Introduction
Dr. Robert Neville sets his daily routine to be
experimenting on infected rats to find a cure for a virus created by Dr. Alice
Krippin. In her efforts to develop a cure of cancer, Alice developed a
genetically-variant of measles. After Neville lost his wife and daughter in a
helicopter accident during a quarantine of Manhattan, he dedicates himself to
finding a cure for the virus. He seems to lose his sexual desire after
dedicating himself to scientific research and chooses his dog to be his
companion. He is inclined to bear the task because he believes that it was a
mistake done by humans and they have to correct it without blaming God. He
says, “… God didn’t do this. We did!”
How
Neville appears to lose his sexual desire
After
the death of both his wife and daughter, Neville the remains with his German
Shepherd dog named Samantha as his companion. He does not seem be concerned
with getting a new lover but instead, he spends his time collecting food and
medical supplies in Manhattan or hunting for deer. He also spends time at South
Street Seaport sitting on a bench to wait for any survivors as he instructs
them through his recorded AM radio broadcasts. His relationship with other
people seems are based on searching for a cure for virus and shows no interests
on sexual affairs. He feels that he has to love something but what is best for
him is his dog. The author says “… he had such a terrible yearning to love
something again, and only the dog was such a beautiful ugly dog.”
This
is evident in his relation to Sam whom they go hunting together. He strictly
remains in his goals of searching for a cure and does not engage in romantic
discussions with her. During a fight with infected dogs, Sam is bitten and
Neville tries to inject her with a strain of his serum but does not succeed in
rescuing her. She starts to mutate and he struggles her to death. He is not
disturbed by killing her but instead sees the darkseekers as the cause of her
death. If he could not have lost his sexual desire, he could be overcome by
emotions and show the love he had for her.
Instead, he reacts as if he has lost just a hunting mate and attacks the
darkseekers to revenge. He does not show any sign of losing a special person
but only a friend. Anna and Ethan traces him through his radio broadcasts and
even after arriving he treats them normally. He does not show any strange
emotions in dealing with Anna but only strives to deliver the antidote to her.
Even after noticing the butterfly tattoo Anna had, and remembering the
butterfly shapes his daughter Marley used to make, this does not draw him close
to Anna. He is ever dreaming of saving lives. He screams, “….I can help. I can
save you. I can save everybody.”
Neville
dedicates his life to discover an antidote which Anna delivers to survivors in
the Colony camp. He is busy scientifically experimenting samples and does not divert
his attention towards sexual matters. He sacrifices his life to protect Anna
and Ethan. His main desire remains to be based on discovering an antidote to
rescue the human kind, and not developing any sexual relationships with the
females he meets. He remains friendly to everyone as he tells a mannequin, “… I
promised a friend I would say hello to you today.”
Conclusion
It
is evident that Neville loved his wife and so much that her death has led him
to losing his sexual desire. He excludes himself from love affairs in order to
be able to find the cure. Loving someone else could make him to forget the pain
of losing his wife and daughter which was the driving factor towards finding
the cure. This is why the butterfly tattoo Anna had did not make him get
attracted to her but instead, it increased the desire to accomplish his
mission. He freely gives up his life after giving Anna the antidote, to protect
them and ensure the survivors got it. This shows that he has fully achieved his
goals and that he had no sexual desires to achieve. Anna tells the survivors,
“… He gave his life to defend it. We are his legacy. This is his legend. Light
up the darkness”
Work
Cited
Matheson R. (2007). I am a Legend. New York: Tor Books Publishers.
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