Essay Ideas

One obvious essay that comes to mind when thinking about Watchmen is the smiley face. A yellow smiley face with a blood streak across one eye. It's the heart of the story, the symbol of the comedian and what the story begins with. That same smiley face appears in many different places throughout the novel but different forms of that smiley face are spread throughout the novel as well. Many people have different views of what it means and why Alan Moore did it. Also tracing it from the beginning to the end would be pretty cool.
Rorschach's double identity; how his childhood effected his growth and actions as he grew older. Did things change, is he still the same person inside and what's the defining line between Knovac and Rorschach. Talking about Rorschach and his identities, an essay could be written about his different masks that he wears and what we see in them at the time and place in which he was wearing them. How those masks relate to the events occurring and his attitude.
The other topic that stands out to me is Vedit, I feel as if there is so much more about him that we don't know, and would be very interesting to learn. His name and things related to him appear quite a bit as the story goes on but he is never straight up talked about like Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach so it would be nice to get to know him a little better as well.