Mirkhanian 1

Megan Mirkhanian
Professor Greg McClure
Writing 39B
7 November 2015
Under the Disguise: A Character Portrayed As A Protagonist In Disguise
In Richard Mathesons novel I Am Legend, although the main character Robert
Neville portrays signs of turning into a monster, he is still the protagonist in the novel.
This is proven to the reader through the symbolization of the different species he comes

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:20 AM

Comment [1]: Clear and to the point. Easy
to understand what the essay is about.

into contact with. Neville is a protagonist in disguise, a character designed to carry

interest, engagement, but who will at times mislead the reader. Because Neville is the
only human on Earth, a connection is already established between the reader of the novel
and Neville. Since both the reader and Neville are human and since the novel is not told
from Nevilles point of view but through a third person narrator, there is a sense of
reliability with the actions done by the main character. According to Noel Carroll, a
prominent writer of modern philosophy of art, in his essay The Nature of Horror, he
mentions how the horror genre is created with the presence of a monster which is
associated with filth, decay, deterioration, slime, and so on (Carroll 53). Such
characteristics are seen in a vampire, leading the audience to understand that the vampire
is the antagonist and therefore automatically side with the human, which in this case is
Robert Neville. In order for a horror genre to be created, there must be a monster. Carroll
also mentions that in the horror genre the audiences emotive responses run parallel to
the emotions of characters (Carroll 52). Since the audience cannot compare with the
emotions of a vampire, sympathy is felt towards the human character, establishing a

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:23 AM

Comment [2]: Learned to introduce a
source in the introductory paragraph to
show how I will prove my point.

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sense of hatred towards these deteriorating and filthy vampires. But there are times when
Matheson plays with Nevilles character allowing the audience to question if Nevilles
inhumane characteristics fit into the characteristics of a monster, according to
qualifications listed by Carroll regarding the horror genre. In a horror genre, the
protagonist and antagonist can both be mistaken for one anothers roles but it is
eventually determine on who is who because their characteristics fit into the categories
that make them a monster or protagonist. Throughout his essay, Noel Carroll defines the
horror genre, explaining the qualifications of a monster, helping us readers classify
Neville to be the protagonist even though he might seem as an antagonist at times.
According to Carroll, the monster in the horror genre is the extraordinary in our
ordinary world (Carroll 52). Before when Virginia was awake (Matheson 52) and

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:22 AM

Comment [3]: Used the methods learned
from the thesis statement assignment done
in class to write my thesis statement.

Kathy [went] to school (Matheson 55), Neville was seen as an ordinary character living
in the ordinary city of Los Angeles. But slowly the virus spread, and the vampires turned
from extraordinary characters in our ordinary world (Carroll 52), to ordinary characters
in their ordinary world. In the middle of the novel, Matheson portrays signs of Neville
getting monstrous qualities leaving the reader to question if Neville, the only reliant
human, is still the protagonist. The monstrous actions he is engaged in are of him figuring
out how to murderously get rid of the vampire race by brutally testing the female
vampires. These vicious engagements of Neville symbolize insanity, his disguise that is
getting to him due to being the only human on Earth. The insanity makes readers think
he is a monster. But after, Nevilles encounter with different species, symbolize his
recollection of human characteristics.

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:25 AM

Comment [4]: Learned that the reader
should understand what the paragraph will
be about through the topic sentence,
therefore the topic sentence must be strong.

