The Road vs. I Am Legend

I have not come in contact with many post-apocalyptic stories throughout my readings. Actually, I have only come in contact with one other, which is I Am Legend. I was forced into watching the movie with one of my friends, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it. Whether it was because Will Smith is one of my favorite actors or because I liked the story as a whole, I will never know.

While reading The Road, I actually thought about I Am Legend quite a bit. I think there are many comparisons that can be made between both of these stories. 

One comparison being that both stories contain situations where little hope is found, but the main characters keep moving forward as if they were genetically programmed to keep surviving. A scene in I Am Legend comes to my mind; Will Smith's character keeps checking the radio every single day in hopes of someone picking up on the other end. In The Road, The man and the boy slowly make their way south in hopes of finding food, shelter, warm weather, and more "good guys".

Another similarity I found is between the main characters of both stories. Both Will Smith's character and the man idolize someone or something. For Will Smith's character it is the dog; He feels it is his duty to protect and love the dog. As for the man, it is the boy. When the mother decided to commit suicide, the man had nothing else to believe in so he put all his faith, hope, and trust into the boy.