she would rather die than give up what she believes in. V explained that happiness itself is a prison and his ways of anarchy are the only liberation. After her transformation, Evey realizes that it was for the better and decides to carry out V’s work. In a more stable society, V may have gone too far, but their society was in shambles. V realized that this was the time for revolution, and their fascist government was certainly not the best governing type. He needed Evey to see his perspective of anarchy. The only way to show her his perspective was to force her into his situation that gave him the epiphany.
I think V wet too far with torturing Evey and putting her into jail. He could have gotten her to understand what he thought by taking different actions. He did not have to make her suffer all that pain.V has somehow hypnotized Evey into thinking what he did was right because he says he loves her.He put so much work into making this fake jail which makes me think that he was very insane. More insane than the readers thought. I believe that V took all the wrong steps in trying to get Evey.
The graphic novel, V for Vendetta, brought up many controversial topics, such as how the government was being run, how V was dealing with his master plan and if it was the best route to take, and also the point of whether or not he was justified in torturing Evey for as long as he did. I completely believe V was trying to do the right thing and was heading down the right path, making sure he broke Evey to the point where she, herself, finally realized she was a free, independent person. V knew what he was doing, and it obviously worked, because as we saw at the end of the chapter, Evey had taken the same stance V had taken when he was finally free from his own prison. The values V has, and the values Evey has to deal with, are good morals to have for yourself, and for others surrounding you. V believes in freedom, so when he came across this hurt, young woman, he did what he (and I) believed to be right, and set her free.
When V traps Evey in the prison, she goes through a traumatic experience that changes the way she sees the world. By making her lose hope and almost all happiness, many agree that V oversteps his boundaries and humanity. Yes, V hurt Evey in the sense that she can no longer see the world in the same perspective, but at the same time that's what he had been trying to achieve throughout the whole novel. V may have traumatized her, but she put her trust in him and knew from the beginning he was willing to go to extremes to get her to see from his perspective. Ultimately, she justifies his actions by becoming the person he wanted her to become, and learned more about him and the cause they were fighting in a way not many others had. Of course, we all see this as a sign of abuse, but to Evey this was an awakening that pushed her to fight even harder.
“Freedom is terrifying.” In all senses, yes, freedom is terrifying. I think this argument is convincing because it’s so terribly true. There is so much structure in day to day life that when given the choice to do anything, most people will choose to stick to routine and not question their own life. Evey says “It's just how life is. It's what we've got to put up with,” which is genuinely what most people live by. Think of it this way- you graduate high school, the world is your oyster. You don’t have to go to college, you aren’t required to do anything. But you go to college, because it will be frowned upon if you don’t. You graduate college, you can pursue any field with or without a degree. You move back home. You tell your parents it’s just until you find a job, but you’re going to find a moderate-paying job in a field you don’t care about and spend your days wasting away in front of a computer, or a copier, or a television. But that’s how life is. Or how life is said to be. Most people are so afraid to break out of the routine of those before the and those who surround them that everyone ends up stuck in meaningless pit. That’s why all the picket fences are painted the same color. Old habits die hard, I guess. But to think of the terror of truly being free- of allowing yourself to do whatever you actually want to do, AND to do it for the greater good. Most people are too afraid to even ponder that what their life has become might not be what they wanted, or might not be enough for them. V and his values are right on target at this point in the story, I believe. He didn’t intend to hurt Evey, he just wanted her to understand that there is freedom within walls. Once taken out of them, I assume V expected Evey to flourish, which in the end, she does. I think the only way to allow Evey to truly understand independence and freedom was to put her behind bars. I don’t think V was wrong for doing so.
Can a person have good intentions and still be morally wrong? Like, for example, if the consequences of their actions go badly? Is that the case here?
I certainly believe that a person can have good intentions when doing something, and still be morally wrong about it. Humans are not omniscient, so we don't know what's going to happen, or what others will think, feel, or do in response to the actions of another. As such, it is possible for one to have good intentions in doing something, yet instead, harm someone in some way due to the consequences of that action.
