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Nelly Wong

Professor McClure

Writing 39B

February 8, 2017

In Richard Mathesons horror novel, I Am Legend, Robert Neville is the

main character fighting for his survival in a pandemic of vampirism. As the

lone survivor that is known at the time in the beginning, there is much

sympathy surrounding his character and given situation presenting him as a

hero getting through a tough time. Though as the story progresses into his

darker days, I will use Nol Carrolls definition of a monster in his essay The

Nature of Horror to turn Neville from a hero into a monster carefully over

the course of the first half of the novel. Carrolls definition states that a

monster is an extraordinary character in an ordinary world, threatening, and

impure. Once that is demonstrated I will now state that point of view is

complicated because I have been able to use these particular elements

essentially establishing Robert Neville as an exception, which a monster

always is. Even then Mathesons strong internal focalization on Neville calls

for the audience to empathize with him. Nol Carroll also tells us that as an

audience were supposed to take our reactions from the primary protagonist.

Would it make sense to take reactions from a monster then? As the story

proceeds, a new character Ruth emerges. She comes into Nevilles life as a

spy, but to his knowledge she comes into it just as someone else trying to

survive the vampire apocalypse. Compared to Neville, Ruth is not portrayed

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as a monster; for the purposes of the story she is a unified force, and she

symbolizes hope for Neville. She establishes a relation with Neville after they

both gradually let their guards down when they are both cooped up together

in his fort of a house for one night. I will prove that through one on one time,

the base of understanding and sympathy between two people can genuinely

be established and only from then will a relation and connection be built and

forgiveness will be possible.

In the beginning of the novel, Robert Neville is presented as the

protagonist hero that attracts much sympathy. It is revealed that Neville is a

lone survivor that fends only for himself amongst a vampire infested world.

Hes often consumed by his thoughts ranging from questioning his own

survival to how to keep surviving and finding out more about the vampiris

bacteria; he resorts to alcohol on a daily basis to cope with himself and

drown out his burdens and sorrows. Loneliness devours him and is evident

when he longs for companionship with the dog that he finds and constantly

tries to care for despite its hostility towards him (Matheson 90). When

Nevilles family is mentioned, the emotional weight in losing his wife Virginia

and his daughter Kathy ultimately solidifies the sympathy Matheson is trying

to elicit especially when Neville sits by Virginias casket and mourns her

death.

Carefully through the course of the first half of the novel, Mathesons

portrayal of Neville turns him into a monster according to noted art historian

Nol Carrolls definition of a monster as being threatening and impure (55).

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Carroll associates the characteristic of threatening to the emotion of fear;

Neville is portrayed as threatening to everyone around him especially women

because he is constantly killing the vampires or finding ways to do so. Later

it is revealed that the suppressed vampires greatly fear who Neville is for

what he did and could do. The emotion of disgust for Nevilles character

correlates with his impurity because he is categorically interstitial or

contradictory seen through how crazy he acts. Mathesons use of actions for

Neville fits the description of an art horror monster.

Due to the change in perception of Neville, Matheson displays how

point of view is complicated. When the reader focuses on Mathesons

language in describing Nevilles situation, there is much sympathy and

inclination to feel bad for Neville because he is alone and trying to survive on

his own. Nol Carroll describes a monster as an extraordinary character in an

ordinary world (52). Neville is the extraordinary character amongst the sea of

vampires because hes immune to the disease. Matheson essentially

establishes Neville as an exception which a monster always is. Taking the

genre of horror and what it entails and changing how an audience views

Neville as the extraordinary character proves how the concept of point of

view is complicated.

Because of the change in view on Mathesons depiction of Neville, Nol

Carrolls statement about audience reactions brings Nevilles existence as

the monster into a grey area. Nol Carroll tells us that as an audience we are
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supposed to take our reactions from the primary protagonist. Would it make

sense to take reactions from Neville who is a monster then? If this were the

case, Matheson would continue creating sympathy for Neville though that is

not the case.

The ambivalence on Nevilles character in question brings Ruth into the

picture as a symbol of hope because she is not illustrated as a monster.

Matheson brings in the hero now, one the reader can take reactions from. He

uses Ruth to symbolize hope for Neville. Robert Neville jumps at the site of

Ruth on the field and chases her down because he has not seen a normal

human being in too long which shows how Matheson utilizes hope in his

behavior to seek our companionship. Again, when Ruth gives Neville her

approval to draw her blood, Matheson draws out hope in Neville because he

may now find out more about the vampiris.

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Works Cited

Carrol, Nol. The Nature of Horror. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism, Vol. 46, No. 1. (Autumn, 1987), pp. 51-59.