---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do this: hate him for me after I die. I…"
description: "\"Do this: hate him for me after I die. I beg you. Dying request.\" — David Foster Wallace"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg"
---

#  Do this: hate him for me after I die. I beg you. Dying…

![“Do this: hate him for me after I die. I beg you. Dying request.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg)

> “Do this: hate him for me after I die. I beg you. Dying request.”

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker implores a loved one to harbor hatred after his death, highlighting the desire for posthumous emotional control and the complexity of love and resentment

**In simple terms:** Ask to be hated after death, reflecting tangled emotions

Key Takeaway

Consider how love can coexist with anger in relationships

Themes

love death resentment control

Mood

sorrowful conflicted

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- grief counseling
- personal letters
- legacy planning
- ethical debates

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology ethical dilemmas

Questions to Reflect On

- What does wanting to be hated after death reveal about self?
- Is it fair to impose emotional duties on the living?

A Different Perspective

The request may be manipulative, burdening the recipient with negative feelings

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/)

## Related quotes

> [“To Szeth’s people, a dying request was sacred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/to-szeth-s-people-a-dying-request-was-sacred/)

[Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/)

> [While over Alabama earth These words are gently spoken: Serve and hate will die unborn. Love and chains are broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/while-over-alabama-earth-these-words-are-gently-spoken-serve-and-hate/)

[Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/)

> [“Our marriages fail, our kids hate us, we die of stress and on the way we destroy the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-marsh/our-marriages-fail-our-kids-hate-us-we-die-of-stress-and-on-the-way/)

Nigel Marsh

> [“Once you kill all of us, and you're alone, you'll die! The hate will die. That hate is what moves you, nothing else! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/once-you-kill-all-of-us-and-you-re-alone-you-ll-die-the-hate-will-die/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [You want to love, die in love, and love will die in you. You want to be lost, well get lost in yourself. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/you-want-to-love-die-in-love-and-love-will-die-in-you-you-want-to-be/)

[Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/)

> [You seem a decent fellow," Inigo said. "I hate to kill you." You seem a decent fellow," answered the man in black. "I hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-seem-a-decent-fellow-inigo-said-i-hate-to-kill-you-you-seem-a/)

[William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/)

> [“I would hate to die for a lot of reasons. But mostly because of all the books I haven't yet read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-lynch/i-would-hate-to-die-for-a-lot-of-reasons-but-mostly-because-of-all/)

Peg Lynch

> [this song is for the guy who keeps yelling from the balcony, and it's called 'we hate you, please die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-lee-o-malley/this-song-is-for-the-guy-who-keeps-yelling-from-the-balcony-and-it-s/)

[Bryan Lee O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-lee-o-malley/)

> [We attach our feelings to the moment when we were hurt, endowing it with immortality. And we let it assault us every time it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/we-attach-our-feelings-to-the-moment-when-we-were-hurt-endowing-it/)

[Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/)

> [“I hate... I hate when you die. It destroys me. I know i have no right to be so upset, because I'm not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-allison-moulton/i-hate-i-hate-when-you-die-it-destroys-me-i-know-i-have-no-right-to/)

[Courtney Allison Moulton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-allison-moulton/)

> [I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-hate-to-die-twice-it-s-so-boring/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Of emotions, of love, of breakup, of love and hate and death and dying, mama, apple pie, and the whole thing. It covers a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/of-emotions-of-love-of-breakup-of-love-and-hate-and-death-and-dying/)

[Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/)

> [Patience is a most necessary qualification for business; many a man would rather you heard his story than granted his request. One must seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/patience-is-a-most-necessary-qualification-for-business-many-a-man/)

[Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/)

> [A zealous disciple expressed a desire to teach others the Truth and asked the Master what he thought about this. The Master said, "Wait."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/a-zealous-disciple-expressed-a-desire-to-teach-others-the-truth-and/)

[Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/)

> [In general, librarians enjoyed special requests. A reference librarian is someone who likes the chase. When librarians read for pleasure, they often pick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-general-librarians-enjoyed-special-requests-a-reference-librarian/)

[Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/)

## More by David Foster Wallace

> [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

[Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

## More Death quotes

> [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/)

[Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/)

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/)

[Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/)

> [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/)

[Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/)

> [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/)

[Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/)

> [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/)

J. Anthony Torino

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/)

Alan W. Powers

> [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/)

[Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/)

> [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/)

[Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/)

> [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/)

[Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/)

> [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/)

[Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/)

[Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Do this: hate him for me after I die. I beg you. Dying request.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Foster Wallace"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-beg-you-dying-request/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Death"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-beg-you-dying-request/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1c/david-foster-wallace-161_death_do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-be_1335361.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Do this: hate him for me after I die. I beg you. Dying request.” — David Foster Wallace",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "David Foster Wallace",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Do this: hate him for me...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-beg-you-dying-request/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/do-this-hate-him-for-me-after-i-die-i-beg-you-dying-request/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
