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Hope Springs Eternal: Difference between revisions
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The [[Big Bad]] is triumphant, the [[Eldritch Abomination]] has been released, and the [[Apocalypse Wow|world is in flames]]. There is no doubt about this. The [[Darkest Hour]] isn't upon us, no, it is far worse, we have entered [[The Dark Times]].
But the [[Ultimate Evil]] that the [[Big Bad]] has become [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|does not and cannot realize one thing:]] though the heroes who tried to stop him have failed, and may well have died, '''Hope lives on''', and with it, the [[Heroic Spirit]] survives. Even now, a rudimentary version of [[La Résistance]] is forming because word has spread that a [[Chosen One]] has appeared after being sent off like [[Moses in the Bulrushes]]. The now-dead heroes who opposed the [[Big Bad]] managed to [[Fling a Light Into the Future|send a weapon through time to the future]] that can defeat the [[Ultimate Evil]].
These stories about the [[Chosen One]] and the super-weapon might be true, but likely are not. Their truthfulness matters less than what it means that these stories exist at all: '''Hope lives on! ''' One day, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, maybe not in our lifetimes, but one day, [[As Long as There Is One Man]], [[Justice Will Prevail]].
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A common message given by fiction and folklore. Only the most downer of [[Downer Ending]]s exclude it, and even then there's usually some way around such a bleak finish, no matter how bad things are. Often combines with [[Rousing Speech]], because often, [[The War Has Just Begun]].
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{{examples}}
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* In ''[[The Sandman]]: Preludes and Nocturnes'', Dream goes to Hell to retrieve his helmet. The demon Chonoronzon, who currently possesses it, challenges Dream to the ultimate game of "Can you top this?" Choronzon's final move was becoming entropy personified. Dream responded, and won, by becoming Hope.
* This is the schtick of the [[Green Lantern|Blue Lantern Corps]]. It's comprised of hand-selected individuals who have the ability to inspire great hope. Their unofficial leader, Saint Walker, was considered [[The Messiah]] by his people and was the first Blue Lantern.
** They ritualized this trope in their [[Badass Creed|Lantern Oath]]
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* Hope is what sustains Andy Dufrense after his false-conviction and incarceration in ''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]''. He and Red even get into an argument over having Hope in prison, with Andy saying it is necessary and Red saying that it is dangerous. Eventually, Red comes to Andy's point of view.
{{quote|"Remember, Red? Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."}}
* {{spoiler|Gilraen}}, the narrator of the story in ''[[Born of Hope]]'', addresses Baby Aragorn as ''Estel'', which means Hope in Sindarin.
** In fact, this trope is just about the entire message of the movie.
* In ''[[Finding Nemo]]'', after they have escaped from a hungry shark and massive minefield explosions, Marlin and Dory are exhausted. Marlin is anxious to find his missing son, Nemo, but now he has lost his best clue for finding him—a scuba mask inscribed with the address of the diver who captured Nemo. Dory helps Marlin find hope. Discouraged, Marlin says, "That was my only chance at finding my son; now it's gone!" But Dory is not so easily deterred. "Hey, Mr. Grumpy Gills," she says. "When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim."
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** Hope as double-edged sword is also a major theme of ''[[The Homeward Bounders]]'' by [[Diana Wynne Jones]].
* "[[Mistborn]]", by Brandon Sanderson. Keslier to the [[Big Bad]]: "I am that which you can never kill. I am hope!"
* One interpretation of "[[Arc Words|carrying the fire]]" in [[The Road]].
* As noted above, Stephen King's "''Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption''". Even carries the additional title "''Hope Springs Eternal''".
* ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Silmarillion]]''. There are quite a few irredeemably evil entities attempting to oppress every other living entity, and most of them succeed for some period of time; so there's always a host of brave and wise elves, or outnumbered but courageous humans, or tough-as-nails dwarves, or determined hobbits, or powerful wizards, or even incredibly powerful godlike entities from across the sea preparing to come save the day. A few characters make speeches on hope (notably Sam to Frodo) which get everyone else back on their feet.
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Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me. }}
* The end of Matt Stover's novelization of ''[[Revenge of the Sith]]'' notes that this is the Dark Side's weakness. Darkness is all-encompassing, powerful, and will never vanish...but a single candle can hold it back. Crosses over with [[The Power of Love]] as well. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* And now for a depressing example: [[Manipulative Bastard|Tzeentch]] is the ''evil'' God of Hope in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] Fantasy and [[Warhammer
** The reason that Tzeentch can't be killed is ''[[Morton's Fork|because]]'' he is the God of Hope. Taken to an insane extreme, like all the Chaos Gods. The very thing that allows mortals to fight him and his forces IS him.
*** Here's something to help counterbalanace that: Tzeentch may be the ultimate manipulator, but you can take heart in one thing. ''He has no plans.'' All of his twists and turns, plots and schemes... they're all for their own sake. If Tzeentch ever had an actual ''goal'' that was accomplished, he'd probably cease to exist. Hope for the future, because Tzeentch can't.
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* Done very literally in the end to the video game ''[[
* The ''[[Fallout]]'' series. Sure, America, if not the world, is a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of radiation, disease and angry mutants that want to paint their walls in your brain splatters, but settlements are building and civilization is returning. The NCR, New Arroyo, Megaton, Rivet City for example. The DC wasteland has clean water, and Project Purity can be replicated (however the rest of America doesn't seem to really need it). And, hidden by those grimy orangey-grey clouds, is still a bright blue or starry sky.
* Pandora in ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] 3'' is a big believer of this. In the end, she even manages to get ''Kratos'' to agree with her.
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[[Category:Ending Tropes]]
[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]
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