Morality Tropes

""The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil.""

- Cicero

What is morality? Morality is the system of good and evil and all the shades of gray that come in between.

Good always triumphs in the end, right? Well, not always. The Balance Between Good and Evil gives many villains loopholes to slip through and make their grand return. Furthermore, the presence of the Anti-Hero or Worthy Opponent blurs the distinction between good and evil, and in well-done cases, forces us to reexamine our preconceptions of right and wrong.

But what is especially interesting about the media is how it appears to favor evil in its works. Squeaky-clean heroes are either prone to stretches of unendearing, Knight Templar-style ruthlessness or hopelessly boring, while the villains inevitably have cooler costumes and powers. If they do a Heel Face Turn, that coolness factor often goes bye-bye thanks to Redemption Demotion -- not to mention that once they turn good, they usually don't get to live very long. No wonder why, for many good-turned-evil characters, Evil Feels Good.

Some authors, it seems, can't stand any more of that preachy Anviliciousness and turn the tables on the end-all symbol of goodness, writing Rage Against the Heavens plots in which God Is Evil. Fans aren't immune to the siren song of evil, either; an alarming number of them insist on putting Draco in Leather Pants.

But it must be remembered that this entry refers to only good and evil in the media. In Real Life, good and bad choices are Serious Business.

Please remember that Tropes Are Not Bad and Tropes Are Not Good. This is merely a list of how many works in different media have confronted the issue of morality. There is no implication that any of the tropes listed below are either correct or incorrect about how they approach moral philosophy. Even moral philosophers still argue with each other about the correct way to approach moral philosophy!


 * An Aesop
 * Stock Aesops
 * Character Alignment
 * Cynicism Tropes
 * Evil Tropes
 * Villains
 * Good and Evil For Your Convenience
 * Goodness Tropes
 * Heroes (character types)
 * Hero Tropes (narrative devices)
 * Peace Tropes
 * Hedonism Tropes
 * Heel Face Index
 * Human Rights Issues
 * Idealism Tropes
 * Knight in Shining Tropes
 * Index of Consequences
 * Philosophy Tropes
 * Psychology Tropes
 * Revenge Tropes
 * Sour Grapes Tropes
 * Tropes About Taboos
 * What Measure Is an Index?


