Can you imagine being in a world with no people? A world filled with only monsters. The only person left is you. You have nothing and no one to keep you company. This reality is displayed in the novel I Am Legend which was written by Richard Matheson in 1954. It is about a man named Robert Neville. He is left alone in a world filled with vampires. He struggles to survive as they treat him as prey. The movie adaptation, also I Am Legend, was directed by Francis Lawrence and released in 2007. It is very similar to the book, however it does have its differences. In the movie, Robert is a military doctor who helped create the virus, although it was intended to be a cure for cancer. While the two works discussed above, even with being decades
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Along, with the overall plot and premise. Both are good examples of Gothic Literature, a writing style that typically deals with dark themes such as fear and death, as well as Romantic themes: the individual, strong emotion, and nature. Though, they are a more modern interpretation of the genre. They both fall into post-apocalyptic dystopian societies, in other words, they both take place in less than ideal conditions after a calamitous event. Two central themes of I Am Legend are legend and isolation. Vampires are very much considered legend before the outbreak. This is mentioned many times in the book because that is the reason why all that was known about vampires was simply myth. The tables turn at the end of the book when it is revealed that the vampires have set up a new society and that Robert is the only remaining human. So, with his death humans became extinct. Therefore, becoming legend to the vampires, “A coughing chuckle filled his throat. He turned and leaned against the wall while he swallowed the pills. Full circle, he thought while the final lethargy crept into his limbs. Full circle. A new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am legend,”(Matheson, 150). Throughout the book and the movie, they are constantly showing things that reveal just how truly alone and isolated Robert is. In the movie, he repeatedly speaks to mannequins. Speaking to them as if they could respond. One instant of this that is particularly significant is right after Robert has to kill Sam. He goes to the video store and seeks console from one of the mannequins, “I promised a friend I would say hello to you today. Please say hello to me. Please say hello to me,”(Lawrence, 2007). In the book, it shows that even when among others he is isolated because he simply does not belong with them. There is no place for him anymore. He is the last of his kind,
Along, with the overall plot and premise. Both are good examples of Gothic Literature, a writing style that typically deals with dark themes such as fear and death, as well as Romantic themes: the individual, strong emotion, and nature. Though, they are a more modern interpretation of the genre. They both fall into post-apocalyptic dystopian societies, in other words, they both take place in less than ideal conditions after a calamitous event. Two central themes of I Am Legend are legend and isolation. Vampires are very much considered legend before the outbreak. This is mentioned many times in the book because that is the reason why all that was known about vampires was simply myth. The tables turn at the end of the book when it is revealed that the vampires have set up a new society and that Robert is the only remaining human. So, with his death humans became extinct. Therefore, becoming legend to the vampires, “A coughing chuckle filled his throat. He turned and leaned against the wall while he swallowed the pills. Full circle, he thought while the final lethargy crept into his limbs. Full circle. A new terror born in death, a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am legend,”(Matheson, 150). Throughout the book and the movie, they are constantly showing things that reveal just how truly alone and isolated Robert is. In the movie, he repeatedly speaks to mannequins. Speaking to them as if they could respond. One instant of this that is particularly significant is right after Robert has to kill Sam. He goes to the video store and seeks console from one of the mannequins, “I promised a friend I would say hello to you today. Please say hello to me. Please say hello to me,”(Lawrence, 2007). In the book, it shows that even when among others he is isolated because he simply does not belong with them. There is no place for him anymore. He is the last of his kind,