V is showing that sometimes you need to go too far in order to achieve something. I think that V may have gone too far, but he definitely got his point across and got the intended effect. V's argument is scarily convincing. He shows that freedom of any degree is terrifying for humans. Thinking about it, I realized when Mr. Biggs gives us an essay to write with no prompt, I know it definitely scares me. What if my topic isn't good enough? What if he doesn't understand where I'm coming from? We go through our lives listening to what other people are saying and we follow the rules, but why are we so afraid to follow our own rules? Here V may have crossed a line, but it completely changed Evey. She realized that the world she was living in wasn't natural. She needed to break free from the metaphorical chains of authority, and fly away with freedom.
V's values seem to change throughout the story. At first he insists that Evey only does what she wants to, but then here he imprisons her and completely breaks her down. He changed because he realized he wasn't getting very far just letting Evey do what she wants. He needed to force her into doing what she wants. She was still continuing to follow other figures, and thats exactly what V was showing her she shouldn't do.
Here that brings into question, is V being just as bad as the Leader when he forces Evey to do this? Yes, but for different reasons. V makes it a point at the end of the story that he needed to be the bad guy in order for Evey to be the good guy and clean his messes. V did what he thought needed to be done not only to save Evey, but to save the country.
I think V went way too far. Although he definitely got his point across he could have done it in a much nicer way. In a way V treated Evey how he was treated in the camp. He knows how it shaped him so he put her through it so she can grow and become more adult like. But he definitely went too far in the process.
When I first read about V kidnapping Evey, I could not comprehend why he would torture her like he did. But as V explained himself to Evey, it made sense of what he did. Evey never realized the prison that her subconscious was in. The way that V presented this to her, seemed to be the only way he could tell her. Towards the end of this chapter, Evey finally realizes that she is free from all of her feelings of needing a father figure to live. V went through the same transformation in the Larkhill camp when there was an explosion. Therefore, he knew that Evey would be able to free herself from her burdens.
Although I would never do what V did, I believe he made a very appropriate argument regarding why he put Evey into a jail cell. I think that the best way that he showed Evey his argument was when he said "I didn't put you in a prison, I only showed you the bars." What V was trying to tell Evey is that she was already in a prison and all he did was show her that she was. His goal was to strengthen Evey so she would escape the prison. Instead of following someone else and their rules, V wanted Evey to become an independent person . He hoped her independence would spread and that it would stop the corrupt government. To answer Mr. Biggs's question I believe that some one can have good intentions, but can be morally wrong. Even though it was just that V brought an end to the terrible government, he could have solved it in different ways. For example, V used violence to solve the problem. What he should have done is taken a more peaceful route to solve the problem. A good example would be Henry Thoreau. What he did was stop paying taxes. He did this because he didn't want to support the government because he was against it. Instead of using violence, Thoreau was peaceful and only stopped paying his taxes.
The world Evey had lived in before was much more of a prison than any part of the ordeal V put her through. The brink of madness some see to her have been tortured to was not completely just madness -- just the contrast between childish, naive, unknowing Evey and who she became during her time imprisoned and afterward was such a drastic difference that her newfound freedom could appear as insanity. When Evey said "You're wrong! It's just life, that's all! It's just how life is. It's what we've got to put up with. It's all we've got. What gives you the right to decide it's not good enough?" she is still so caught up in the illusion of “real life” the twisted society created for its citizens. V’s argument is both true and convincing when he remarks to her that “You were already in a prison. You've been in a prison all your life. Happiness is a prison, Evey. Happiness is the most insidious prison of all….You’ve been in a prison so long, you no longer believe there's a world outside. That's because you're afraid, Evey. You're afraid because you can feel freedom closing in upon you.” Evey can’t (couldn’t) look past the old society’s flaws to see the destruction and damage it left in it’s wake, because she’s never known anything different. When she finally got a touch of freedom she became terrified because true, true freedom is nothing like she'd ever experienced before.