 * Actual Pacifist
 * Agree to Disagree
 * All the Myriad Ways
 * Ambiguous Innocence
 * Ape Shall Never Kill Ape
 * Avenging the Villain
 * Awakening the Sleeping Giant
 * Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work
 * Balance Between Good and Evil
 * Because I'm Good At It
 * Be All My Sins Remembered
 * Before I Change My Mind
 * Being Evil Sucks
 * Being Good Sucks
 * Being Tortured Makes You Evil
 * Beware the Honest Ones
 * Blood On These Hands
 * Brainwashing for The Greater Good
 * Buy Them Off
 * Can't Kill You - Still Need You
 * Caper Rationalization
 * Category Traitor
 * Chaos Is Evil
 * A Chat With Satan
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome
 * Chronic Villainy
 * The Code
 * The Commandments
 * The Commies Made Me Do It
 * Complete Monster
 * Cool People Rebel Against Authority
 * Cowardly Lion
 * Cruel to Be Kind
 * Cry for The Devil
 * Culture Clash
 * Culture Justifies Anything
 * Dark Is Evil
 * Dark Is Not Evil
 * Light Is Not Good
 * Bright Is Not Good
 * Death By Materialism
 * Debate and Switch
 * Designated Evil
 * Dirty Business
 * Disproportionate Retribution
 * Disproportionate Reward
 * Do Wrong Right
 * Due to The Dead
 * Easy Road to Hell
 * Ethical Slut
 * Even Evil Has Loved Ones
 * Even Mooks Have Loved Ones
 * Exceptionally Tolerant
 * "Failure to Save" Murder
 * Faith Heel Turn
 * Family Honor
 * Father, I Don't Want to Fight
 * For Great Justice
 * For Happiness
 * "Get Out of Jail Free" Card
 * Golden Moment
 * The Golden Rule
 * Good Feels Good
 * Good Is Boring
 * Good Is Not Dumb
 * Good Is Not Nice
 * Good Is Not Soft
 * Good Is Old-Fashioned
 * Good Old Ways
 * Good Running Evil
 * Good Victims, Bad Victims
 * Good Witch Versus Bad Witch
 * Greater Need Than Mine
 * Guilt-Free Extermination War
 * Half Truth
 * Happiness in Slavery
 * Harmony Versus Discipline
 * Heaven and Hell
 * Helping Would Be Killstealing
 * Hero Insurance
 * Heroic Vow
 * Heroes' Frontier Step
 * Honor Among Thieves
 * Honor Before Reason
 * Humans Kill Wantonly
 * I Gave My Word
 * I Thought It Was Forbidden
 * If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him
 * If You Taunt Him You Will Be Just Like Him
 * Ignore the Fanservice
 * Incorruptible Pure Pureness
 * It's All About Me
 * It's All My Fault
 * Jerk Justifications
 * Just Like Us
 * Justice Will Prevail
 * Karma Houdini
 * Karma Houdini Warranty
 * Karma Meter
 * Karmic Jackpot
 * Karmic Protection
 * Know When to Fold'Em
 * Laser-Guided Karma
 * Last Second Chance
 * Lesser of Two Evils
 * Let Them Die
 * Machiavelli Was Wrong
 * The Men First
 * A Million Is a Statistic
 * Mind Over Manners
 * Mirror Morality Machine
 * Monkey Morality Pose
 * Monster of the Aesop
 * Moral Dilemma
 * Moral Dissonance
 * What Measure Is a Mook?
 * Moral Event Horizon
 * Moral Myopia
 * The Moral Substitute
 * Morality Adjustment
 * Morality Ballad
 * Morality Chain
 * Morality Chip
 * Morality Dial
 * The Morality-Mortality Equation
 * Morality Pet
 * More Hero Than Thou
 * Murder Is the Best Solution
 * Naughty Is Good
 * The Needs of the Many
 * Neutral No Longer
 * Never Hurt an Innocent
 * Never My Fault
 * Nice Guys Finish Last
 * Nice to The Waiter
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
 * No Place for Me There
 * No Points for Neutrality
 * Not Cheating Unless You Get Caught
 * Not Even Human
 * Not So Omniscient After All
 * Not Quite the Right Thing
 * Not So Different
 * Obligatory War Crime Scene
 * Occupiers Out of Our Country!
 * Omnicidal Neutral
 * The Omniscient
 * Omniscient Hero
 * Omniscient Morality License
 * Opinion-Changing Dream
 * Order Versus Chaos
 * Ordered to Cheat
 * Out, Damned Spot!
 * Pay Evil Unto Evil
 * Peer Pressure Makes You Evil
 * Personal Gain Hurts
 * Pillars of Moral Character
 * Principles Zealot
 * The Promise
 * Protagonist-Centered Morality
 * Protected By a Child
 * Prove I Am Not Bluffing
 * Purity Personified
 * Pure Is Not Good
 * Questionable Consent
 * Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil
 * Reality Ensues
 * Redeeming Replacement
 * Restored My Faith in Humanity
 * Rousseau Was Right
 * The Sacred Darkness
 * Sacred Hospitality
 * Safe, Sane, and Consensual
 * Saintly Church
 * Samaritan Syndrome
 * Satan Is Good
 * Save the Villain
 * Scare'Em Straight
 * Scoundrel Code
 * Screw the Money, I Have Rules
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful
 * Cuteness Equals Forgiveness
 * Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Connections
 * Screw the Rules, I Have Money
 * Screw the Rules, I Make Them
 * Self-Disposing Villain
 * Selfish Good, Selfish Evil
 * Sensitivity Training
 * Seven Deadly Sins
 * Seven Heavenly Virtues
 * Shades of Conflict
 * A Lighter Shade of Black
 * A Lighter Shade of Grey
 * Black and Black Morality
 * Black and Gray Morality
 * Black and White Morality
 * Blue and Orange Morality
 * Graying Morality
 * Grey and Gray Morality
 * Morality Kitchen Sink
 * White and Grey Morality
 * White and White Morality
 * Shoot the Dog
 * The Dog Shot First
 * Shouldn't You Stop Stealing?
 * Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids
 * Skewed Priorities
 * Slave to PR
 * Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
 * Earn Your Happy Ending
 * Sliding Scale of Unavoidable Versus Unforgivable
 * Sparing the Aces
 * Strike Me Down With All of Your Hatred
 * Sudden Principled Stand
 * Sympathy for The Devil
 * Tautological Templar
 * Tears of Remorse
 * That's What I Would Do
 * Thicker Than Water
 * Thou Shalt Not Kill
 * Thou Shalt Not Kill Muggles
 * This Is Not My Life to Take
 * To Be Lawful or Good
 * Totalitarian Utilitarian
 * Turn the Other Cheek
 * Values Dissonance
 * Deliberate Values Dissonance
 * Values Resonance
 * Video Game Cruelty Punishment
 * Villain Takes an Interest
 * Villainous BSOD
 * Violence Really Is the Answer
 * Warts and All
 * Was It Really Worth It?
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?
 * What If God Was One of Us?
 * What Is Evil?
 * What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?
 * What the Hell, Hero?
 * What You Are in The Dark
 * Wife-Basher Basher
 * Would Be Rude to Say Genocide
 * Would Hit a Girl
 * Would Hurt a Child
 * Would Not Shoot a Civilian
 * Would Not Shoot a Good Guy
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl
 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child
 * Wrongful Accusation Insurance