Focalisation In Relation To The Theme In I Am Legend By Richard Matheson
Discussion of the Use of Focalisation in Relation to the Theme in I am Legend by Richard Matheson. I am Legend is a story about Robert Neville, a man who is supposedly the only human still living in a post-apocalyptic world. An infectious virus has taken over the globe and converted everyone to vampirism. This is threatening the further existence of mankind. What comes next is Robert’s battle to outlive the vampires. The story picks on elements of the supernatural and horror, but in its core there are some deeper themes that can be contracted from I am Legend. In this essay, I want to focus on the main theme, which is the isolation of Robert towards the new society and its violent inhabitants, that eventually will lead to his alienation and even desolation. A very relevant topic such as Matias Clasen stated: “the horror of isolation is very real and very rational for members of a social species such as ours” (320). The main theme is accentuated by the kind of focalisation that is used by Matheson, which is an internal, fixed focalisation. The reader only sees the events happen through the eyes of
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Robert is not pleased with the new situation and while he wants to reject it, it results in his alienation of the society. The second motif, drinking, helps to get him through the day. Drinking helps him forget the reality with which he is unhappy and from which he wants to escape. Again, he is trying to reject the new and brutal vampire society that established itself in the world. The problem of isolation is a very present concern in our society as well. In our world, people are shutting themselves out from the world and neighbours, especially in urban environments. Having contact with your neighbours is becoming rarer and rarer as people are alienating themselves from the world. Richard Matheson is highlighting this matter very subtly in the
Robert is not pleased with the new situation and while he wants to reject it, it results in his alienation of the society. The second motif, drinking, helps to get him through the day. Drinking helps him forget the reality with which he is unhappy and from which he wants to escape. Again, he is trying to reject the new and brutal vampire society that established itself in the world. The problem of isolation is a very present concern in our society as well. In our world, people are shutting themselves out from the world and neighbours, especially in urban environments. Having contact with your neighbours is becoming rarer and rarer as people are alienating themselves from the world. Richard Matheson is highlighting this matter very subtly in the