The Review of “I am Legend” Novel :Psychological Disease  

  Back in the day, the sci-fi genre was seemed to be a product of imagination. Furthermore, it was the twin sister of the fantasy genre in eyes of critics. Although every story must be based on imagination and fiction, critics and readers sometimes forget the truth that sci-fi novels mostly rely on solid scientific facts and research. Authors like Asimov, Philip K. Dick, and H.G.Wells were not just sci-fi writers, but also, they were the experts of their field in science and physics. The proof of “the possibility of sci-fi stories could be real” is the outbreak of  Covid-19 pandemic which is closer to the topic and setting of “I Legend”. One of the unique parts to read a novel in this era is that the reader can find similarities from his or her life constantly and may have a sense of the motivation of the main character: Robert Neville. Besides Covid-19 being highly threatening and having the capacity of killing millions instantly, it also has a negative influence on the mental health of individuals.  In other words, Covid-19 causes governments to apply some restrictions which many people have gone mad without sane thinking. Feeling isolated, alone, and being pressured by harsh conditions drive people to take unadmirable actions for bringing their old life such as riots, assaulting doctors, and protests against the restrictions of Covid-19.  Common decisions are taken by Robert Neville to return his old life and admittedly, he is just severely looking at things. Before diving into the twisted mind of our protagonist, I would like to write a summary of the atmosphere of the novel. A virus (maybe something like Covid-19) spreads all over the world and alters the genetic code of people that causes them to turn into blood-sucking vampires.  

  Robert Neville is an ordinary character but he has some interesting features that should not be ignored. Throughout the novel, we learn about his personality. His personality is a result of his unhealthy living conditions. As you figure out, he is a survivor and tries not to become one of the vampires. However, the author has not chosen something on action-driven vampire hunter story. Instead of that, the author told us the journey of a man who suffers isolation, depression, and paranoia in this apocalyptic world.  In my opinion, when humans don’t know how to solve their issues in rough times, they approach the option of madness and creating chaos. Robert is the symbol of this statement. Deep down, the reader is aware of the fact that madness has captured Robert a long time ago. He always thinks about vampires; how to eliminate them, how disgusting they are…Vampires are part of his obsession. Perhaps hunting vampires is like eating breakfast or having sex for him since nothing else he is up to in the novel. Most of his time, he creates fake scenario’s how vampires are going to finish his life and produce solutions for protecting himself from them. In addition to his hatred towards vampires, Robert rejects the fact that he also has sympathy towards vampires secretly. Even so, he is attracted to female vampires sexually because of his loneliness issue. By the end of the book, he slightly starts to see that vampires and humans are not so different but it was too late.

 

Everyone in this world lives for a purpose. A life without purpose is not worth living in. The motivation of Robert Neville may come from this idea and the outcome of his sad life. Grief, loneliness, and depression force Robert Neville to have a desire for becoming someone else different than vampires…even a legend. Killing vampires and saving the human race is adopted as a purpose by Robert Neville but eventually, he becomes a legend on the dark side. The theme of “otherness” is a significant aspect of the novel. Robert Neville does not fear vampires because they are morally bad and villainous. Simply, he is fighting against vampires since they are different ones. This is the plot twist of the novel. Robert Neville is the only guy who is not turned into a vampire. He is the other one. He is the real monster and antagonist of the story. Humankind is interpreted as being a vampire as the new step for human evolution in the novel and moved on to their life whereas Robert Neville couldn’t handle the truth and choose to be alone for the rest of his life. Imagine that you are having dinner with your vampire family and having a good time, suddenly a random guy busts into your house and tries to kill all of you because you have become a vampire like the rest of the world. Do you call this a hero or a lunatic?  

 I hope those critics won’t use vampires and humans in this book as the metaphor of class difference between “vaccinated” and “unvaccinated” people shortly. Although Covid-19 is a terrifying disease we should be afraid of, many people and experts neglect psychological issues caused by the fear of death. Maybe we should fear more about creating dozens of Robert Neville due to restrictions rather than fearing death too much. Not always death is the real enemy. Moreover, in some cases death is horrifyingly better outcome. As the message of the novel suggested the biggest fear, we should be aware of is “the fear of unknown and uncertainty”.  

 Farewell,  

 Y.O.K