Experiencing literary character deaths is part of being a bookworm. It’s HORRIBLE but at the same time…it’s realistic. I know that sounds horrific to admit! I will rage and wail over character deaths like a devastated limpet. But…part of me understands it’s crucial to telling a plausible story. A character death can make a book more powerful. It can also have me screeching on in all caps all over the internet, which is always pleasant for my followers. You love me, you know you do.
There are a ton of different kinds of character deaths too. Death tropes, if you will? (I’m not saying this is a bad thing though!) Some are soooo much worse than others. Some seem pointless. Some are catalysts. SOME ARE JUST SO DEVASTATING YOU RAGE FOR 90 YEARS NONSTOP.
So let us discuss death, my fair blogglings. I’m listing “types” of character deaths I come across frequently in YA books. I’ll give them Pain Ratings. Because ouch. And then you can tell me which stabs you in the feels the most.
LET’S DO THIS.
** NOTE: I’ll give NO examples in this post. Read without fear of spoilers!
1. THE “KICK STARTER” DEATH THAT INSPIRES ALL HEROES
Our littles heroes occasionally need to be booted into greatness. Why so reluctant?! SHEESH. They’re probably only going to be tortured and bleeding during the 400pg reign of their malicious author. BUT ANYWAY! Often times a hero/ine loses a “beloved” in the first few chapters. This inspires them to go a) kill the thing, b) get revenge, c) run away, d) change their fate. I hope you read that in Merida’s voice.
PAIN RATING: Eh. Sad but kind of boring. If someone kicks the bucket at the beginning of the book I haven’t had time to CARE about them yet. Plus it’s almost a cliche?
2. THE SECONDARY-CHARACTER MURDER SPREE
This is like every fantasy author’s favourite way to have a battle. GAWSH. Get to those last hundred pages and — BOOM BOOM — all the secondary characters are lying on the cold hard ground. You may sing Taylor Swift here, too, if you wish. Insert gross sobbing because secondary characters are often awesome.
PAIN RATING: This is extremely awful. It’s always the coolest secondary characters who go in the finales, dangit.
3. THE MENTOR’S DEMISE
Sometimes the hero/ine collects a mentor figure and often they get axed in the hero/ine’s darkest hour. This character is usually the CRUCIAL one. The backbone of the plot! The brains! The one keeping the group together…gah. How dare they ever die. Plus usually they’re a surrogate “parent” sort of figure for a (possibly orphaned) protagonist. Plus they’re usually funny. Plus, tears.
PAIN RATING: Let’s go with completely devastating. It always kicks me in the feels with the old (hopefully sassy/snarky) mentor is gone. Doooon’t die and leave the babies all alone. COME BAAAAACK.
4. THE “BRIGHT LIGHT” GOES OUT
Agh, contemporaries are sooo guilty of this one. Introduce a NICE character who is sweet and kind and bubbly and enjoys life and — THEN SNATCH IT AWAY. Authors seem to adore doing this. The best ones always die.
PAIN RATING: Absolutely intense. And let me rage a minute too!! Because that character actually loved living and it’s so. not. fair that they have to die. Kill the moody one, already! LET THE HAPPY ONE SURVIVE.
5. THE “JACK IN THE BOX” DEATH
Basically…they don’t stay dead. There are the “mostly dead” characters who you think are dead but suddenly come back! Or maybe they become zombies? Or maybe they get magicked back to life at great cost.
PAIN RATING: To be honest, I think it’s cheating! I often feel like authors who bring all the favourites back (or can’t even ever kill the favourites) are holding back and possibly being unrealistic. Plus it gives the reader TOO MUCH SECURITY!! No one dies? Okay, it’s just a calm seaside tour then.
There are exceptions to this and they star in a famous TV show and that starts with Super and ends with Winchester and I love them and please keep reanimating them 10000 x.
6. THE RANDOM AND POINTLESS AND SHOCKER DEATH
This is the worst. IT REDUCES ME TO HOWLING, OKAY??!? It’s that moment when no one should’ve died… just routine adventure and excitement — and then boom. Reality strikes. A stray bullet. A random knife slash. Falling down the stairs. ARGH. These kind of deaths usually feel pointless too. Like whyyyy?!?! Why lose a fabulous character to that needless end?! Where is the glorious victorious death?! I NEED REVENGE GAWSH DARNIT.
PAIN RATING: Higher than the highest high of highs. It makes use of that shock factor, okay?! I always wail mightily…but at the same time I can be brought around to admit it’s realistic. As much as a glorious death is epic…not everyone gets one. I also am a subtle fan of realism.
