In Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, the question of what life
actually is comes into question. For a while, I found his cause to be
worthwhile and noble, but after more though, it seems as though it wasn’t much
of a life at all. Immediately, I started considering R.U.R. and the will to live and to preserve humanity.
Although I
saw Neville’s life as meaningless without his wife, daughter, or any sort of
companionship, I realized that he was indeed living for humanity rather than
for himself. This brought me to
considering I, Robot as well. What is
the point of living if robots do everything for you? I concluded that the
humans in R.U.R. who fought for the
human spirit had it right. Rather than attempting to make life easier and more ‘perfect’,
like people tried to do in I, Robot,
people should embrace what it means to be a person, and attempt to embrace and
further humanity and the human spirit in a more organic fashion. Similarly, in I Am Legend, Neville finds a way to
fight through his depression and hopelessness because he had an important and
necessary purpose in life; to keep humanity alive.
This made
the ending of the story even more shocking and depressing for me. I would have
thought that Neville would have fought to the bitter end in order to keep the hope
of humanity’s survival alive.
I think that Neville backing down in the face of the new breed of vampires was reasonable - they were human after all, even if they were infected with the bacteria. I think that up until he learned of the new society that it would have made sense for him to keep humanity alive, however futilely. But when faced with a new kind of human society where he was nothing but a detestable outcast, his decision was very reasonable. He didn't belong in the new society, and knowing that there was no more chance of truly "saving" humanity, it would be best to step out of the way. The vampires were too strong, vicious, and innumerous to allow for a resurgence of the old breed of humanity.
ReplyDeleteWhile Neville's death may seem reasonable, I would not call it honorable. We've had a few discussions in class in which we considered whether it was honorable to know when to give up in a situation that is hopeless. Sacrificing oneself would be analogous to Samurai falling on his own sword. Rather than allowing his enemy to kill him, he kills themselves as to have control over one final aspect in his life. That might be noble in Japanese culture, but not in American Culture. In most movies, the protagonists that are considered heroes are the ones that don't listen to what is "reasonable" but rather choose the opposite path. We consider striving for the ultimate outcome despite dismal chances of success to be admirable. Therefore, while Neville's death might be reasonable, I would not call it honorable.
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