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Tina Marie Colón

Professor Gregory J. McClure

Writing 39B

10 May 2022

I Am Legend: Compassion And Understanding As A Theme For Addressing The Dehumanizing

Effects of War

I Am Legend is a science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic world, published in 1954

by Richard Matheson. The story occurs in 1976, where “The Last Man On Earth Is Not Alone"

(Matheson). Matheson takes us through Robert Neville's journey of adapting to a new world

filled with vampires. Within this modern gothic novel, it is quite easy for people to assume that

the vampires are the monsters; it seems like the most obvious answer. However, it is more

complicated than that. I Am Legend has more than one monster. From the beginning, the

creatures that hunt at night, sleep during the day, and are repulsed by garlic are, as I like to call

them, the original monsters. Nevertheless, because of their arrival and the environment that has

been created for Neville, a new monster emerges from within him. Matheson’s use of language

provokes a shift within the narrative that the vampires are not the ones to be feared. Neville has

monstrous characteristics according to art philosopher Noël Carroll, which are detailed in his

essay The Nature of Horror published in 1987. Carroll has four criteria that all art-horror

monsters must fall under, which include: being extraordinary in an ordinary world, threatening to

the main protagonist, impure in that the reader does not want to be touched by the monster, and

being categorically problematic. Taking a deeper look into the meaning and symbolism of the

story it can be concluded that Neville is the true monster despite the fact that it is never explicitly
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stated. Matheson’s use of language allows the readers to conclude that Neville’s mindset of kill

or be killed is contributed to the fact that he is in a war of his own, therefore, Matheson is

asserting how easy it is for one to dehumanize the enemy when blindsided with revenge like

Neville’s character.

As a result of the vampire pandemic, the natural order has changed thus: according to

Noël Carroll’s fundamental principles of the art-horror genre Neville is no longer an ordinary

person living in an extraordinary world, but instead, has become an extraordinary person living

in an ordinary world. The difficult part of this argument requires the reader to look at the story

through a different lens. From Neville’s perspective, he is a mundane person trying to survive

and, because he has survived for so long, he comes off as being heroic. However, because

Neville is the last of the human race, he is in fact a one-of-a-kind phenomenon. This is where the

vampire's point of view comes into play. They see Neville as a problem and they fear him

because he holds so much power; Neville can kill them during the day when they are in a

comatose state. For example, Matheson depicts the following scene where Neville has an

epiphany about his role in this new society: “Then sudden silence, as though a heavy blanket had

fallen over their heads. They all stood looking up at him with their white faces. He [Neville]

stared back. And suddenly he thought, I’m the abnormal one” (159). Furthermore, one can say

the vampires see Neville as an extraordinary being despite the fact that Neville only understands

this during his final moments. Both Neville and the vampire's perspective are at work here, but

during the majority of the novel Matheson focuses on Neville and does not explore the vampire's

lives until the latter half. The key idea of perspective is introduced by aesthetics philosopher

Noël Carroll in his 1987 essay The Nature of Horror, published in the Journal of Aesthetics and

Criticism. Carroll states that, “In works of horror, the humans regard the monsters that they
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encounter as abnormal, as disturbances of the natural order” (52). Regardless of the point of view

the readers choose to look through while reading this story, it will become evident that

throughout the entire narrative Neville is the anomalous one.

Neville is a threat to himself because of his self-destructive tendencies, and also to the

now-ordinary vampire community because he attacks them while they are unconcious. Noël

Carroll states that a monster has to be threatening but he never said that the monster couldn’t be

threatening to himself. I have already established that Neville is a threat to the vampires becuase

he’s targeting them; Neville is murdering the vampires and exhibits no hestitation towards his

actions although some of the vampires are still partially alive. Going back to the perspective of

the story, Neville doesn’t realize he is a threat to the vampires until the very end. As a result, it is

arguable that Neville is doing more harm to himself than their kind. Being completely alone for

months to years creates a sense of self-hatred for the readers about Neville’s situation. It is quite

ironic because in the beginning chapters Neville takes much pride in maintaining a routine: he

wakes up, brushes his teeth, makes breakfast, listens to music, and has daily chores. He is very

methodical and rarely makes mistakes. Regardless of how careful Neville’s character is written

to be, just a few chapters later he explicitly says how he needs to take better care of himself;

