This year for the A to Z Challenge, I'm investigating emotions and reactions and their use to in writing. So, I'll be talking about my first thoughts as a writer when I think about the words we use to describe emotions and my experience of their use in literature and TV/film.
hatred
hatred: intense dislike; hate.
I'd like to point out the word 'intense' in the definition above. We're into extreme emotion territory again. Hate is not a reaction that should be used lightly.
We say in casual speech that we 'hate' something, but we don't normally mean it, what we mean is we dislike something, or maybe we're offended by it. Hatred is much, much more than that. Hate is revulsion, disgust, anger at something, or someone's very existence. It is passionate. Hate makes you grind your teeth together at the very mention of the source of the emotion.
Hate can lead to doing stupid things.
Voldermort hates Harry Potter - he has to, or he would not spend so much time pursuing him. I'm not sure Harry hates Voldermort, not at first at least, he is too abstract an idea in Harry's mind in the early books. Harry, however, really hates Belatrix Lestrange, he has a gut reaction to her, because he witnessed her killing Sirius Black, his godfather.
Hate has to have a good foundation, there has to be motive for the hatred. If a character hates something or someone, that reason has to be convincing. Death is not the only reason for hatred. There is racial and religious hatred, where a person from one background has been brought up to hate those from another. Hatred of an idea, because of the consequences of that concept, sometimes these consequences are personal, sometimes they are more general, e.g. a sense of injustice.
When writing, I am always careful with hatred, because it can be so complex, and, in a pure form, so rare.
QUESTION: When had you read/watched a story where hatred has been used well and convincingly?
We say in casual speech that we 'hate' something, but we don't normally mean it, what we mean is we dislike something, or maybe we're offended by it. Hatred is much, much more than that. Hate is revulsion, disgust, anger at something, or someone's very existence. It is passionate. Hate makes you grind your teeth together at the very mention of the source of the emotion.
Hate can lead to doing stupid things.
Voldermort hates Harry Potter - he has to, or he would not spend so much time pursuing him. I'm not sure Harry hates Voldermort, not at first at least, he is too abstract an idea in Harry's mind in the early books. Harry, however, really hates Belatrix Lestrange, he has a gut reaction to her, because he witnessed her killing Sirius Black, his godfather.
Hate has to have a good foundation, there has to be motive for the hatred. If a character hates something or someone, that reason has to be convincing. Death is not the only reason for hatred. There is racial and religious hatred, where a person from one background has been brought up to hate those from another. Hatred of an idea, because of the consequences of that concept, sometimes these consequences are personal, sometimes they are more general, e.g. a sense of injustice.
When writing, I am always careful with hatred, because it can be so complex, and, in a pure form, so rare.
QUESTION: When had you read/watched a story where hatred has been used well and convincingly?
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I haven't used flat out hatred in my writing much. A story I'd like to get back to is the only instance I can remember. My character's been kidnapped and messed up by aliens, so to say he's not fond of them is an understatement. It's already a favorite scene of mine from the story.
ReplyDeleteThat would generate some hatred!
DeleteAn all consuming sort of hatred can make for one note villains, too, I think, which are less interesting.
ReplyDeleteAs with all emotions, you are right, too much of anything can wash out and over power.
DeleteI very rarely use "hate" in speech, if ever, because I agree with you, it's actually a very rare emotion. Ironically, I probably use it more in my writing than in real life. Sometimes casually, but sometimes not. One of my characters in my current manuscript is actually pretty emotionally volitile, so when she hates something, she probably truly does (perhaps only fleetingly, but still). All in all, this is a good reminder to not overdo it. :)
ReplyDeleteSome people can be very intense, they feel everything full on, she sounds like an interesting character.
DeleteI have a 4-year-old daughter that likes to say she "hates" things and I'm always correcting her not to use that word. I agree, it's too strong a word to use lightly.
ReplyDeleteYou can find me here:
ClarabelleRant
That it is :)
DeleteHatred is a great emotion to use when writing, but you have to use it right. Like you said, hate is an intense emotion - it's so much more than dislike.
ReplyDeleteSooo much more :)
DeleteHate CAN make you do stupid things - truer words were never spoken! It really twists your logic and fuels the dark side of your spirit.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, by the way! Glad to see you on the A-to-Z!
Cherdo
www.cherdoontheflipside.com
Thank you :) Nice to meet you, I'm running really late today and didn't manage to visit any blogs, so I'm going to have to really dive in tomorrow :D
DeleteI like that you said hate should be used lightly. My best friend's mom used to tell us all the time, "You don't hate, you dislike." That has stuck with me ever since.
ReplyDeleteThat's what my mother used to say too, it really is an important distinction :)
DeleteI took a class in college psychology where he went over "labeling emotions." He said physiologically, hate and love are the same. The only thing that makes it hate/love is what we label it. Because of that, he said it's far easier to switch from hating someone to loving them and vice versa. The opposite of hate and love is indifference.
ReplyDeleteAnd indifference can be the worst reaction of all.
DeleteHate works really well when a character is driven by a desire to revenge a loved one's murder or other crime committed against them. It's a really powerful thing when a character driven by hatred finally breaks down and opens his or her heart to love again.
ReplyDelete