7. THE DEATH OF GLORY AND HONOUR
That moment when a character dies in a grand way! Sacrifice for the good of humanity! A heart-touching monologue! Saving the world! HUZZAH AND WELL DONE! Also tears because they’re, um…dead.
PAIN RATING: This is nearly a satisfying death. I mean, it’s still sad. I might still be a wilting cucumber in the corner. But it feels like the character achieved something great since others survived because of their sacrifice.
8. THE HERO’S ETERNAL GRAND FINALE
Not a lot of authors do this! Killing the main character (or a narrating character) is unusual — but not unheard of! I’ve read several books where it happens. IT ALWAYS HURTS. It’s hard to go through a 400pg book and then end it with the protagonist pushing up daisies. I was rooting for you and you left meeee, ohmygosh.
PAIN RATING: It is heart-wrenchingly AWFUL and shocking and wow. It has to be done well or the whole book can feel pointless!! I want there to be a reason the main character died and I want there to be achievements. And in a way I actually like it because if I have to be finished with a book forever, everyone might as well be dead TOO. HUMPH.
The first world war was a catalyst death. History has these types too! The living write history and all that (saving private ryan is also applicable here)I hate the jack in the box deaths. They’re pretty much why I stopped reading the awful house on night books by Pc Cast. (it happened to like five characters. WHAT IS THIS) The main character deaths also hurt. The random deaths also happen in history (like the second Mughal emperor humayan fell down the stairs because he was drunk. ) Now my interior history nerd is coming out
but she was never really hidden anywayThe bright lights are the worst. Awesome post, though Cait! (also your graphics=<3333 and it kind of reminds me of the book of life. Have you see that movie?)yES. TRUE TRUE.
And omg I read the PC Cast novellas and that was enough for me for a lifetime. XD I don’t think I could handle the books themselves. 😛 But yesss, I feel like “jack in the box deaths” are just cheating! The random deaths are like Game of Thrones’ TRADEMARK. *breaks down sobbing grossly* NOTHING IS OKAY.
I haven’t seen the Book of Life! Should I!??! 😀
OMG the Cast books. That was just horrible. That was one of the factors I stopped reading the books as well. I don’t want to read the same book over and over with just one tiny name changing it up.
WELL. MY JOB HERE IS DONE THEN. XD (Although really, literary deaths are sooooo saaaad. SO WE MUST LAUGH SO WE DO NOT DIE WITH THEM, RIGHT?! *weeps*)
Agh, that sounds really frustrating. D: I’ve read a book where a love triangle was just so “easily” resolved by one party getting a terminal illness. like…seriously!? Sometimes deaths can be used as a cop-out, I think, and I’m not okay with that!!
THIS IS A FANTASTIC POST. I’m bookmarking it so I know how best to kill off characters ;P (ALSO OMG SUCH PRETTY SKULLS.) I realise I don’t kill enough characters in the latter half of my WIP … mainly because I killed off too many at the beginning and I DON’T HAVE ANY LEFT. Gah. This is a conundrum. I do think you missed out the villain deaths, though …
HAHAHA OMG YOU ARE WONDERFUL. XD You have like 8 options now of character deaths. *nods* GO FORTH AND LET ALL THE CHARACTERS DIIIIIE. (I accidentally killed like 70% of my cast in the first 3 chapters in my NaNo dragon book. -_- So. That was awkward.) OMG I DIDn’T TALK ABOUT VILLAINS AT ALL DID I!? #epicfail
*promptly bookmarks as well*
I haven’t killed off enough characters because I LOVE THEM ALL AND HOW DO I KILL OFF SOMEONE I LOVE
*goes off to kill all characters and ends up sitting in terrace having tea*
exactly one death here. though it’s not YA…
Secondary character deaths break my heart every time.
I always make sure I have more than one main character when I write – that way you can kill one without the whole book being pointless. Saying that, even secondary character deaths can render whole stories pointless. There’s a certain death in Mockingjay that makes me wonder what the point was of Katniss volunteering in the first place.
I hate the “back from the dead” trope – either kill the character or don’t! When Dean/Sam/Castiel dies in Supernatural, my reaction is no longer intense sadness. It’s, “Meh. They’ll be back next episode/season.”
Saaaaame. The bestest secondary characters ALWAYS DIE AND IT’S JUST NOT FAIR. I do kind of think that about Mockingjay buuuut…I mean, it still meant something. Because without That Certain Character’s Death, Katniss wouldn’t have gone on to get Coin and Snow and, ya know, end the games once and for all. She still needed that shove to finish the rebellion. BUT IT DID SEEM POINTLESS. D:
(Omg, I STILL FREAK OUT EVERY TIME THEY DIE. *weeps a thousand tears for precious Winchesters* Because I know one day they’ll do something super horrible and I will die a little more inside and never be okay. YES I’M TOO EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED IN THAT SHOW.)
