I Am Legend (Novel) Review Assignment Paper

Name
Instructor
Course
Date
I Am Legend (Novel)
One of the common topics in horror genre stories is alienation and in I am Legend mankind is depicted as monster while there is isolation, loneliness and alienation. The protagonist in the horror story finds difficulties living alone when he has no purpose. The vampires in the story are out to kill Robert Neville the protagonist in the stiory, but there is no one to help him when the around him has changed him so much. There is uncertainty and suspense in the story as Matheson does not reveal the mental state of the creatures, and readers are left to speculate about this (Nutall 30). This paper focuses on the theme of isolation and alienation in I am Legend.
The American horror stories have addressed themes that were common in British Gothic literature and music, while, focusing on some of the darkest impulses in human beings (Magistrale and Morrison 2). The vampires and other creatures common in horror stories are separate form humans who get in contact and face difficulties distinguishing reality from fantasy. When the creatures or human beings have no ready support from their peers, they are isolated and it is in these moments that their worst self likely emerge. Since horror stories highlight dark moments there are comments when people or creatures hold mistaken beliefs that make it difficult for them to break free from self-imposed prisons.
Clasen (316) pointed out that at the time of writing I am Legend Robert Matheson was struggling to establish his own family. It is no surprise that he tackled the themes of insecurity, isolation and paranoia during his career. Individuals living in threatening surroundings have to find a way to survive, and this sets the motion for many of Matheson’s stories (Clasen 316). In I Am a Legend, in the introduction Neville did not enjoy cleaning the home and this particularly because he was alone (Matheson 4). The protagonist even doubted the difference between his imaginations and the reality and began to suspect that he may have harbored an alien in his mind.
In horror stories when humans encounter monsters they are most likely frightened by the abnormal creatures unlike fairy tales where they are in everyday life (Carroll 53). After reading a book on Dracula, Neville wonders whether people’s skepticism of vampires was misplaced, and while people did not believe in them no one had really sought to understand them (Matheson 13). The protagonist was isolated and had to rely on secondary sources to gain knowledge about vampires. As the lone survivor of the plague Neville worked alone to isolate bacteria that caused the disease and caused vampires to rampage the area where he lived.
Isolation creates fear and in horror stories anything is possible and readers keep guessing what will happen next. The imaginative aspect of the horror stories highlight...