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Matheson tricks the audience by making Neville turn insane, causing the audience
to question if Neville is a monster or a protagonist. At first, Neville engages in the
theories he learned about vampires by testing what he learned on the female vampires. He
is simply trying to figure out how to get rid of the monsters, allowing the audience to
run parallel to the emotions (Carroll 52) of Neville. But his connection with readers is

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:26 AM

Comment [5]: Shows how he is innocent
although he might seem as if he is a monster
when he tests these women.

found tearing apart when his innocence is carried away by the reader noticing that he
found women in the bedroom (Matheson 39), and used them as part of his research on
how to kill vampires. For instance, without hesitation, he jerked back the covers and
grabbed [the female vampire] by the writs (Matheson 39) and he got a specimen of
blood from a [the female vampire] (Matheson 86), in order to test and figure out how to
put an end to them. Testing women in their sleep allows the audience to question their
thoughts of Neville from when they first created a bond of reliability with him at the
beginning of the novel. Matheson tricks the audience towards thinking Neville is the
antagonist, but he is just looking for a cure.
Moreover, Nevilles brutal actions towards the sleeping female vampires
symbolize hope and results caused by alienation. Spending much time reading about
vampires and their biological traits shows how he is hopeful that he can find the cure and
break free from these monsters. This yearning of hope to recreate Nevilles demolished
society mirrors any humans desire to rebuild their torn society. But a reader might think
of Neville as a rapist. His actions not only symbolize hope but also symbolize how he is
merely insane, and is losing such humane qualities such as the feeling of sympathy for
the women he rapes. But just because he is losing a normal humans qualities does not
mean he is a monster. According to Carroll, in works of horror, the humans regard the

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:29 AM

Comment [6]: Learned that the three
paragraph method does not apply and
therefore this paragraph can be the
continuation to the one above it.

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monsters that they encounter as abnormal, as disturbances of the natural order (Carroll
52). Neville is not abnormal and is not a disturbance, but rather the vampires are. These
vampires are threatening and disturbing Nevilles nights and moreover have disturbed his
entire life. He begins to develop problems due to alienation. In Carly Frintners research
article Lonely Madness, she talks about social isolation and how it effects mental and
emotional health. Her essay proves that people who are isolated for a long time have
been known to experience depression, despair, anxiety, rage, claustrophobia,
hallucinations, problems with impulse control, and/or an impaired ability to think,
concentrate, or remember (Frinter) and these types of psychiatric mobility (Frinter) is
linked to causing many people to commit suicide. These characteristics of a human can
be reflected about Neville, proving that Neville is not turning into a monster, but instead

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:31 AM

Comment [7]: Learned how to properly
site evidence into a paragraph.

is going through some results of isolation just like any human. Therefore the audience
can run parallel to the emotions(Carroll) Neville is facing because insanity due to
alienation and despair is seen in the human society. Nevilles engagements to save the
world, symbolize how he has not given up, and is portraying human characteristics
although he shows signs of insanity. Neville shows signs of alienation, not signs of
turning into a monster, but the audience have speculations of this subject. According to
Carrolls essay, monsters share characteristics such filth and deterioration. Insanity is not
filth, it is a human condition resulted from isolation.
Matheson leaves the audience to question themselves about Nevilles insanity,
which proved not to be linked to a monster, especially when coming face to face with
another specie at the time of the day when vampires do not wander around. Eventually
signs of normal human qualities are brought back when Neville comes across a dog in the

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:32 AM

Comment [8]: Learned to include
audience to be a part of the essay.

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daytime. This dog symbolizes hope for Neville and distinguishes him from being the
protagonist in disguise to the protagonist. The dog brings back Nevilles humane
characteristics. Matheson portrays Nevilles emotions explaining how a sudden smile of
delight raised lips as he saw the dogs good ear stand up (Matheson 102). Neville begins
to show care and concern for the dog, which brings about hope that there are others out
there. This human interaction can be linked to how a dog is a mans best friend, allowing
the audience to mirror Nevilles inner soul, regaining connection with the protagonist
who was before in disguise. And when the dog dies, Neville feels sympathy for the dog.
He had tears rolling down his cheeks. Although the dog was helpless, Neville gained a
sense of his emotions back. He realized that something had changed (Matheson 110).
He was drinking less. The simple encounter with a specie made him regain his human
characteristics back proving how Neville was not turning into a monster, but rather
dealing with depression. Overall, the audience feels a sense of relief. A connection is
regained between the audience and Neville through the death of the dog.
Matheson introduces another being Ruth, a female vampire Neville comes into
contact with at the end of the novel. Ruth is later found to be a vampire in disguise. Here,
Matheson portrays Nevilles humanlike qualities through the contact with Ruth, proving
that Neville is not the monster, and that any previous monstrous signs of Neville were
just effects from alienation. But when Neville meets Ruth, he does not feel as alienated.
Neville does sense signs that Ruth is a vampire, but he is so lonely and in need for a
companion that he ignores his thoughts for thinking Ruth is just another one of his
enemies. This was the first time in three years of when he saw a women wandering in the
daylight. He showed signs of excitement he cried, he jumped a women alive!