EPIC POST!! xDD
I specially hate the last kind of character death, all the others are still bearable but that is…. BREAKS MY CUTE LITTLE HEART, you know! And in Supernatural, deaths of Sam or Dean at first used to scare the crap out of me but now I’m like oh they’ll surely come back next season, but seriously if anything happens to them….!! Anyways, loved reading this post. Hilarious as ever! 🙂
My latest post Daydreaming Discussions- Love Triangles: Yay or Nay for you?
*duct tapes your cute little heart back together* I HEAR YA. I DO. Are you watching S11 though?!?!? The reapers said they’ll never bring them back. D: OMG I’M NOOOOOT OKAY.
OMG DON’T TELL ME, MY CHANNEL POOFED AND I’M WAITING FOR MY NEW COMPUTER!! OMGGGGGGGG!! I’ve been separated from them a long time. *sobs quietly in a corner*
OMG OM I’M SORRY!! I’ve actually only watched the first 4 or 5 episodes so far. SO I SHALL SHUSH.
Yes! I love this post so much. On a Supernatural side note all of the deaths types mentioned are a few of the reasons why I don’t watch the show anymore. 🙁
Once again a fantastic post! I don’t even know how I feel about character deaths … some of them, as you’ve mentioned, make sense. They almost feel satisfactory because they close the circle. They are almost necessary. However, there are others that are just so useless and that have me sobbing and mad, I almost (ALMOST!) want to throw the book against a wall. It’s difficult to find the right balance.
I also think that something else you’ve mentioned, that it can seem like the author is afraid or not bold enough when they reanimate a character, that this is very true. Sometimes it’s necessary to bring them back (like a certain someone from the Inkheart series I wouldn’t have wanted to live without), but other times it just seems a little cowardly. Almost as if it’s taking something away from the story that could have made it great.
I’ve wanted to throw books because of character deaths!! I’M SO MAD AT SOME CHARACTERS FOR DYING ARGHHHH I CANNOT EVEN. But sometimes it just fits so well and I have to look past my angry/sad feels. XD Balance is good. Baaalance. LOVE BALANCE.
And yes *nods* I don’t like it when I feel like the author can’t commit. Or the think readers will hate the story if they can’t have all their favourites alive? It feels nearly amaeturish?
I am glad we agree 😀 BALANCE IS AWESOME! and authors need to commit! Nobody wants to read something amateurish ….
Great post, Cait! I must admit I’m not a big fan of the whole people being brought back to life thing, even if the character’s one of my favourites and I’m so happy to see them again it does still feel like cheating, like the author wants the best of both worlds. I hate character deaths but I love them, too; there are two characters whose deaths I will NEVER be over, but the books were so much more powerful because they died and, like you said, that’s life. Sometimes the best people die and sometimes they die in really underwhelming ways, but not everyone gets to bow out to epic Hans Zimmer music.
Oh oh I totally agree! I mostly feel like Jack-in-the-Box deaths are cheating. I mean, there are SOME exceptions where I’ve just been too busy flailing that a favourite character wasn’t really dead. BUT STILL. I feel like it means the author can’t commit to something?!
AWK AND YES!! Some of my favourite books have the WORST character deaths in the world and yet I love the book to absolute bits.
OMG I LOVE HOW YOU PUT THAT “not everyone gets to bow out to an epic Hans Zimmer music” finale. YESSSSS. THAT IS SO RIGHT.
Gah! Character deaths are devastating but they are what makes a book mean something and what makes the events realistic. We need them, but they destroy us. I agree with you that the death that kicks off our hero’s journey is usually the least impactful…since we usually barely know the character at that point. Poor secondary characters, mentors and the worst for me – with the exception of the hero biting the dust. Those ALL destroy my soul. I also agree that the jack in the box one feels like cheating. There needs to be a seriously GOOD reason for something like that to happen. Awesome post!!^^
Eeep! THANK YOU. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! *flails wildly* And yessss I think deaths make books more realistic. I mean, real life is about loss and tragedy sometimes, so books really should be as well. Plus realism. It’s just not realistic to read a book about a battle or perilous adventure and have NO deaths right?!?
is it bad that during like half of this I was grinning like an evil author because, well…. some of my characters might die in some of the ways you mentioned? *innocent whistling*
Omg.
What.
DON’T, LISA. REPEAT. CHANGE. EDIT YOUR BOOK NICELY SO EVERYONE LIVES.
