Neville spends much of “I Am
Legend” alone. His interaction consists of talking to himself, and listening to
the taunts and dares of his ruthless, infected neighbors that come to
exterminate him at night. He has brief moments of hope for companionship when
he finds a dog, and then a woman, Ruth, who he believes to be human. The end of
the book quickly quashes all of this hope. Neville discovers that his fate is
sealed – no happy ending for him. Even the discovery of a society that has been
forming unbeknownst to him must be turned on its head – it’s filled with
mutated vampires that fear and detest him – and for good reason.
Neville’s predicament is terrifying
– our worst fears realized; we finally find acceptance and can ease our
loneliness, only to be abandoned and left to ourselves in despair. By the end
of “I Am Legend”, Neville may still be able to chuckle at the thought that he
has become the hideous, destructive outsider in this new society, but he is
still unable to cope with the distress caused by his situation. Humans are not
made to be alone - we are social
creatures, and seclusion can make monsters out of all of us. We may be strong
together, but alone we are weak and unstable – even going insane in long
periods of solitude. Neville was given enormous obstacles (a post-apocalyptic
world filled with monsters) but let us not forget that his solitude was a grim
trial unto itself.
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