Neville isn’t eating or sleeping enough. There are countless examples of Neville’s actions

leading to his physical harm typically because of his drinking. For instance, “[h]is face twisted

into an expression of raw, unqualified hatred. Bastards! I’ll kill every mother’s son of you before

I’ll give in! His right hand closed like a clam and the glass shattered in his grip” (Matheson 19).

In addition to Neville falling under another one of Carroll’s characteristics of what qualifies

something to be considered a monster, Matheson uses specific language that establishes a certain

tone as well. Matheson’s attention to detail creates the right environment for Neville’s
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self-loathing. For example, “ [h]e twisted his shoulders irritably. For God’s sake, what’s the

difference? He asked himself. He was getting disgusted at this increasing nostalgic preoccupation

with the past” (Matheson 68). The use of “irritably” and “disgusted” further assert the point that

Neville hates himself. The reason for this portrayal of Neville could be attributed to the fact that

Matheson is struggling with his own personal problems. This idea of Matheson’s internal

struggles being displayed within his work is discussed in Mathias Clasen, Danish scholar and

associate professor in literature and media at Aarhus University, in his 2010 essay Vampire

Apocalypse: A Bicultural Critique of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend. “When I Am Legend was

published in 1954, 28-year-old Richard Mathesons was establishing his own nuclear family and

struggling to make ends meet ... ‘My theme in those years [the early fifties] was of a man,

isolated and alone, and assaulted on all sides by everything you could imagine’” (Clasen 316).

From this excerpt the audience can draw quite a few parallels between Matheson and his

character Neville such as isolation and living during a time of war which Neville mentions

during one of his flashbacks.

Matheson’s use of diction creates a particular environment for Neville’s character that

strengthens the intended reception of being threatening not only to the vampires, but to

themselves, while also using Neville’s perverted thoughts about women to emphasize his

impureness in that the audience does not want to be touched by him. Right away Matheson

implies that Neville has certain thoughts about women by describing how the female vampires

flaunt themselves to try to draw him out; the readers are aware that the vampires know his

weakness … women. While Neville is conducting experiments on the unconscious vampires he

makes note that he always chooses the female ones. As Neville is arguing with himself why he

chooses females he finally bursts out and yells, “‘[f]or God’s sake! He flared back. I’m not going
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to rape this woman!” (Matheson 50). Any empathy the reader had for Neville and his situation is

immediately broken after this statement. There is now a shift in the story where the reader is

aware of Neville’s disturbing thoughts. This is not the only instance where Neville displays his

desires. The most prominent example is when he sees Ruth for the first time. One day while

Neville is hunting for Ben Cortman (a former friend of Neville’s before the vampire virus) he

spots a woman thinking it was just a hallucination. Once he realizes that she is real he calls out to

her and Ruth starts running. While Neville pursues her and takes her home Matheson uses

phrases such as, “He had to catch her” (111), “The women lay motionless” (114), and “He had

to drag her in” (115). This set of unusual words to describe their interaction creates an eerie

reading environment and contributes to what Matheson established in the beginning regarding

Neville’s thoughts. From this scene, it is evident that Ruth does not want to be near Neville even

though it is later discovered that her job is to get close and spy on him. The most interesting part

of this encounter is when Ruth starts to trust him and opens up Neville admits to himself that,

“[i]f she had come two years before, maybe even later, he might have violated her '' (Matheson

124). Nevertheless, Matheson never crosses into the territory of vividly describing sexual

harassament or an intimate relationship. This is because the story was published during the fifties

where topics like these were considered taboo and frowned upon if discussed.

