Contempt In Our World
Tags: Contempt, Analysis, Literature

Contempt In Our World

As a child there were countless times where I would be completely overcome with contempt. Humans are quite possibly the most angry creatures in existence, a simple look around our everyday life can tell you that. From the countless wars we fight to simple discrimination we see consistently throughout our day. In my personal experiences I usually don’t even know why I’m upset, and this is why the topic of contempt interested me so much to begin with. Unlike emotions like happiness and sadness, where your feelings are sparked by something else, in most cases contempt is something that grows slowly for a long time. One of the biggest examples I can see today is self hatred. Because of our society, everyday we are reminded that there is somebody better than you, or that you aren’t trying hard enough. With this constant reminder we soon forget what it feels like to do anything but hate yourself. Since it is an emotion that is inevitable in our lives it was a topic I wanted to learn more about.

Contempt is a key emotion that is many times overlooked. Simply, contempt is a mixture of disgust, greed, and anger, and most of all, looking past any other emotion to feel the way you do. It is an emotion that all humans experience, and like others we have no way to control it. However, unlike many other emotions, it is very hard to drown out. When we feel contempt we are able to look past any and all other feelings, and we are blinded by the feeling of worthlessness and anger, and that there has to be someone to blame.

When I look back on my past, despite how terrible I thought it was at the time I am able to realize now that I didn’t have it too bad. Throughout my life there have been countless times that I have felt contempt. Although I’ve had experiences with contempt since I was very little, when I was around eleven years old I felt hate like I never had before. Four years ago my parents separated, but at the time I had no idea what that meant. My mom moved to Minnisota and almost completely isolated me and my sister. I know she was just doing what made her happy, but it really made me feel as though she didn’t want me anymore.

Without even knowing what I was doing I slowly began to isolate myself too. As a kid I never had a lot of friends but I distanced myself from the few that were there. I can recall many times telling my friends that I didn’t want to play simply because I just didn’t like doing it anymore. Slowly, blame started to settle on my mom for everything that was happening to me. After she had moved my sister was forced to take on her role. This put another level of stress on her and really made me feel like I was a complete burden. Although I was deep down grateful for my sister even trying to help, I was filled with anger and disgust and I started to shut her out too.

Since then my mother has moved back into my house. Until very recently I still held this anger very strongly for her, and a part of me still feels that today. Although I try hard to forget, it is impossible not to think about what my life would’ve been like for me and my sister if we had that constant mother role in our lives. I know that I will never see my mom in a way a lot of kids do but in the past year I have learned that life is not always played with me in mind, and although I am allowed to hate the idea there is nothing I can do about it and nobody to blame.

‌When I was put in this situation I became so hateful and put the blame on my mother, but on the other hand there are many victims to the world of contempt. The‌ ‌painting‌ ‌“Invisible‌ ‌Man”‌ ‌by‌ ‌Jeff‌ ‌Wall‌ ‌show‌s ‌us‌ ‌another‌ ‌look‌‌.‌ ‌As‌ ‌an‌ ‌African‌ ‌American‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌mid‌ ‌20th‌ ‌century,‌ ‌when‌ ‌revolution‌ ‌against‌ ‌racism‌ ‌was‌ ‌at‌ ‌its‌ ‌peak‌, ‌the‌ ‌man‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌photo‌ ‌feels‌ ‌as‌ ‌though‌ ‌there‌ ‌isn’t‌ ‌a‌ ‌single‌ ‌person‌ ‌on‌ ‌his‌ ‌side.‌ ‌During this time, so many were filled with contempt for people of other races. In turn, they are able to look far past any reason for hating him, and only do so because that is all they were ever taught to do. This‌ ‌makes‌ ‌him‌ ‌feel‌ ‌worthless‌ ‌and‌ ‌leaves‌ ‌him‌ ‌alone‌ ‌in‌ ‌his‌ ‌secret‌ ‌basement.‌ ‌

