Good Samaritan: Difference between revisions
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[[File:GoodSamaritan.jpg|link=The Bible|frame|"[[Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right|Screw the sectarian venom, I'm doing what's right!]]"]]
Part of being a [[The Hero|Hero]] is taking up arms to fight the wicked and righting wrongs, even (or perhaps ''especially'') when no one else will. Some even have to fight [[Dying Like Animals|the people they want to help]], but a rare few can [[Fighting for Survival|count on the help]] of a '''Good Samaritan'''.
The Good Samaritan is a character who, despite owing nothing to the hero [[Heroic Bystander|helps them when they're at their weakest]], often [[Being Good Sucks|at risk or cost to themselves.]] There are many variations, but they generally follow this form: a wounded hero [[The Drifter|wanders in]], while others pass him by (or even further harm the hero), the Samaritan takes him in, tends his wounds and extends as much hospitality as she's able. This has the bonus of roping the hero into owing her a debt and giving him a reason to stick around the [[Adventure Towns|Adventure Town]] and fight off the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] threatening the Samaritan. Also, in a pinch, she makes an excellent [[Love Interest]] what with having proven she's got a heart of gold. (Good Samaritans who do not complicate the hero's life like that may come across a [[Deus Ex Machina]].)
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A nasty subversion is that the Samaritan hasn't taken in a Hero, but a [[The Farmer and the Viper|Viper]] intent on doing him harm. If the villain the Samaritan helps is instead [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|confused]] and [[Curiosity Causes Conversion|curious]] at their generosity, it may lead to the Samaritan becoming their [[Morality Pet]] prior to a [[Heel Face Turn]].
A lot of [[Superhero
The [[Trope Namer]] is one of [[Jesus]]' parables from [[The Bible]], in which an Israelite is mugged and left injured and naked on the side of the road. Several of his own people (including a priest) simply walk past, and the only person who helps him is a Samaritan. However, this parable carried some racial and cultural baggage lost to modern audiences. To Israelites, Samaritans were a hostile if not enemy people.<ref>Samaritanism is an offshoot of Judaism (or the other way around, from the perspective of the Samaritans) so the two cultures might have seen each other they way Catholics and Protestants see each other now -- in agreement on the broad strokes, but disagreeing on the details, and having a non-trivial amount of bad blood between them.</ref>
[[Sub-Trope]] of [[A Friend in Need]]. See also [[Samaritan Syndrome]]. Compare with [[Bad Samaritan]], this character's moral opposite.
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* In ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', Winry's parents were doctors who treated people on both sides of the Ishvalan War. {{spoiler|This didn't end well for them. They were the first victims of Scar's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] after he woke up surrounded by Amestrians and assumed, incorrectly, that he had been taken prisoner.}}
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* Rin stopped to help Sesshoumaru when he was wounded after a fight with [[Inuyasha]]. He later repaid the favor when [[Empathic Weapon|his sword]], [[Healing Shiv|Tenseiga]], ''demanded'' that he bring her back to life. She became his [[Morality Pet]] and he went from [[Villain|full-on villain]] to [[Aloof Big Brother]].
* Rakushun found Yoko almost dead in [[The Twelve Kingdoms]], and after he helped her they ended up hanging together.
* Nurse Joy from ''[[Pokémon]]'' (''all'' of them). Her services are free to anyone who needs them, and the only time she's ever had to turn someone away from a Pokémon Center is because it was overcrowded. Exactly where she gets her funding is a mystery, but then, her family does seem very large...
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Most super-heroes are this Trope by default.
* [[Blue Beetle|Jaime Reyes]] encountered one of these just after the events of ''Infinite Crisis'' when his [[Clingy MacGuffin]] dumped him naked in the desert.
* The origin of the superhero [[Plastic Man]] involved a gangster named "Eel" O' Brien who got shot during a robbery and was abandoned by his gang- but was found by a monk who helped him recover in his monastery. By the time he was healthy, O'Brien had changed into a good person who used his newfound powers to fight crime.
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* An interesting use in ''[[Training Day]]:'' The hero stops to rescue a little girl, and gets a [[Laser-Guided Karma]] reward for it later. The twist? The hero is an on-duty police officer, and only in the [[Crapsack World]] he's just stumbled into could the rescue be considered a noteworthy act.
* ''[[The Blind Side]]'' has a rare example of a rich samaritan. Leigh Anne helps Michael Oher, a homeless black student at her children's school, by giving him a home, tutoring, and general emotional and vocational support to enter the football team.