As established previously, Noël Carroll’s principles for the art-horror monster pertain to

Neville regarding his impureness yet, I will also assert that Neville is categorically incomplete as

well. I have already acknowledged that due to months and months of isolation Neville is

experiencing major distress. The readers are aware that Neville might be losing his mind because

when he sees the dog and Ruth for the first time he thinks they are simply a hallucination. More

importantly, throughout the narrative Neville alternates between two different states of mind
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ranging from obsession to anger. In order to deal with his grief, loneliness, and depression

Matheson portrays Neville as someone who becomes obsessed with certain tasks. Neville’s

obsessiveness helps to distract the readers of the fact that Neville is alone in this strange world.

Additionally, Matheson’s use of unusual description certainly helps the readers grasp how odd

Neville is. While Neville is taking us through his day to day tasks he demonstrates an unusually

high level of descriptive sentences like, “They were silent then and the only sound in the room

was the rasping of the needle on the inner grooves of the record. She wouldn't look at him, but

kept staring at the floor with bleak eyes” (Matheson 135). This type of description goes beyond

painting a picture for the reader but instead is being used to help them perceive how Neville is

intended to be portrayed as a monster. The first instance when Neville’s obsessiveness is

displayed occurs after the vampires destroyed his home when he left the garage door open. “He’d

almost enjoyed all the work once it was started. It gave him something to lose himself in,

something to pour all the energy of his still pulsing fury into. It broke the monotony of his daily

tasks: the carrying away of bodies, the repairing of the house’s exterior, the hanging of garlic”

(Matheson 38). Moving from one obsession to the next: rebuilding the house, solving the

vampire virus, and capturing the dog, Neville is always staying occupied or at least trying to.

When Neville is unable to focus on an obsession because he can’t find the answers or something

gets in the way he becomes aggressive. Typically, while Neville is having his nightly drink he

thinks to himself about all the questions he has and none of the answers for them. He becomes so

infuriated he will either walk onto the front yard to shoot up the vampires or destroy things in the

house. With that being said, his anger doesn’t last for long. After releasing all that energy,

Neville is able to calm down and talk to himself in a rational manner. Regardless of how fast he
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recovers from this stage the reader's reception of Neville doesn’t change; He is trapped in this

endless cycle of self-loathing and obsessiveness.

Neville is characterized as living in a dissociative state between obsession and anger; his

aggression, destructive habits, and as mentioned previously, his disturbing thoughts about

women all play a role in distancing Neville’s character from the readers. All these qualities make

him unappealing to the audience yet they continue to keep reading. This draws on the idea of

repulsion-attraction that Tony Magistrale, English professor at the University of Vermont and

Michael A. Morrison, the editor, discusses in their book A Dark Night’s Dreaming:

Contemporary American Horror Fiction. “Horror inspires a repulsion-attraction reaction in even

its most ardent admires: we are repulsed by images that are meant to threaten our security, yet

simultaneously attracted to the drama and meaning of what they reveal” (Magistrale and

Morrison 3). Even though the audience is disgusted with Neville and his behaviors they continue

to follow his journey. They are drawn in because they want to know the answers to questions

like: WIll Neville catch the dog? Will the dog survive? Will Ruth ever trust him? And is Ruth

telling the truth about her people? These kinds of questions keep the audience captivated and

engulfed in the story. The idea of repulsion-attraction is a major concept in the horror genre.

Many authors and directors use the concept to draw on the audience's expectations. Their goal is

to make something repulsing, yet also incorporate enough drama so you become hooked; this

kind of idea is demonstrated in a number of horror films.

