We are all completely different people when we are alone. Being alone allows us to dig deep within ourselves without being distracted by outside life. For some of us it is a renewed and positive experience, and for the rest of us it is degrading and negative. People in the latter can connect to Robert Neville from I Am Legend (novel), in the sense that loneliness is not very enlightening. For this reason, it goes without saying that Neville pretty much represents the darker, less stable, and more monstrous side of the human population. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Isolation is not a good thing for many of us. We've seen or read comical stories about how people deserted on an island get weird and start talking to plants, but that's far from Neville's situation. Technically, he's surrounded by people. Even more technically, none of them are alive. Despite the fact that the people around him are vampires, he still treats some of them like people. At least one of them: Ben Cortman. Neville swears he's going to kill Cortman one day. He “looks” for it during the day. But the evidence proves that he wasn't really looking; Cortman was hiding in the chimney of his own home, discovered by the group of living vampires. Further proof of my point, Neville wonders, "Why didn't he look more closely?" He couldn't fight the sick apprehension he felt at the thought of Cortman being killed by these brutal strangers. Objectively, it was no use, but he couldn't suppress the feeling. It was not theirs to put Cortman to rest” (Matheson, 148). When he said “it was no use,” it is obvious that he meant “there was no point in putting me in denial.” Neville knew it was likely that Cortman was hiding somewhere in his own house. It's impossible not to make the connection: Neville decided to bury his wife instead of burning her, and when she returned as a vampire, she headed for the front door of their house. Just the fact that vampires are aware of their past lives to some extent (even the little things, like Cortman's "Get out Neville!" ultimatums. He still knows his friend's name.) should be a big sign that Neville must look into Cortman's story. House. But instead he pretends to look into any space a human body can climb into and suffers the consequences of his denial when he sees Cortman killed by strangers. Neville probably chose to keep Cortman "alive" because he had the last connection to his personal life: Neville and Cortman carpooled to work the morning right after he said goodbye to Kathy and Virginia. Put yourself in the same scenario; Would you really want to completely let go of your past? All the memories and everything you miss? Most likely, the only living memory of what your life was like? If you said yes, even Neville knew "it wouldn't be that easy." Speaking of things that aren't easy to do, Neville struggles to find company throughout the novel. No, duh, says the reader of this essay, don't you remember the fact that he was, like, alone? Well, yes, he was alone, but not all the time. Twice he meets possible companions: the dog and Ruth. What's interesting about it, though, is how he reacts to seeing them, individually. With the dog, Neville chased it briefly, but.