Allusions In V For Vendetta

Introduction

Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta is a graphic novel, consequently it contains comparatively fewer words and primarily relies on visual cues and allusions. Allusions are a significant aspect of this novel, with a multitude of functions. In this specific work, allusions have a great influence on readers and are responsible for giving the work its value; providing readers with the freedom to explore the text on their own, to shape it in accordance with the literary, cultural and historical references concealed within the text. As a result, this freedom takes readers beyond what is present in the text and engenders a higher and indispensable meaning of the work. Nearly every word and every visual in V for Vendetta has a concealed ancestor,

Bringing Evey to the Shadow Gallery signifies the second step in Evey’s transformation which is marked by Evey’s transfer from the menacing outer-world where the villainous Norsefire party rules to V’s world which is beyond the reaches of his fascist foes. While showing his cultural treasures to Evey, V conveys another allusion to Evey and the readers by playing the song ‘Dancing in the Street’ by Martha and the Vandellas. From a reader’s perspective the song blends perfectly with the situation of England in context with the novel and V’s future plans for it. Dancing in the street is credited for provoking a Black insurrection and many African-American demonstrators cited the song as a civil rights anthem during riots in the inner-city areas of America during the 1960s. Comparing the historical background of the song with the condition of England under Norsefire rule denotes V’s schemes of ferocious one-man rebellion against the totalitarian

One of his many such paternal gesture includes reading bed-time stories to her, at one such instance he can be seen reading The Magic Faraway Tree to her. The Magic Faraway Tree is a popular children’s novel by Enid Blyton and in this context, it not only helps to describe Evey’s phase through her transition process but also acts as a very important allusion illuminating one of the most prominent themes of the novel. The Faraway Tree is heavily referenced in V for Vendetta, one of the examples being the fact that the third issue of V for Vendetta is called ‘The Land of Do-as-you-please’. In order to understand this reference, it is mandatory to explore the plot of The Magic Faraway tree. The novel features three children who find a gigantic Faraway Tree that acts as a portal to magical lands. The tree undergoes constant changes therefore each time the children climb the tree they discover a different magical land. One of the magical lands the children travel to is the Land of Do-as-you-please, which if contrasted with V for Vendetta, provides a clear assertion about the anarchist state V wishes to form. Here the magical Land of Do-as-you please is an analogy to elucidate the philosophy of anarchism challenging that of the fascist regime as a superior, more humane