Everyone's personality is gradual. and btw Sasuke was an angry child and hater before the Uchiha's were slaughtered.
In terms of this series, you're correct, every character's personality has been a gradual process, depending on the events that have transpired from their introduction in Part I to Part II. However, Sasuke didn't possess an angry, resentful disposition prior to the Uchiha Clan Massacre. That isn't to say that he wasn't jealous of Itachi; he most certainly was, as most young siblings are of their older siblings, especially when there doesn't seem to be anything they can do to outshine them - for example, Sasuke tried his best to receive the same level of recognition from his father (i.e. consistently scoring at the top of his academy class), but his father always defined his success in terms of Itachi (i.e. 'Good, continue to do well like your brother'), instead of the
"As expected of my son" that he'd always desired to hear his father say to him. Despite being jealous of Itachi's talents and recognition, Sasuke genuinely loved his brother, and had always aimed to be like him, prior to the Annihilation of his clan.
"He had angst because he was jealous, felt pressured to surpass Itachi, wanted to feel more noticed by his dad. Those are feelings of resentment. He was angry even then. I honestly think Sasuke will only ever be happy if he wants himself to be. He was getting there in team 7 he even said so, but he decided to go back down the path of anger because that's always been what's comfortable to him".
While Sasuke was jealous of Itachi and did long to surpass him (or at least gain his father's attention), he didn't resent his brother at that point in time [Prior to the Uchiha Massacre]. To resent is tantamount to hatred, and it's quite clear that if Sasuke had hated Itachi, he wouldn't have spent soo much time trying to get Itachi to pay attention to his skills and growth (i.e. Asking Itachi continuously to help him with his shuriken technique); rather, he would've worked towards surpassing his brother on his own, and he most likely would've spent more time asking his Father to help him train, instead of Itachi. And it's true, he did tell Sakura that he thought he could be like her and Naruto, and forget about revenge, but in the end, his circumstances were different from theirs. Revenge wasn't just an option - it was the only path that would've led to him accomplishing his goal (at that point, gaining enough power to kill his brother) - It wasn't about what was 'comfortable' for him, although, you would be right to make this argument after his decision to wipe out Konoha even knowing Itachi's wishes and sacrifice, since vengeance and hatred have been all he's known for most of his life. Sadly, Sasuke's current character will only be truly happy after wreaking chaos and turmoil on the Leaf Village, which in doing so would 'Purify the clan's name.'
Originally Posted by shyarkugan:
most kids are like that, we've all been jealous of someone as kids. Kids get angry easily especially if you feel like you're in someone else's shadow, I don't think it's a Sasuke thing, it's just a natural thing with kids.
"I never felt that way as a child and I knew maybe 1 kid who did. She grew up to be a totally spiteful b****. No other children felt it as strongly as Sasuke. Even Neji didn't have angst towards the main family until his father died. In their world, Susuke's behavior wasn't the norm (from what we've seen)."
Shyarkugan brings up a valid point. You personally may not have had that experience as a child, but everyone has a different story to tell, and I've got tons of friends with siblings that they've been jealous of at one point or another - it happens, and it's normal, nobody likes to feel inferior. Sasuke's jealousy of his brother's skills was no different from my jealousy over my older brother's graduation from university at 20, or my little brother's jealousy of the fact that I can draw better than he can - he still loves me, and is always asking me to teach him how to draw as I do; I still love my older brother, and look to him for help with my studying - Resentment and Hatred don't lead to positive outcomes like that.
"I didn't say he was evil or didn't love his family, I'm just saying he's always been full of resentment. And yes Naruto was that way with it, but it wasn't unprovoked. Naruto was looked down on and called a monster since he was a baby and he start with Sasuke and had attitude and rivalry but it's not like Sauske was a nice kid either, and the only reason they became besties was because Naruto wanted to be and told him his feelings. It was a great bromance but Sasuke just doesn't want to connect, it's not that he can't."
Sasuke hasn't
always been filled with resentment. As you pointed out before, it's been a gradual process - it was Itachi's annihilation of the Uchiha clan that ignited Sasuke's spark of resentment, which later turned to pure hatred; not the time prior to that event. If that were the case - If Sasuke had truly resented his brother from the start, he wouldn't have been so deeply heart-broken and saddened once he learned of the sacrifice Itachi had put himself through; he probably could've cared less. But instead he
was visibly shaken by his brother's death, and has taken it upon himself to destroy the Leaf Village for sacrificing Itachi in order to maintain their own peace and stability; again, if he had truly resented his brother as you suggest, the odds of him making such an extreme decision would have heightened immensely. You are correct in the latter part though, Sasuke isn't interested in maintaining his bond with Naruto, because he believes there is nothing about such a bond that would make him stronger (although at this point, he's pretty much one of the strongest teenage characters in the series).
