Here's a fun fact about hatred: It's often less complex than love. It comes from some primal place inside us, and while we can get all philosophical about our reasons for hating, our responses are fairly straightforward. For the characters in Omeros, hatred centers on just a few things: Helen, slavery, and poor personal choices (i.e., self-hatred). It comes from the worst side of pride (nationalism, arrogance), self-loathing (shame, social stigma), and jealousy (love-fights, personal inadequacies), and it results in a "festering wound" that pushes the hater into isolation. Yikes.
Questions About Hate
- Why does Hector leave his life as a fisherman and buy the Comet? In what ways is this an act of love? In what ways is it an act of hate?
- What is the nature of Philoctete's wound? Why won't it heal?
- Why does Major Plunkett move to St. Lucia with his wife? Does he find what he's looking for?
- The narrator observes hatred in many forms as he researches for characters. In what ways does he participate in hatred?
Chew on This
Hector's choice to leave his fishing life, though motivated by the hatred of Achille, results in a self-hatred that is much stronger and more devastating.
Omeros argues that the legacy of hatred and shame left by slavery must be met by dignity and self-knowledge in order to be conquered.