V for Vendetta a terrorist or not?

Question

i have to write an essay for my english class and the topic question is: In V for Vendetta, is V a terrorist? i am kind of torn between him being a terriorst but also being a freedom fighter since he was fighting against the an evil government that was endangering its own people by letting out that virus just to gain money and power. what do you guys think.....im really confused...help plz ! thanks

Answer 1

A good opening sentence would be the quote "One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter." In every battle, in every contest, in every clash of wills there are two very different sides which will have to different ways of looking at things. V in my opinion is a freedom fighter I believe in what he says, I believe in why he does what he does. This is because of my perspective on things. If I had a really powerful position in that government which allowed me to have a great life I would view him as a terrorist. The classic way to prove what I said is that our founding fathers were declared traitors but we view them as patriots. The Boston Tea party from the East India Tea companies point of view was an act of terror to us it was a patriotic move. To write this essay you have to pick a point of view and go from there, you have to say if you were a person in that movie would V be the terrorist in your eyes or the freedom fighter.

Answer 2

The American Heritage dictionary defines terrorism as
"n. The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons. "

By this definition, absolutely yes. By his actions alone (including destruction or government property, kidnapping, and false imprisonment, to name a few) he fits perfectly into the definition of a terrorist. You can say he's a "freedom fighter", but they, too, employ the same tactics for often the same ends. Deciding by which term to call them often depends on which side of the firing line you're standing.

Mind you, the plot of the story made him the sort of hero we applauded, but by almost any standards, was still a criminal - who's acts of terrorism saved the day, so to speak.

Answer 3

A terrorist can always be considered a freedom fighter and vice versa. It all depends on whose point of view you are looking at the situation from. In the minds of those in power in the film, what they did was justified, and therefore to them V was a terrorist. Your personal standing on the issue is what will determine what you label a person.

Answer 4

terrorism is a tactic, problem is when used to terrorize or kill civilians and not military enemies.

you then have to also include the ultimate end reason of why they are doing it...for freedom or enslavement...so that, couple with if they are only targeting military people or civilian people should give you an answer to "is the person a good terrorist or a bad terrorist".

Answer 5

I saw the movie. As I recall he limited his targets to government agents and buildings. He hit buildings after business hours and did not target regular civilians.
Terrorism is intentionally choosing targets to inspire terror and fear among a populace. They prefer high visibility and high casualty count. I may be wrong about V but I don't recall him using terrorist tactics. More guerrilla or resistance style tactics.

Answer 6

Terrorism is a tactic -- a way of achieving a goal.

Being a freedom fighter -- that just defines his goals -- breaking free from an oppressive govt.

A freedom fighter may still ACT using terrorism.

Answer 7

Im not sure you can terrorize tyrannical governments. I think its only terrorism if you are using it against freely elected governments.

Answer 8

A REBEL

Answer 9

Most people don't waste their time on trash movies like that!!