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(Matheson 122). Ruth showed signs of a human even though she was a vampire, and she
warned Neville about the revolutionary group. The group was repossessing society by
violence (Matheson 166). Carroll made it clear in his essay, that the horror genre is
created with the presence of a monster, a character showing threat, and therefore the
vampire society were all dangerous monsters. After, Neville read the letter Ruth sent to
him, he realizes that he can no longer commit to living in the society disturbed by
vampires. Neville comes across a decision of turning into a vampire or committing
suicide. He realizes he did not belong to them, the new people of the earth (Matheson
170), and killed himself. His action of committing suicide portrays how Neville is not a
monster and did not want to turn into a monster, therefore taking his own life.
Matheson emphasizes on the message to how in the horror genre, the protagonist
can be in a disguise, misleading the audience into thinking the protagonist is the
antagonist. Another scene that might have made Neville look monstrous to the audience
was when Neville mentioned how it was painfully obvious that liquor was an emotional
solace to him (Matheson 89). Although he is seen as an alcoholic at some parts of the
novel, he is just going through problems of isolation. According to a study from
Healthline News, alcohol offers euphoria, boosts mood if someone is feeling depressed,
and soothes fear if someone is feeling anxious (Barclay) being the reason why people
turn into alcoholics. This idea is seen within Neville. It expands upon the idea of what
makes Neville insane. Understanding that Neville is insane at parts of the novel and not a
monster builds upon the idea that the only characters left to create the horror genre are the
threatening vampires. Although the audience is fooled when Matheson puts Neville in
disguise, the dog and Ruth prove to the audience that Neville is just a normal human

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being situated in a terrible surrounding. At the end of the novel, Neville takes his own life
in order to distinguish himself and prove that he is not a monster. His act of suicide is
foreshadowed when he is seen going insane. As mentioned in Frintners essay, the
isolated are the ones who go insane and have been linked to committing suicide. This
humane concept is seen in Neville, and therefore is another reason why he is
distinguished from being the monster. He is in need for physical and mental contact, and
when he does come close to both, he is seen happier and less insane. Suicide does not
build upon the horror genre, but the acts the vampires committed do. The vampires are
seen as monsters when comparing them to Noel Carrolls essay. They are the threat to
society. They are seen killing one another. Matheson introduces how Cortmans being
killed by these brutal strangers (Matheson 159). Since both Cortman and the dark-suited
seven are vampires, they are not only threatening Neville, but are found threatening one
another. This concept of threat distinguishes who is the monster and in this case, the
vampires have been all along. With these monsters, the horror genre is created throughout
the novel.

Megan Mirkhanian 12/9/2015 11:30 AM

Comment [9]: Introduce new concept in
last paragraph.

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Works Cited
Barclay, Rachel. "Why Do Some People Become Alcoholics but Not Others? Blame the
Brain." Healthline News. N.p., 04 Apr. 2014. Web.
Carroll, Noel. "The Nature of Horror." The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 46.1
(1987): 51-59. Web.
Frintner, Carly. "Lonely Madness: The Effects of Solitary Confinement and Social
Isolation on Mental and Emotional Health." Serendip Studio. N.p., 17 Jan. 2008.
Web.
Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. New York: ORB, 1954. Print.