‌This‌ ‌secret‌ ‌room‌ ‌in‌ ‌a‌ ‌way‌ ‌symbolises‌ ‌his‌ ‌life.‌ ‌The‌ ‌room‌ ‌has‌ ‌nobody‌ ‌but‌ ‌the‌ ‌man‌ ‌and‌ his‌ cluttered spaces.‌ ‌For‌ ‌all‌ ‌of‌ ‌his‌ ‌life‌ ‌he‌ ‌has‌ ‌felt‌ ‌as‌ ‌though‌ ‌he‌ ‌had‌ ‌nobody‌ ‌to‌ ‌stand‌ ‌by.‌ ‌This‌ ‌leaves‌ ‌him‌ ‌alone‌ ‌with‌ ‌nothing‌ ‌but‌ ‌his‌ ‌thoughts.‌ ‌As‌ ‌stated‌ ‌by‌ ‌the‌ ‌Museum‌ ‌of‌ ‌Modern‌ ‌Art‌ ‌‌“Invisible‌ ‌Man‌ ‌retreats‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌secret‌ ‌basement‌ ‌room‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌edge‌ ‌of‌ ‌Harlem.‌ ‌There‌ ‌he‌ ‌patiently‌ ‌composes‌ ‌and‌ ‌reflects‌ ‌upon‌ ‌the‌ ‌story‌ ‌we‌ ‌are‌ ‌about‌ ‌to‌ ‌read.‌ ‘I‌ ‌am‌ ‌invisible,’‌ ‌he‌ ‌explains,‌ ‘simply‌ ‌because‌ ‌people‌ ‌refuse‌ ‌to‌ ‌see‌ ‌me’”.‌ ‌Although‌ ‌we‌ ‌all‌ ‌feel‌ ‌contempt‌ ‌in‌ ‌one‌ ‌way‌ ‌or‌ ‌another,‌ ‌nobody‌ ‌can‌ ‌truly‌ ‌emphasize‌ ‌as‌ ‌they‌ ‌can‌ ‌with‌ ‌other‌ ‌emotions.‌ ‌I‌ ‌believe‌ ‌this‌ ‌is‌ ‌why‌ ‌the‌ ‌feeling‌ ‌of‌ ‌contempt is so powerfull.‌ ‌Although‌ ‌I‌ ‌have‌ ‌heard‌ ‌countless‌ ‌stories‌ ‌of‌ ‌discrimination‌ ‌and‌ ‌feeling‌ ‌like‌ ‌nothing,‌ ‌I‌ ‌will‌ ‌never‌ ‌know‌ ‌what‌ ‌it‌ ‌feels‌ ‌like‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌that‌ ‌invisible‌ ‌man,‌ ‌and‌ ‌nobody‌ ‌probably‌ ‌ever‌ ‌will‌ ‌unless‌ ‌they‌ ‌are‌ ‌him.‌ ‌It‌ ‌is‌ ‌art‌ ‌and‌ ‌stories‌ ‌like‌ ‌“Invisible‌ ‌Man”‌ ‌that‌ ‌inspires‌ ‌me‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌more‌ ‌empathetic‌ ‌and‌ ‌always‌ ‌try‌ ‌to‌ ‌look‌ ‌from‌ ‌all‌ sides ‌before‌ ‌placing‌ ‌any‌ ‌blame‌ ‌or‌ ‌hatred.‌ ‌

An example of contempt in poetry is Ashleigh Black’s Reflection. In this poem the character is comparing the hateful waves of the ocean to the hatred she has for her reflection. Although the waves have no real emotion, when the girl watches them she can’t help but feel the same hate and disgust for the waves as she does herself. This describes contempt perfectly; feeling complete hatred and disgust for something unable to think rationally because of it.

Although the ocean doesn’t really feel hate, the crashing of the waves is reminiscent to the character’s own hatred for herself. Overall, the feeling of contempt is very similar to crashing waves. Unforgiving, relentless, and just angry. This reminds her of the way she feels about herself, like there is a constant force trying to pull her down. At the end of the poem she mentions how the waves aim to devour the coastline, again this shows how contempt can be shown in the waves. Angry, and wanting to destroy everything.

The girl in the story tells us the contemptful waves remind her of the was she feels about herself. As the waves want to devour the coastline, her own feeling of hatred devours her. Much like any form of anger, it is one of the most destructive emotions and one of the hardest things to overcome. Since the girl is feeling so much hate and disgust for herself she is unable to look at a simple ocean without being reminded of the hate she has. This just shows how powerful of an emotion it is. Although it is easy to get consumed in happiness, falling into anger is much easier. In the world today, the odds are against us to find happiness. Because of the hate the girl has for herself she can’t help but apply that same hatred to every aspect of her life.

