I Am Legend
April 10, 2014 by admin_name
Author: Richard Matheson
I Am Legend
“I Am Legend” is a sci-fi, horror masterpiece written by the American writer Richard Matheson in 1954. It is a successful fusion of many themes in both sci-fi and horror. It is a vampire and zombie story set in a post-apocalyptic world and has influenced many books and films such as the 2007 movie of the same name starring Will Smith. It is arguably the best sci-fi/ horror book written. In “I Am Legend” Richard Matheson has created a litterary masterpiece.
The story is told through the eyes of the main character named Robert Neville. He is the sole survivor of a pandemic that turns people into vampires/ zombies. This pandemic which he later names Vampiris bacillus is transmitted through the blood by vampire or mosquito bites. It can spread by the dust storms which carry germ spores and Robert Neville seems to be the only person immune to it.
Robert Neville builds his home into a fortress against the vampires. He studies the vampires to discover the cause of the pandemic and how it spreads. He eventually discovers why he is immune but fails to find a cure before Ruth comes into his life. Ruth is the suspicious woman who enters Robert Neville´s life. She has an aversion to garlic, like the vampires, but is sun-tanned. (The vampires cannot tolerate sunlight). Robert is in such a compromised state of mind that he cannot see what she really is. The reader sees a real conflict in Robert Neville between what he wants her to be and what she really is.
It is important to say that Robert Neville was descending further and further into alcoholism and depression due to his isolation and loss. He still missed his wife Virginia and child and was therefore not able to make good survival choices. His hope resided in a cure and that is what he was working toward.
This story combines many different themes into a simple, well explained story with a great ending. We see the character of Robert Neville degrade psychologically over time even though he is a smart and capable survivalist. He masters his hostile environment with remarkable success but cannot bear his real enemy of loneliness and loss.
The ending of the story is unpredictable and fantastic. It is not the happy Hollywood ending to the story of the brave and capable hero. It is not a story about a savior to humanity either. It is the story of the final months of one species and the birth of a new one. It is not the story of a beautiful transformation in the human species like that of a moth to a butterfly. It is the story of two life forms pushing a third out of existence. The vampiris bacillus infected people annihilate the uninfected and take over. Needless to say, I always felt he was so close to a cure.
I highly recommend “I Am Legend” because it is a great read and a must-own.
I2Q
(Commentary by www.ink2quill )
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I2Q
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I2Q
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I2Q