Talking to the Dead: Difference between revisions

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''To me anymore''|'''[[Starflyer 59]]''', "Majic"}}

The mundane equivalent to [[Dead Person Conversation]], a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Surrogate Soliloquy]]. A character addresses a dead person, not expecting a response, not getting one -- [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane|at least, not an unequivocal one]]. Can be spoken to the corpse, the coffin, the ~~grave -- or~~ to thin air. (If the body is present, often [[Peaceful in Death]] is in play.)

The mundane equivalent to [[Dead Person Conversation]], a [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Surrogate Soliloquy]]. A character addresses a dead person, not expecting a response, not getting one -- [[Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane|at least, not an unequivocal one]]. Can be spoken to the corpse, the coffin, the grave—or to thin air. (If the body is present, often [[Peaceful in Death]] is in play.)

Ubiquitous in Japanese media; it is believed in Japan that unless the living keep the memories of their near and dear ones alive by talking to them, their spirits will disappear into oblivion. Thus a manga or anime character chatting about everyday things with a picture of their dead parents or sibling is not a sign of losing it.

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* In ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'', Spike is ambushed in a convenience store shortly after its owner bleeds to death. Before the action starts, he says to the dead owner "Sorry, gonna make a bit of a scene."

* In ''[[Kyou Kara Maou]]'', after {{spoiler|Wolfram}} dies, Yuuri has a conversation with his preserved body, promising to save him. The imaginary ghost of the deceased does most of the talking.

** {{spoiler|It's more halfway between [[Talking to the Dead]] and [[Converse with the Unconscious]]. While Wolfram is technically dead, the preservative apparatus and Yuuri's determination that Wolfram will get better make it feel more like Wolfram's comatose or unconscious.}}

** {{spoiler|It's more halfway between Talking to the Dead and [[Converse with the Unconscious]]. While Wolfram is technically dead, the preservative apparatus and Yuuri's determination that Wolfram will get better make it feel more like Wolfram's comatose or unconscious.}}

* After discovering and accepting the truth of his father's [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and [[Screw Destiny|defiance]] of his indelible curse, Neji from [[Naruto]] smiles at the sky, having [[Character Development|put his rage at same indelible curse behind him]]:

{{quote|'''Neji''': Father... There are so many birds in the sky today... Flying free.}}

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** Heck, just [[Once an Episode|about every Redwall book]] has one of the characters talking to the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. Given that many of them actually receive a ''response'' of some sort (especially if they're the main character of the book), this usually falls within the realm of [[Dead Person Conversation]], but not always.

* [[Lois McMaster Bujold]]'s [[Miles Vorkosigan]] has a tendency to talk to dead people during crises of motivation, most particularly his Grandfather and a baby girl named Raina who was killed for having a birth defect. In ''Memory'' he tells his driver that he wants to go talk to the latter of these two, causing the driver to doubt his sanity.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] story "A Witch Shall Be Born" Valerius tells Krallides's head that his death was not in ~~vain -- now~~ Valerius knows that the true queen is alive and a prisoner.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] story "A Witch Shall Be Born" Valerius tells Krallides's head that his death was not in vain—now Valerius knows that the true queen is alive and a prisoner.

* In [[Scaramouche]], Andre-Louis Moreau prays to the spirit of his dead friend, Phillipe, before going to a [[Duel to the Death|duel]].

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* In [[The Protomen]]'s Act II, Dr. Light talks to Emily after she's dead. {{spoiler|In the last song he talks to Joe this way, too.}}

* The entirety of "Majic" by [[Starflyer 59]] is addressed to Jason Martin's then-recently-deceased father.

* This is a recurring Trope in [[Country Music]], to the point that a [[Genre Savvy]] listener can see most attempts at such a [[Twist Ending]] coming well in advance. Prominent modern examples include [[Leann Rimes]]' "Probably Wouldn't Be this Way" and [[Miranda Lambert]]'s "Over You"~~--both~~ of which at least attempt to [[Invoked Trope|invoke]] a [[One-Woman Wail]].

* This is a recurring Trope in [[Country Music]], to the point that a [[Genre Savvy]] listener can see most attempts at such a [[Twist Ending]] coming well in advance. Prominent modern examples include [[Leann Rimes]]' "Probably Wouldn't Be this Way" and [[Miranda Lambert]]'s "Over You"—both of which at least attempt to [[Invoked Trope|invoke]] a [[One-Woman Wail]].