I am legend focuses on lieutenant colonel robert neville will smith, a doctor fighting a virus that has seemingly wiped out all of the human race except him. Need help with chapter 1 in richard mathesons i am legend. I am legend 2007 the basics hopefully all of you know the basic story behind i am legend. The book mentioned two different types of vampires. He stood there for a moment looking around the silent room, shaking his head slowly. The inside of neville s house is entirely functionaljust a bed and some tools. The novel was a success and was adapted into the films the last man on earth 1964, the omega man 1971, and i am legend 2007. How is the dystopian universe created in i am legend. I am legend a oneman american metaphor on the surface, the scifi blockbuster is about will smith battling an army of lightphobic zombies. Find sample tests, essay help, and translations of shakespeare. I am legend study guide from litcharts the creators of. Though he has lost his fear of the vampires, these are afraid of him and want him dead. I just finished reading i am legend by richard matheson and i was left with a few questions.
The city turned to a jungle, showing a chaotic vision of the future. I am meant to be writing a blog about how i am legend, by the late, immensely great, richard matheson, is the king of vampire novels. Immediately download the i am legend summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for. Themes of transformation, spirituality, and mans struggle with isolation come up. Choose from 500 different sets of am legend book flashcards on quizlet. The amazon synopsis for the film on this webpage describes things very well.
The amazon synopsis for the film on this webpage describes things very well and even manages. He checks the planks and boards that hes hammered in front of all the windows, and. The novel i am legend 1954, written by american author. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. This film is i am legend in name only, it bears very little relation to the book of the same name. Differences between i am legend book vs movie page 1. It is not made clear on the front of the book, or anywhere that this is a collection of short stories, not a novel. The opening scene is particularly relevant in the way it creates the dystopian feeling of the movie. The amazon synopsis for the film on this webpage describes things very well and. After the announcement of a good new, we discover new york in a total mess.
So i just finished i am legend by richard matheson. It is the third movie to be made from the novel and mathesons writings have modernized the vampire, in todays culture. I picked it up mostly because i read about the alternate ending of the will smith movie, which some criticized for not following the spirit of the book. I think its just a collection of short stories with the headliner being the most famous. I am legend author richard matheson was himself a real. Richard matheson is the new york times bestselling author of i am legend, hell house, somewhere in time, the incredible shrinking man, a stir of echoes, the beardless warriors, the path, seven steps to midnight, now you see it. Lu has said that she was inspired by the movie les miserables and sought to recreate the conflict between valjean. Richard mathesons i am legend has been made into several movies, including the. Since there are no sparknotes for it and wikipedia did jack, id like to know the following. I am legend is a post apocalyptic vision by richard matheson, created in 1954 it tells the story of robert neville, the last surviving human in the world, surrounded by bloodthirsty vampires both living and undead. For those that arent familiar with it, the book is about a couple of retired texas rangers that live on the texasmexico border. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Lu was an art director for a video game company before turning to writing, and her attention to crisp, futuristic settings. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in new york city. Choose from 276 different sets of i am legend book flashcards on quizlet. The story stops annoyingly suddenly, as if the rest of it has been missed off. We see manhattan three years after a deadly virus has killed every healthy human on the island, except one. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Created by the original team behind sparknotes, litcharts are the worlds best literature guides. I dont want to say anymore because its better to just read it and let the story unfold. Roberts mission is to destroy the others before they can infect him. I am legend is very short, not novel length, only 159 pages long, out of the 312 pages in the book. The fear of nuclear and biological warfare looms over much of mathesons nineteenfifties work, and in i am legend. Welcome to the litcharts study guide on richard mathesons i am legend. The opening scenes of i am legend have special effects so good that they just about compensate for some later special effects that are dicey. Legend is told from the perspective of two leading characters.
Does the book reign supreme over the movie, or did it join. Legend summary legend is told from the perspective of two leading characters. I forgot the plot of the movie from so long ago, but now. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing i am legend near you. Day, a renegade from the streets, and june, an elite student at drake university and the republics shining prodigy.
Neville is a tall, athletic man, thirtysix years old. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on i am legend by richard matheson. In the end, he confirms that he is the last man of his race, and at his death, he will be a legend, as vampires are now. Source notes i am legend 2007 is based on the groundbreaking 1954 scifi novel by richard matheson.
