Olivia G. answered • 04/09/20
Writing | SEO Instruction | Editing from WashPost/NPR author
Hey Kennedy,
We know that Daniel hates the Romans — especially because their laws means that he needs to debase himself. We see it in the line "But the man didn't live who could make him shoulder a Roman pack! He looked squarely at the soldier," and then in the action of him spitting at the soldier's feet.
Put yourself in Daniel's shoes: This happens, you get punched in the face for it, and even THEN you don't accept the less-than-human treatment. Then Thacia steps in and does… exactly what they ask. You've taken a lot of hits (literally) for standing up for your own self-worth, and this person you're with rolls over without a complaint. It kind of forces you into taking the other pack and "[bending your] neck to the Roman yoke," right?
The follow-up from that is that you hate both the Romans and Thacia — because you feel like she "tricked you into this humiliation."
But you're walking for a mile, and a mile with a heavy load to carry is a very long mile. So you have time to stew, but you're starting to see that Thacia and the Romans aren't one and the same: The Romans are exploiting you based on an inhumane law, but you see Thacia sweat and struggle with a very heavy load. Why did she do this? To keep you both from getting killed. She was able to pick and choose her battles and be more level-headed where you weren't. You may have gotten yourself — and Thacia — killed if you'd kept it up with them.
You'd probably feel bad for that, feel bad that Thacia is doing incredibly hard work, and feel bad that you weren't helping the matter. And then when you offer to help by taking her pack, she tells you to shut up. You can't even make yourself feel better by taking the burden off of her. It's a humbling moment. And very common for anger to shift into shame in those circumstances.
Hope this helps!
Olivia
