A Chat with Satan: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
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{{quote|''Everyone who wants to grow up, sooner or later sits down and has [[Trope Namer|a chat with Satan]]. Or they never grow up.''|'''Amos Maple''', ''Down From Ten''}}
Before the hero can achieve his destiny, he has to face himself and defeat the darkness in his own heart. Because [[Only the Worthy May Pass]], someone has to put the hero to the test and make sure that he has the character necessary to see things through.
Enter Satan. Sometimes this is the literal Guy With The Horns and Pitchfork; sometimes it's just the character's [[Shadow Archetype]], or the [[Old Master]]. Regardless, it's the character who knows the hero's dark side better than the hero
If the hero fails this [[Secret Test of Character]], expect things to [[Tragic Hero|end badly]] for him.
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** In Genesis 3, the serpent tempts Eve with the knowledge of good and evil. His questions reveal that Eve is second-guessing whether God has her best interests at heart.
** In Matthew 4, Mark 1 and Luke 4, Jesus goes into the wilderness and is tempted by Satan. The devil presents him with three successive challenges, appealing to his appetite (turn this stone into bread), his vanity (jump off the temple so people will see God catch you), and his sense of his own destiny (worship me and I will give you all the kingdoms of the world). Jesus refuses each of the tests, thus proving that he is worthy to begin his ministry.
* Ditto in [[Buddhism]]
* Ivan Karamazov dreams one of these in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]].'' Doubly perturbing for him, as he's a committed skeptic.
* In ''[[The Dresden Files]]'', Harry has these little chit-chats with alarming regularity. His "inner voice", Lea, Lasciel, Nicodemus...
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** Another example occurs earlier in the series, when Delenn and Sheridan are being tested by the Inquisitor.
** G'Kar plays this role for Londo in "The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari".
** And of course Morden ends up playing this role for Delenn and Vir. He was trying to be [[The Corrupter]], but Delenn blew him off, and Vir, well, he gave Morden an answer to his offer [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0n2vurSBIQ that Morden didn't like].
* ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined|Battlestar Galactica]]'' (revamp series): Head Six sometimes encourages Baltar toward goodness and sometimes tempts him toward evil, but she usually helps him to come to some important revelation about himself.
** Leoben plays this role for Starbuck several times during the series, most dramatically when she is assigned to interrogate him in "Flesh and Bone".
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