Day is a criminal on the run for stealing from the republic and making the government look foolish. Richard matheson s 1954 novel i am legend blends science fiction and horror into a pulp classic. Will smith, alice braga, charlie tahan, salli richardsonwhitfield. I am legend is a novel by richard matheson in which robert neville struggles to survive as the sole remaining human in a world overrun by vampires robert neville is the only. I am legend isnt particularly long either, hardly even novel length. Goodreads members who liked i am legend also liked. I am legend is a dystopian story very loosely based upon a book of the same name. The streets are overgrown with weeds, cars are abandoned, the infrastructure is beginning to collapse. Spielbergs first movie, duel 1971, was written by richard matheson, the author of i am legend. Legend is a 2011 dystopian young adult novel written by american author marie lu.
This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of i am legend by richard matheson. First in a series, this story is utterly satisfying in its own right and raises hopes high for the sequels to come. I am legend the movie is based on richard mathesons novel of the same name. It transforms every living human into a vampire, except one. Learn i am legend book with free interactive flashcards. Marie lus legend is the first in a trilogy of dystopian young adult fiction, and boy does it set the reader up for a thrill ride. Richard matheson 192620 was the new york times bestselling author of i am legend, hell house, somewhere in time, the incredible shrinking man, now you see it, and what dreams may come, among others. In this novel, the protagonist, robert neville, is seemingly the only survivor of a plague that has converted the rest of humanity to vampires.
Robert neville appears to be the sole survivor of a pandemic that has killed most of the human population and. They are cannibalistic zombies who have an aversion to light. He was named a grand master of horror by the world horror convention, and received the bram stoker award for lifetime achievement. There are two camps when it comes to discussing the issue of race in mathesons book. I am legend is named vampire novel of the century books. The i am legend novel community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and. I am legend is a 1954 postapocalyptic horror novel by american writer richard matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and. I am legend obviously extrapolates from the kind of anxieties that grow particularly well in the shadow of a mushroom cloud. Camera angles this angle gives a deserted abandoned feeling to the audience again duethethe starts with an establishing shot of to film presence of only one moving car new york city, this shows a lifeless run instead of a crowded avenue. The novel was a success and was adapted into the films the last man on earth, the omega man, and i am legend.
Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in i am legend, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The story is very much darker and deeper than the will smith film of the same name. In 2009, a genetically reengineered measles virus, originally created as a cure for cancer, turns lethal. He mentioned that he buried his wife because she died of the disease, but she came. September 25, 2019 wishing the legendary will smith a happy birthday. I though the book was effectively i am legend and other short stories by richard matheeson. Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel tells the story of the evil count dracula, a vampire who sucks the blood of his victims. Learn am legend book with free interactive flashcards.
It was also an inspiration behind night of the living dead. But when it comes down to it, is the book really better than the movie. Now for a topic thats neither divisive nor prone to eliciting irrational anger and awkward discomfort. It is the first book in the legend series followed by prodigy, champion and rebel. A virus was created using the measles in order to cure cancer. The aftereffects of a nuclear war mutated the human gene and made them what robert calls vampires, dead creatures that inhabit the human body, attack at night and are allergic to garlic. All these books, he thought, the residue of a planets intellect, the scrapings of futile minds, the leftovers, the potpourri of artifacts that had no power to save men from perishing. Romero said that his iconic movie, night of the living dead, was influenced by richards book, i. A concise biography of richard matheson plus historical and literary context for i. I am legend study guide from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Richard mathesons i am legend was adapted into a film back in 2007, but that film told a very different story than the original text. On a morning in january 1976, a man named robert neville walks around his house, carefully checking to see if its wellfortified. Sparknotes are the most helpful study guides around to literature, math, science, and more. Air cannons and hydraulic rigs were used to make nevilles house shake during the explosions.
Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. This man, our protagonist in both the book and film, is robert neville. January, 1976 i am legend opens with robert neville inspecting his house on a. Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in new york city struggles valiantly to find a cure. Us army virologist robert neville struggles to survive in the ruins of new york city after a. The first says, man, its just a badass vampire book.