English: Hatred and William Hazlitt Essay

In his essay, “On the Pleasure of Hating,” William Hazlitt uses many rhetorical devices to perpetuate his argument about the nature of hatred in human life. Hazlitt likes to use rhetorical questions to strengthen his points. He also includes many literary devices like similes and uses intense diction. And lastly, he includes a lot of parallel syntax and repetition for emphasis.

In the stories he tells, the word hate appears quite frequently. It is sometimes used about his father. “I saw nothing very clearly but I did see this: that my life, my real life, was in danger, and not from anything other people might do but from the hatred I carried in my own heart.” (72) This hatred he talks about exists towards his father. Other factors contribute too, but are not as often told.

In this world hate means many different things. For some people hate may mean the emotion they feel against their country for all the deaths and disparities that the war torn country has caused them. For others the word could mean that the teen is going through a phase and may “hate” their parents for not getting them the a in style piece of clothing or a resplendent new phone. But in the 1300’s there was a whole different rationale of the word “hate”.

If one hates someone or something that means they have an intense dislike towards them. Sometimes this hate can be so large it can be an influence for mass destruction. We have learned, or even have seen examples of hate turning into something bigger throughout our history. These examples include the multiple wars, terrorist’s attacks, and genocides. Many of these incidents were drove by hate, and did not end well. What drives this hate? How can people turn on one another with just feeling hate towards them? The Holocaust being one of the many genocides in our history was indeed influenced by an intense dislike. That intense dislike was towards certain types of people it ended up taking multiple lives.

There is a major difference in the definitions of love and hate. Some say that one can only have a single feeling for a person, and that it will never change. In order to love someone, one will have to be able to deal with things that one hates about them. Nobody is perfect, therefore there is not only one feeling for a person. In John Grisham’s Bleachers, there is a lot of controversy on Coach Eddie Rake. Rake was the head coach of the Messina Spartan Football Team and was highly valued to the people of the town. Some hated him for his harshness in practice, but later in life realized that “He was a great coach who built a great program and a great tradition and gave us all something great, something we will always cherish” (Grisham

Hate is one very important idea examined in Romeo and Juliet and is explored by Juliet when she states ‘Here's much to do with hate, but more with love’ (1.1.166). William Shakespeare conveys the consequences of hate in his play through the ancient feud between the Capulet’s and the Montague’s, the irrational decisions made and the deaths that resulted. It is the ancient feud between the two families that lead to the irrational decisions made by Romeo and Juliet as well as their demise. It is questionable as to whether Romeo and Juliet’s lives would be spared if their families were not feuding.

Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, in his significant speech, “The Perils of Indifference,” clearly states that indifference is very dangerous to humanity and shall be put to an end. He develops his message through emphasizing the cruel results of indifference. For example, Wiesel explains how a person’s life feels “meaningless” when their neighbor is indifferent. It is indifference that can “reduce the other to an abstraction” (par 8). The author describes what indifference means to him as well. In particular, indifference is “more dangerous than anger and hatred.” It is “not a beginning, it is an end.” It is “not only a sin, it is a punishment” (par 11-13). Lastly, indifference, is viewed as an adverse situation. By being indifferent, it makes it easier for people to “avoid” certain cases that affect their “work,” “dreams,” and “hopes” (par 8). Wiesel’s purpose is to inform, warn, and define indifference in order to bring awareness therefore something can be done to stop the madness. He establishes a formal and serious tone for readers by using stylistic devices such as repetition, imagery, and word choice in order to develop his message that indifference is what can lead to history repeating itself, and we should not risk it at all. Wiesel’s message about the inhumanity of indifference and the importance of resistance is still relevant today.

Sadly, one of my all-time favorite authors, Elie Wiesel, died this past week. His extraordinary life and mindset regarding humanity has altered my way of thinking. Taken from his speech “The Perils of Indifference” these lines have stuck with me and can be applied to numerous situations: “The opposite of live is not hate, it’s indifference” (American Rhetoric: Elie Wiesel - The Perils of Indifference, 2016). Through his life experiences and words,Wiesel illustrates the dangers of indifference on society and the lives of its individuals.

Hate does not oppose love. Ugliness is not the opposite of art or even beauty. Life and death are just processes given names rooted in a linear context. Indifference reduces others to an abstraction; and thus for him, it is indifference that is the opposite of love, art, and life itself. This summarizes his main view of life and remains the driving force of his work.

The hate in the theory cannot be a long- lasting effect without any kind of mishap to end the

“Love always overcomes hate, but love’s effects and hate’s effects are no different in magnitude.” -Anonymous. No one ever doubts the power of love or the power of hate. For as long as time has existed people have loved and people have hated. Strong emotions persuade everyone to act on their inhibition. Everyone wants to be a hero in every situation whether it be trying to save someone or the simple act of finding a winning lottery ticket. These actions are what lead to love overcoming hate even if they are the simplest of acts. The mistake people make is them trying to hard to be the hero. This leads to one traveling great lengths to achieve their goals, but at what cost. Throughout Shakespeare’s most famous play, Romeo and Juliet, his main

Throughtout The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, the theme hate is clearly exhibited by multiple characters. As described by oxforddictionaries.com, hate is to “ have a strong aversion to (something).” The main protagonist in The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes, was immensly wronged by four of his peers and was sentenced to waste his life away in the Chateau d’If. Moreover Haydee, Dantes’ associate, was sold into slavery by one of the quintets who betrayed Dantes. In due course, Dantes and Haydee alike dedicate their entire lives to punish and take revenge upon those who caused them to suffer.

Hatred for white society was a common sentiment among the black community during the 1950s. These feelings were expressed through different mediums, ranging from music and art, to the written word. But James Baldwin, a popular black writer during this time period, does not harp on this subject. Instead of preaching about his hatred for white America, Baldwin utilizes his narrative and analysis techniques to illustrate the destructive nature of the black society’s hatred for white society in “Notes of a Native Son”.

There is no point in hating thy enemy. Hatred and anger towards someone else can have a long lasting emotional and psychological effect. The hatred and anger goes beyond just hating and having anger towards that individual that hurt you. This emotion begins to spread and discharge toxic. The toxic takes over your life. You now begin to have hatred towards others; innocent others. You begin to create damage to one’s self and one’s life. The world is no longer the same. You allowed yourself to become trapped, and you will stay trapped. You will stay trapped because you chose not to forgive.

Love and hate are both very powerful emotions. The abundance one can feel inside when feeling them can be overwhelming at times. I think everyone can relate to the feeling when you love someone so much you would do anything and everything for them. We can also understand that feeling when you can’t even stand the thought of someone being in the same room of you. When we look at what emotion is more powerful, I think hate is stronger than love. The reason being is that love can quickly turn to hate, but hate doesn’t change to love very fast, if at all. I think Othello is a great example of this. His love for his wife, turned to hate so fast because he thought she was cheating on him. He murdered his wife in pure cold blood which shows how hate can be such a powerful emotion that it can actually cause someone to want to commit murder. The feeling of love and hate can change someone, and they both can be very powerful. However, I think that hate is an emotion unlike no other in which the feeling is very stable, in the since that it is very hard to change someone’s mind about you when they hate you.