I AM LEGEND CHAPTER 10-14 QUESTIONS

Chapter 10

1. This chapter seems to be about Neville expanding his understanding of the vampires and the germ.  With this in mind, consider Neville’s scientific process by discussing the following.  (a) How sound is his reasoning?  (b) Why does he grow so concerned with ordering things and making lists (i.e. he keeps repeating the phrase “the first step”)?  (c) what is Neville’s "3 am epiphany"?  

1. His reasoning is pretty sound, he goes to the library to study up on blood and other fields he is not an expert in in order to gain the scientific knowledge needed to make discoveries about how the vampires came to be.
2. He grows so concerned with ordering things and making lists (i.e. he keeps repeating the phrase “the first step”) because he wants to keep organized, he enjoys being orderly (a trait he later attributes to his father’s blood) and it reflects his progress of being a proactive man with a purpose, instead of simply the last man on earth trying to survive instead of thriving.
3. Neville’s "3 am epiphany" is that, “Bacteria could be the answer to the vampire.” (Page 71) This epiphany caused him to reconsider all of his preconceptions about how the plague had spread and allowed him to connect all of the science he had read up on, understanding how, “only if you accepted bacteria could you explain the fantastic rapidity of the plague, the geometrical mounting of victims.” (Page 71)

2. Despite knowing statistically that vampirism could spread over the full world within months, Matheson goes out of his way to suggest a third method of rapid-transmission. Why does he do this?

    Despite knowing statistically that vampirism could spread over the full world within months, Matheson goes out of his way to suggest a third method of rapid-transmission through bacteria, that, “bacteria were the strength of the true vampire,” (Page 71) hypothesizing that, “bacteria explained a lot of things; the staying in by the day, the coma enforced by the germ to protect itself from sun radiation.” (Page 71)

He does this because he wants to be able to understand how vampires came to be, as he explains, “He felt himself trembling without control and he wanted to cry out loudly to stop the runaway horse of his brain, He had to find something! Goddamn it! he raged in his mind, I won’t let it go!” (Page 72)

Chapter 11

1. What appears to be Neville’s “new” goal in this chapter?

    In this chapter Neville’s “new goal” appears to be learning how to use a microscope to study vampire blood to better understand how it reacts to different stimulus such as sunlight and garlic, in order to gain insight about why vampires are affected by such things.

2. Describe the hypothesis Robert forms about the two different types of vampires.

    Robert forms a hypothesis about the two different types of vampires that says that they can be split into vampires that are physically alive and vampires who are activated entirely by the germ.

3. What other epidemic does Robert think might be explained by vampires? How would this knowledge redefine  our knowledge of the world and its history?

    Robert thinks the epidemic of bubonic plague that desolated Athens in 1975 might also be explained by vampires.

    This knowledge would redefine our knowledge of the world and its history by establishing that vampires were real and could have had a hand in any historic events, shifting our perspective on what we believe the true tales of the past are because now we know there is a factor involved in they we had never considered before because vampires were simply written off as the things on nightmares and legend.

 

Chapter 12

1. Explain the lists that Neville makes concerning vampires.

    Neville makes lists concerning vampires in which he splits the characteristics of vampires into two categories, bacillus or unknown, depending on if he can explain vampires reactions to certain stimulus by looking at their cells, like sunlight, or if he still doesn’t understand why things affect vampires, such as garlic or wooden stakes (Neville is frustrated that he has more unknowns).

2. Neville, during one of his drinking binges, slashes at one of the murals on his wall. Speculate which one it is and why he would slash at it at this moment.

    I think that during one of Neville’s drinking binges he slashed the mural on his wall of the forest because he explains that his, “whiskey ran down the tree trunks and onto the ground.” (Page 82) I think he would slash at it at this moment because he is angry about how being the last man on earth has turned him into nothing more than an animal, “I’m an animal! he exulted. I’, a dumb, stupid animal and I’m going to drink!” (Page 81)

3. What does Robert find on the third day of his drinking binge? What is his reaction to this find?

    On the third day of his drinking binge Neville finds, “a dog roving about on the lawn.” (Page 83)

His reaction to this find is joyful because seeing the dog gives him hope that if the dog was able to survive maybe other people have too and that he is not truly the only make left alive and uninfected on the earth.

Chapter 13

1. Explain what happens between Robert and the dog. Explain what ultimately happens to him and what new hope the dog represents for Neville.

    Robert and the dog begin to become more familiarized with each other, Nevile goes out and gets food for the dog and places it outside for the dog to eat, he realizes he can’t chase after the dog so he watches it eat his food through a peephole trying to take a more calm approach to get the dog to feel comfortable and trusting with him and stop just running away.

    Ultimately what happens to him is that he experiences joy over the concept that he is not alone, that this dog has also been able to survive this long through the apocalypse by hiding and being cautions and resourceful. The new hope the dog represents for Neville is that if the dog was able to survive maybe other people have too and that he is not truly the only make left alive and uninfected on the earth.

2. Who was Androcles and how does he relate to Robert’s interactions with the dog?

    Androcles was a story of a man who heals a lions paw and then gains the lions friendship which later comes in handy when the man is sentenced to death by the king and the lion refuses to kill the man, the man is pardoned and he and his lion live together as friends, roaming the city together, beloved by everyone. He relates to Robert’s interactions with the dog because he notices that there is something wrong with the dog’s paw, when he observes the dog hobbling slowly across the street, and he explains that, “he wanted very much to fix it and get the dog’s affection.” (Page 88)

3. How might Neville’s actions actually have caused the dog to become more susceptible to vampirism?

    Neville’s actions actually might have caused the dog to become more susceptible to vampirism because before the dog was surviving on its own by scavenging during the day and hiding at night, always moving around in order to not be caught by the vampires, but now that Neville is providing a constant source of food in one place the dog isn’t moving as much and if he were to become Neville’s pet he would lose his survival instinct and no longer be able to fend for himself amongst the vampires.