Heroic Suicide: Difference between revisions
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A good rule of thumb is that in most Heroic Suicides, the character's death is both ''necessary'' and ''sufficient'' to acomplising their immediate goal. That is to say, they can't accomplish their goal ''without'' dying, but ''how'' they die doesn't matter much. To elaborate: |
A good rule of thumb is that in most Heroic Suicides, the character's death is both ''necessary'' and ''sufficient'' to acomplising their immediate goal. That is to say, they can't accomplish their goal ''without'' dying, but ''how'' they die doesn't matter much. To elaborate: |
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* '''Necessity:''' Ask yourself if there's even a theoretical possibility that the character could accomplish their goal ''without'' dying. If there is, it's probably a regular [[Heroic Sacrifice]]. For example, say you [[Peter Pan|drink poison intended for someone else]], [[A Tale of Two Cities|trade places with a man on death row]], or [[Star Trek (film)|turn your spaceship into a guided missile]]. None of those qualify, because in each case your death is only a side-effect of what you are doing. The point is to prevent the other person from drinking the poison, buy time for the man to escape, or disable the enemy ship. You would still accomplish these goals even if you discovered you were miraculously immune to poison, received a last-minute pardon, or were beamed off your ship at the moment of impact. This trope only comes into play if the character ''has to'' die to accomplish their goal. Though [[Unexplained Recovery|that isn't to say their death will always be permanent]]. |
* '''Necessity:''' Ask yourself if there's even a theoretical possibility that the character could accomplish their goal ''without'' dying. If there is, it's probably a regular [[Heroic Sacrifice]]. For example, say you [[Peter Pan|drink poison intended for someone else]], [[A Tale of Two Cities|trade places with a man on death row]], or [[Star Trek (film)|turn your spaceship into a guided missile]]. None of those qualify, because in each case your death is only a side-effect of what you are doing. The point is to prevent the other person from drinking the poison, buy time for the man to escape, or disable the enemy ship. You would still accomplish these goals even if you discovered you were miraculously immune to poison, received a last-minute pardon, or were beamed off your ship at the moment of impact. This trope only comes into play if the character ''has to'' die to accomplish their goal. Though [[Unexplained Recovery|that isn't to say their death will always be permanent]]. |
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* '''Sufficiency:''' Ask yourself how important the ''circumstances'' are under which the person dies. Do they accomplish their goal just by dying, or does it matter what they were doing when they died? For example, say you get yourself killed diffusing a bomb. In that situation, it's stopping the bomb that makes your actions heroic, not the dying. You couldn't achieve the same goal just by, say, shooting yourself in the head. On the other hand, say you |
* '''Sufficiency:''' Ask yourself how important the ''circumstances'' are under which the person dies. Do they accomplish their goal just by dying, or does it matter what they were doing when they died? For example, say you get yourself killed diffusing a bomb. In that situation, it's stopping the bomb that makes your actions heroic, not the dying. You couldn't achieve the same goal just by, say, shooting yourself in the head. On the other hand, say you [[Person of Mass Destruction|''are'' the bomb]]. In that case, it doesn't matter ''how'' you die, as long as you do it quickly. Shooting yourself in the head is fine. So is getting poisoned, stabbed, or decapitated. |
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Compare [[Thanatos Gambit]], [[My Death Is Just the Beginning]], [[Seppuku]], and [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]. Often overlaps with [[Cyanide Pill]] which could be considered a sub-trope (examples go there, not here). |
Compare [[Thanatos Gambit]], [[My Death Is Just the Beginning]], [[Seppuku]], and [[Better to Die Than Be Killed]]. Often overlaps with [[Cyanide Pill]] which could be considered a sub-trope (examples go there, not here). |
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