. Although many of us regularly face contempt, one of the most iconic examples of it in literature is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Everybody has heard the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man who’s only defining characteristic is how much he hates joy and christmas. Scrooge is what we know now as a loan shark and after the death of his partner he feels the need to cover up his grief with more hatred. He gave out loans knowing nobody would be able to pay him back, and if they couldn’t, which was the case for most of them, he would take everything but the clothes off their backs. Any time somebody would say Merry Christmas he would reply with a simple “Bah humbug!” and be on with his life.

. Being constantly angry was just seen as normal to people who knew Scrooge. One day Scrooge’s Nephew comes to invite him to a Christmas party. When asked why he chooses to be so hateful he responds, “What else can I be, when I live in such a world of fools as this? Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas”(Dickens). Because of his friends death Scrooge feels like hatred is his only way to hide his sadness. Through all instances of contempt this is a common theme. Although we would all like to say we live our lives completely honestly, none of us truly do. Most of the time we cover this up with being defensive and hateful.

. In our culture we all criminalize Scrooge for being the scum of the earth, but in reality he shows traits that most of us, including me, have. Although in no way is Scrooge a good person, he definitely is a realistic one. Scrooge shows his contempt in everything, everyday he works for money, which he believes is the only thing that will bring him joy, but the hate he has completely overshadows the fact that he is already successful, and he is allowed to be happy with where he is at in his life. The common theme with contempt is that it is able to make us feel that nothing is ever enough, and instead of doing things with compassion and joy we do it with the purpose of being better.

In A Christmas Carol, even though Scrooge is the protagonist, he is also the villain. As any villain, he is filled with the same contempt that many of us face today, and are truly “pure evil”. One of the most prominent villians in my childhood was Scar in Disney’s The Lion King. Scar is the younger brother of Mufasa — The prides leader.

As Scar was growing up he was always put in the shadow of his brother, before the movie takes place Scar always had the small hope that he would become king after his brothers death. However, this all goes away after Mufasa produces an heir to the throne, Simba. So easily Simba takes away his only morally good chance at becoming King. This causes Scar to be thrown into a jealous rage where his only goal is to become king and be the best. He is so blinded by hate and disgust for his brother that he chooses the only solution is to kill him, and as he intended, his nephew too. Although most of us have never felt this much hate, Many of us can in a way relate to Scar. Personally I can because of the way he felt like he had an obligation to himself to become king.

Another way we see contempt in Scar, along with other villians is their appearance. Bright colors are constantly used throughout The Lion King to show good things, such as the rainforest and sunrises. Vice versa, dull and dark colors are used to show scary and bad places like the elephant graveyard and Scars den. This can also be seen within the characters. Simba is a gorgeous bright orange color, while Scar has a more burnt color and a dark mane. Although this isn’t something we usually look at when first watching these movies, it is a very good subtle way of making the audience feel something while not knowing why. Overall, Scar is a very angry character like all other villains. He looks so far past his other emotions that he is easily able to murder his brother without any remorse. Although this is very different from the other examples such as “Reflection”, it still shows contempt because you feel so strongly that there is no other aspect in your life except for that one emotion. When we take a look at human life today it is impossible to look past the vast amount of hate in contempt we live with. It is something that everyone feels and is inevitable to us as people. It is something we all must learn to live with even if it is impossible to overlook.

Works Cited

Black, Ashleigh. “Reflection.” Hello Poetry, © 2019 HePo by Eliot, hellopoetry.com/poem/681283/reflection/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2019.

Dickens, Charles, 1812–1870. A Christmas Carol and Other Stories. New York :Modern Library, 1995.

Ferguson, Don. Disney’s The Lion King. [United States]: Mouse Works, 1994.

Wall, Jeff. Invisible Man. 2019. MoMA, © 2019 The Museum of Modern Art, 2019, www.moma.org/collection/works/88085?classifications=any&date_begin=Pre-1850&date_end=2019&locale=en&page=1&q=Contempt&with_images=1. Accessed 20 Nov. 2019.