Hate! Hate! Haaaaaaaate! Almost everyone in The Power and the Glory succumbs to hate—the ill will that seeks destruction. The priest falls to it. The lieutenant is motivated by it. The world of the novel teems with it. What distinguishes the characters is not the presence or absence of hatred, but what they choose to do out of whatever hatred they feel. Some hate passively, others actively; but in whatever way they hate, they close themselves off to one another. Those who live by hatred slowly die by hatred. They do not find peace even when they rid their world of what they despise.
Questions About Hate
- What does Greene mean in the novel when he writes that hate is just a failure of imagination?
- What are the causes of hate in The Power and the Glory?
- Based on your reading of this novel, what might Greene think of the motto "Hate the sin, love the sinner"?
- Why does the love the lieutenant felt for the children of the state die out after he executes the priest?
Chew on This
The lieutenant's willingness to imprison and murder innocent people shows that he doesn't mind being hated.
The lieutenant's attempt to reach out to the children in the capital suggests that he desires not to be hated.