Vampires: I am Legend

Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend is easily one of the most interesting short stories I have ever read. Both conceptually and character-wise it is original and had the rare effect of really making me think. The story is based around protagonist Robert Neville who is the last remaining human on an earth populated with what appear to be vampires. Robert must survive – find food, keep up his shelter, and fend of creatures of the night – every day, alone. The way this idea is executed is a large part of what makes Matheson’s story so poignant: a massive amount of time is spent simply describing the daily events of Robert Neville’s life and how he feels about them. Because of the attention that is given to Robert Neville’s feelings in particular, the stress that he feels about being alone and in constant danger really comes through.
We believe Robert Neville is really alone because he is not simply brave in the face of danger; he often has to resort to heavy drinking simply to get through the night, and most of “battles” against the infected “vampires” he fights while terrified for his life.
The way the arc of the story is set up is another important part of what makes I am Legend such an interesting read. We spend the bulk of the story simply following Robert keeping himself alive. We are forced to empathize with him and even to root for him as he struggles for survival. Then our entire perception of Robert and his world is completely turned on its head at the very end of the story. It’s revealed that the many of the “vampires,” the monsters Neville has been hunting are working collaboratively to create a new, structured civilization. Suddenly rather than being the last real human fighting for survival, Robert is an unwelcome stranger tearing away at a newly forming society. We’ve spent pages and pages rooting for him, only to find out that not only was he wrong, but so were we. And as he is more or less, politely asked to die, we’re left wondering if maybe somewhere we went wrong as well. It’s hard to argue with a story that makes you think like that.