Although I have asserted that Neville is the monster, I have yet to discuss the meaning of

this story and Matheson’s portrayal of Neville which is morally significant to the readers. Before

considering this idea I need to give some historical background. I Am Legend was written by

Richard Matheson and published in 1954. The year of publication is important because it sheds
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some light on Matheson's environment. During this time, World War II had recently ended in

1945. As a result of this event, new methods of war arose such as nuclear bombs and mustard gas

that lead to many casualties. Thus, Matheson has developed his own fears of war and isolation

which is a major theme throughout his novels. For example, as mentioned previously Matheson’s

is struggling with family issues and internal conflicts surrounding his fear of isolation and

loneliness (Clasen 316). With that being said, the readers can now look further into the meaning

of this novel. Robert Neville is all alone in a strange world that results from a virus causing many

casualties. At one point Matheson even mentions bombings during a flashback. In addition to

that, because of the environment Matheson has created for Neville he has developed the mindset

of kill or be killed. From the reader's reception Neville is doing things he would have never

imagined doing before which is quite similar to what soldiers go through during a war. They are

sent to fight for their people, see thousands die, and if they are lucky enough to survive they

typically come back home with PTSD. Like Neville, these soldiers are put into a new

environment that can change a person's mindset. People on the battlefield typically want revenge

because the enemy is killing and/or harming people they care about. Here, Neville represents the

idea of revenge and how a war can change a man. Prior to the outbreak, Matheson discusses

Neville’s life with his wife and daughter who were tragically taken away from him, therefore,

fueling his desire for revenge.

Matheson not only highlights the tragedies of war but also wants the readers to be

understanding and compassionate. In the novel, both Neville and the vampires are fighting to

survive. Taking that into consideration I believe Matheson wants to show the readers that yes,

war brings destruction and devastation but regardless we are all human. Matheson demonstrates

his message to the audience by introducing Ruth. The first time Ruth encounters Neville the
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audience doesn’t know whether or not she can be trusted. It is eventually revealed that Ruth was

sent by her people to spy on Neville and learn what he knows about them. Despite the fact that

Ruth does assault Neville, she leaves a note that not only explains why she left but also warns

Neville to leave before her people kill him. She goes on to explain that Neville is the one who

killed her husband but she isn’t mad, instead she understands why Neville did so. This is not the

only time Matheson portrays Ruth to be compassionate and empathetic. For instance, in the

novel Ruth tries to help Neville escape by warning him even though their kind are enemies.

During the final chapter Ruth “took out a tiny packet and pressed it into his [Neville’s] right

palm. ‘It’s all I can do Robert,’ she whispered, ‘to make it easier’ … For a moment she stood

over his bed, a look of natural compassion on her face” (Matheson 158). This scene depicts

Matheson’s goal of showing compassion even for the enemy; it is like the saying, put yourself in

the other person's shoes to see their perspective which is a major theme in this novel.

Now despite the fact that this essay focuses on my argument that Matheson’s specific use

of language depicts Neville as the antagonist and Ruth as the protagonist, it is not the only route

one could take while trying to answer who is the monster? Another viable option could have

been the virus itself. The virus falls perfectly into all of Noël Carroll’s requirements: being

extraordinary in an ordinary world, threatening to the main protagonist, impure in that the reader

does not want to be touched by the monster, and being categorically problematic. In addition to

that, one could also argue that the vampires are the monsters, yet regardless of what argument

you choose to make, I Am Legend is an excellent story to rhetorically analyze because it has

endless possibilities regarding an argumentative standpoint.

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Works Cited

Carroll, Noël. “The Nature of Horror.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticisms, 1987, pp.

51–59. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/431308.

Clasen, Mathias. “Vampire Apocalypse: A Bicultural Critique of Richard Matheson’s I Am

Legend.” The John Hopkins University Press, vol. 32, no. 2, 2010, pp. 313–328. Project

Muse, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/395660.

Magistrale, Tony. Morrison, Michael A. “Introduction.” A Dark Night’s Dreaming:

Contemporary American Horror Fiction, 1st ed., vol. 1, Journal of American Studies,

Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996, pp. 1–7.

Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. 1st ed., Tor Books, 2007. Pp. 1-159.