* In ''[[Groundhog Day]]'', once Phil is resigned to the fact that he can't escape the loop and has grown to accept it, he starts doing good deeds, doing them over and over, and adding new ones as he finds new opportunities each day. He saves a boy from falling, saves a man in a restaurant from choking, he buys enough insurance from Ned to help Ned meet his quota (which becomes even more amazing when you realize that ''this is February 2nd''), and so on. Eventually, the whole town loves him, {{spoiler|and when he finally becomes such a selfless person that Rita truly falls in love with him, he escapes the loop.}}
== [[Literature]] ==
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* In ''[[Neverwhere]],'' Richard Mayhew chose to help the badly wounded Door, who was to all the world above a bleeding bum, despite his shrewish girlfriend insisting he leave her so he could meet her boss. This act of kindness backfired rather badly on him, as it made him [[Weirdness Censor|fall out of perception]]. Still, it did get him a far more satisfying life (and a [[Magical Girlfriend]]!)
* ''The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted''. The hero, Jim diGriz, encounters an entire planetful. He wasn't lucky to find a safehouse by randomly knocking, any door would have done.
* In ''The Quest for Saint Aquin'', a Catholic priest is attacked and left subconscious by the road. Two people walk by; he can tell by various clues that they are also Catholic. He is helped by a
* Old Horghuz and several other tribeless wanderers help out Temujin and his family in ''[[Conqueror|Wolf of the Plains]]'' when they are exiled from their own clan. Hence the following passage when Tolui kills some of them:
{{quote|[Temujin] knew in a moment of revelation that they had been his tribe, his family. Not by blood, but by friendship and a wider bond of survival in a hard time. He accepted their revenge as his own.}}
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* In [[Michael Flynn]]'s ''[[Spiral Arm|In the Lion's Mouth]]'', a Good Samaritan gives Dominic Tight "[[Bottled Heroic Resolve|booster]]" after the ambush injured him. Only when he reads the directions does he realize that the man is not a Confederal agent, but from their foes, the League.
== [[Live
* Subverted in a sketch on ''[[That Mitchell and Webb Look]]'', which reenacted Jesus teaching of the parable to his disciples. Suddenly, he's interrupted by his audience, who exclaim that ''of course'' a Samaritan stopped to help, they're perfectly lovely people, they'd give you the shirts off their backs. And, hey - what do you have against Samaritans anyway you racist?
* Edith Keeler from the classic ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' episode "City on the Edge of Forever" embodies this trope perfectly. She runs a soup kitchen for the homeless and downtrodden in Depression-era New York and truly believes in the inherent goodness of man. {{spoiler|So of course, [[Because Destiny Says So|she's fated to die]].}}
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** In ''[[Doctor Who/Recap/S15/E06 The Invasion of Time|The Invasion Of Time]]'', the wild Gallifreyans take in the exiled ones.
== [[
* ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'':
* Two words: Red Cross. If you put your field hospital or even field medics under the protection of the Red Cross sign, you are obliged to do so.▼
** In some editions, this is mandatory for [[The Paladin|Paladins]], who are required to give a percentage of their wealth and earnings to charity. How much they fit the image of the traditional Good Samaritan depends on how well the character role-plays. <ref>This was based on the tradition of tithing, a practice where one donated a portion of income to the church in the Middle Ages. A similar practice is the Islamic pillar of ''zakat'', or charity.</ref>
* During the [[World War II|North African Campaign]] field hospitals on both sides would treat wounded without distinction by uniform.▼
** The Book of Exalted Deeds for the Dungeons & Dragons setting has rules for playing ascetic characters, who are supposed to act like this; by taking the [[Heroic Vow| Vow of Poverty Feat]] and never violating it (which means voluntary poverty) and giving everything valuable to charity, these characters gain [[Holy Hand Grenade| potent Exalted abilities]].
** That might be considered [[Worthy Opponent]].▼
* In the ''[[Planescape]]'' campaign setting, there's a small group (well, rather large for any group not big enough to be a full-fledged Faction) called the Ring-Givers who believe that everything that you give to others will eventually come back to you, and that you only get as good as you give. Members of this group provide charity to others, and live by accepting it from others. (No easy feat in this setting, where most folks believe that [[Every Man Has His Price]].). Most members are, indeed, Good Samaritans, but unfortunately, there are plenty of [[Bad Samaritan]]s in the group too.