Evey should have known what she was getting into. She knew V killed people and liked to play mind games. so when V bought Evey into his life she should have known what she was getting into. V never forced Evey into his life, she wanted to feel needed. I think V putting Evey to the test showed her love and loyalty yo V. She was going to die, knowing all the people he killed and all the bad he's done. Honestly i could see why she never told on V. For starters, she really loved V, secondly she knew that in all V was trying to do the right thing, he was just doing it the wrong way, and lastly if Evey told on V, he would have to kill her. But when V took Evey outside in the rain she felt free. She didn't have to act like a little girl anymore. That time being alone and away from V made her independent. She couldn't run and hide anymore. I mean yes V went a little too far when he cut her hair, but he did it out of love and reading story three, you could see that V really loved Evey, not romantically but like a little sister. If V did not love Evey he would have either killed her, let the Finger men kill her, or he would have just disappeared and left her alone. When Evey gets angry about how he left her and how she felt alone, she failed to realize that she became independent. She didn't have to rely on anyone else to make her feel safe, she did that on her own. She was no longer a little girl, she became a young woman That's what V wanted her to realize in the first place.
I believe that what V did to Evey isn't a horrible thing, Evey grew up in a really strict place. She never knew the real meaning of freedom and lived life quite innocently and vulnerably. V showed her what life was really like and it might have been torturing and very terrifying but she learned from it. On the other hand that's how V became the way he was, so he thought that that's what she needed to realize to grow and to know the true meaning of freedom.
V has gone way too far with his beliefs and disbeliefs about freedom and the government. What he did to Evey was a terrible thing. Especially considering how Evey grew up. V needs to calm down and take a deep breathe and think about the affect that these kinds of things can have on people.This could scar Evey for life. If I were Evey i would probably never talk to V again and give his location to the government. I would definitely not be thinking about how this situation relates to freedom.
I believe that freedom IS terrifying and that V did what he had to in order to free Evey. She had to see the world for what it is through the same way V did in order to see it the way he intended. When we first come into this world we come in screaming scared of what is infant of us, we learn to breath on our own for the first time. This is in a way what V puts Evey through. When she was treated as the child was the pregnancy and when she was released from the prison façade that V put around here she was reborn, screaming, crying, and when she finally learns to breathe calms and accepts the new world she sees.
In my opinion, I believe V's argument to be true as is justified because of the situation of the characters. If Evey hadn't been taken under V's wing, she would have been a prostitute on the street and possibly dead by now. The chance to be in something bigger than herself probably wasn't going to come around anyway, so her running into V saved her from an unfulfilled life. In order to truly break away from the malaise most of the populous was in, V had to send Evey on a physically and psychologically challenging transformation. Once it ended, Evey was more free than ever and ready to helm phase 2 of what seemed to be the reconstruction of a demolished society. At this point in the story, V is trying to turn Evey into the cornerstone of his anarchist uprising. That way, once V is either killed or retires, Evey can continue to live and stand for V's ideals and instill them in others. Before all this, Evey wasn't truly free and was stuck in an extensional rut. By putting Evey through hell, V was able to shape her and mold her into someone who transcends the monotonous insanity of living in a day to day oppression. By putting Evey through that hellish experience V was totally right to do so, as in affect he had freed Evey and reincarnated his ideals in her so she could lead a defunct England to freedom and prosperity.
I believe this argument was convincing because Evey was living in an extreme form of society with principles. V had to do something drastic and extreme to open her eyes to the outside world. She was trapped in the ideas that other people taught her were right. Evey didn't have the chance to think for herself because she had others to control her life never having to depend on herself. In the prison she was stripped of this dependency of government finally becoming her own person. This had to be done whether she would end up supporting V or not because it meant she was going off her own opinion not off those around her who influenced her. This was a journey to find her true self and grow up. She needed to mature and find her purpose, what she personally was fighting for not what she thought she should be fighting for.
What V did was cruel, but nonetheless Evey experienced what V went through making her fully understand why V is the person he is. From this experience Evey becomes Eve, now more mature and knowledgeable. Although Evey appears upset by his actions she comes to forgive him once realizing how he matured her and made her a better person.

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