Despite the Hindu religious environment I was surrounded by, where good was the only investment I had to stick to, I never mentally realized that I had been instilled to place a boundary between myself and the Other. Or what is commonly known to me as good and evil, right and wrong, and what I want to be and what I should never become. I should be dharmic (act right), otherwise karma would teach me a lesson. I always knew there was evil, but that should never have been me. The conceptual knowledge obtained through the Exploration of Humanities lessons has created new versions of what can be considered suitable for the set of divergence traits as it integrates the moral principles of Hinduism. Richard Matheson's I Am Legend blurs the characterization of the monstrosity as Robert Neville tries to maintain his "humanity" and not become a vampire. As the last human alive, Neville protects himself and takes refuge to avoid becoming what the world around him has become. To protect himself, Neville uses a cross to ward off other vampires and other objects of different faiths (61). The cross is supposed to represent God and defeat evil. But if you think about it mentally, the vampire race is now dominant in society, so if everyone else (vampires) is afraid of sacred objects, then how bad is it, maybe everyone should be afraid. This can be taken into consideration when comparing and contrasting Neville to vampires. In contrast, Laurell Hamilton's short story, Guilty Pleasures, varies in that it tells the story of Jean-Claude, a vampire, who although physically a vampire, decides to be mentally what fits into the circle of society. Jean-Claude, although he is a vampire, believes he can be “cured” if he continues to...... middle of paper ......n. An example of this would be if, wanting to purchase a vehicle, you had to decide between two different brands. Both cars had the same quality and looked almost identical. The only real difference was that a brand had a higher status in society because it was more expensive. If I were to choose the most expensive one, it would mean not only that I am an irrational thinker, but also that I cared about what people thought of me and wanted to fit in with everyone else. It's like what people would define as high school again. People fear not only becoming what in the realms of Hinduism is not dharmic (right action), but they also fear being exiled from different levels of status in society. Fundamentally, there is no clear description of the Other. It can be about, but is not limited to, evil, what we don't want to be, what we want to become, or what we fear..