*** It's also standard now-most Western militaries will treat enemy wounded.▼
*** In Vietnam and a few other conflicts guerrilla forces left their wounded behind as standard policy simply because they had a better chance of surviving in enemy hands.▼
* Many countries try to encourage this behavior by implementing [[wikipedia:Good samaritan law|Good Samaritan Laws]]. In the United States and Canada, civilians helping people in need are protected from liability if they acted rationally and with good intentions, while in Europe it is a crime to ignore a person in danger.▼
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Ahem, Mario. Given what his goal is in most games. ''[[Super Mario Bros]]'', he saves Peach from Bowser. ''[[Super Mario Land]]'', he saves Daisy from Tatanga. ''[[Super Mario Bros. 3]]'', helps a bunch of kings, ''then'' saves Peach from Bowser, and so on and so on. No matter how you look at it, Mario is a guy who loves to help people.
* In the beginning of ''[[Red Dead Redemption]]'', Marston is shot and left for dead in front of a bandit hideout. Bonnie risks her life to rescue him, and then takes him back to her ranch to treat his wounds. Even though she isn't seeking any sort of payment, a grateful Marston spends much of the game repaying her kindness by helping her keep her ranch safe.
* Litchi Faye-Ling in ''[[
* This is sort of a staple of ''[[Pokemon]]'' . While the game has lots of merchants and guys who trade you stuff, there's also plenty of NPCs who give you things for free, if you simply talk to them, everything from Technical Machines, Hold Items, and Evolution Stones. In ''[[Pokémon Yellow]]'', Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander are given to you by NPCs - absolutely no strings attached. ''[[Pokemon| Pokémon X and Y]]'' takes this Up to 11, where you can get a Lapras and a Lucario (two powerful Pokémon) as gifts with no strings attached.
** A Pokémon that fits the Trope is Delibird. Most of its PokéDex entries claim that it shares the food it stores in its tail to travelers that are lost and hungry in snowy mountains.
** Possibly the most generous trainer in the whole franchise is Drayden from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yes, technically, he gives you a Duraludon as an in-game trade, but he will accept ''any'' Pokémon in return.<ref>Except for a Legendary, Shiny, or Mythical Pokémon</ref> This means you can gain this mega-powerful [[Lightning Bruiser| Dragon/Steel Pokémon]] in excahnge for any of the [[Com Mons]] you have in storage.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In ''[[Coming Up Violet]]'' the titular character {{spoiler|defends and helps her former friend [[Alpha Bitch|Racquel]] at a party when Racquel's plan to embarrass her [[Out-Gambitted|backfires]]. Everyone else at the party [[Kids Are Cruel|just stands and laughs]], and when Racquel asks Violet while they're waiting for their pickup why she's helping her Violet simply says, [[You Did the Right Thing|"Because I WANT to. Let's just leave it at that."]] A few days later Violet goes one step further and attempts to rekindle their friendship. [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|Racquel was not amused]]}}.
* In ''[[Impure Blood]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20131006020542/http://www.impurebloodwebcomic.com/Pages/Issue4PAGES/ib096.html when someone in a drifting boat pleads for help, Dara leaps to the rescue].
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* In [[Family Guy]], in a flashback, Peter was driving down the road when he stopped and a stray dog/bum came up and did his windows. Peter wasn't happy. After talking with the dog, Peter offered to take him home for some dinner. And that is how Brian and Peter met.
* Mr. Meeseeks in ''[[Rick and Morty]]'' is an odd creature - or maybe "creatures", plural - whose only goal in his incredibly short life is to help someone with a specific problem. Unfortunately, if he ''can't'' solve that problem (which can happen when the recipient is an idiot like Jerry) he goes crazy and might turn into an obsessive and homicidal [[Bad Samaritan]].
** Mr. Meeseeks Deconstructs this in the 4th Season premiere, which shows he has a [[My Master, Right or Wrong]] attitude towards what he does and will obey ''any'' request, no matter how unethical or evil it is; tell him to murder someone, and he'll do it.
== [[Real Life]] ==
▲* Two words: Red Cross. If you put your field hospital or even field medics under the protection of the Red Cross sign, you are obliged to do so.
▲* During the [[World War II|North African Campaign]] field hospitals on both sides would treat wounded without distinction by uniform.
▲** That might be considered [[Worthy Opponent]].
▲*** It's also standard now-most Western militaries will treat enemy wounded.
▲*** In Vietnam and a few other conflicts guerrilla forces left their wounded behind as standard policy simply because they had a better chance of surviving in enemy hands.
▲* Many countries try to encourage this behavior by implementing [[wikipedia:Good samaritan law|Good Samaritan Laws]]. In the United States and Canada, civilians helping people in need are protected from liability if they acted rationally and with good intentions, while in Europe it is a crime to ignore a person in danger.
{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Goodness Tropes]]
[[Category:Good Samaritan]]
[[Category:Virtue Index]]
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