(Actually I honestly can’t complain because I kill characters ALL. THE. TIME. My dragon book is notorious for it. Seriously NOTORIOUS. And to this day Tremolo is the ONLY book I’ve ever written where no one dies. :P)
i just started laughing like an evil human all over again XD
I agree with you on these (and I really like the skull images you used here), especially regarding Supernatural. They should just keep bringing them back! 🙂
yESSS PLEASE LET THEM ALWAYS BRING THE DARLING WINCHESTER BOYS BACK. *sobs because S11 is already making me a nervous wreck*
Only you can make me laugh as we are talking about all the things that ripped my heart out. I really hate deaths in books because it is always, always my favorites that bite it. Always. I’ve got like the kiss of death thing going on with characters. It’s to the point where when I really love a character, I will sometimes ask someone if they are alive at the end of the book. It happens that often.
I hate random deaths in books. If you should never do anything just to do it in a book, then they should never subject me to that pain when there is no plot related purpose. This happened to me not too long ago. An author killed someone and I’m 99% certain it was just to remove that individual from the romance triangle because the death served no other purpose. No climatic battle where a sacrifice was made. Nothing. That’s cheating and lazy writing in my eyes.
THE BRIGHT LIGHT ONE. *cries over Archie Kennedy* But it was a heroic death too, so it was even sadder. :,(
I actually like the Jack-in-the-Box deaths. Archie pulled that one, too… Come to think of it. But there are a lot of my favorite characters that had a jack in the box death and NO COMPLAINING HERE. I’m usually just too elated that they’re alive.
But usually it’s good to have them at least wounded after their brush with death. 😉
*joins you in weeping forever* THAT WAS JUST SO UNFAIR. AND HE WAS JUST SITTING THERE PRETENDING HE WAS OKAY. OMG. *CRIIIIIIIIES*
There are definitely instances where I LIKE the Jack in the Box deaths. XD But, hehe, sometimes I feel like it makes the author too attached and they can’t cut the life line!? And that bothers me a bit. BUT IN SOME INSTANCES I’M NOT COMPLAINING.
Wow. You totally hit the nail on the head with these. Although, it has me thinking, maybe we love secondary characters so much because we often aren’t as privy to their flaws as we are the main character’s? An interesting thought.
Ooh, that IS an interesting thought. I also think maybe Main characters can sound (accidentally) really self-obsessed? Because we’re in their heads after all. Whereas the secondary character’s DON’T (but probably are inside) so they just seem easier to handle?! Idek. I HAVE NO IDEA. I should think about it more as I read. 😛
The Random Pointless Shocker death is my favorite to write, but the Hero’s Eternal Grand Finale is probably the worst for me reading wise. Great post!
Omg, me too!! As a writer I write SO many kinds of deaths and #noregrets…but as a reader I hate it and wail so much. XD
I absolutely hate The Mentor Death. It’s so annoying and it happens in every single fantasy book I’ve read so far. I can’t take it anymore, especially because most of those characters are so loveable and nice. Ugh.
I know right?! It’s SO cliche. And that annoys me because I basically SEE the mentor figure and go, “Well, you’re the walking dead.” -_- And then their death has less impact!! It’s a cliche that needs to be avoided now, I think.
The Secondary character death always makes me really sad and on some occasions really angry. I feel like the secondary character death, along with the kick started death and the jack in the box death is quite predictable and therefore some of the deaths don’t have as much of an impact on me. However, as frustrating as the jack in the box death is, there are always a few exceptions. I’m praying that Gansey’s fate in The Raven King it along the lines of this one because I don’t think I’ll be able to cope with his death in any form. However, if a character I love dies I will be an emotional wreck no matter how they go.
Oh oh yes I agree with that! Like sometimes even these kind of deaths get so cliche that you KNOW it’s going to go down so you’ve already steeled yourself when you meet the character, right?!
I AM PRAYING WITH YOU ABOUT GANSEY. He can jack-in-the-box as much as he wants. Please on please. I’m just desperately dyyyyying and hoping none of the other boys sacrifice for him. I’M SURE THEY’RE GOING TO AND IT’S GIVING ME NIGHTMARES. D: *wails for a thousand years*
Personally, I don’t think there are enough deaths in YA fiction. Or at least not in certain types of YA fiction, where you’d expect there to be some death, but instead everybody ends up with a HEA tied with a nice little bow. (I still wish one of the major characters had died in the Twilight series; that would have made it a lot more interesting and satisfying for me!)
Maybe this is why I’m not a huge fan of immortal and invincible characters. If you know they’re going to survive to the end, the suspense goes out the window. The problem is compounded when they’re the secondary character, so the only way to have a death that hits you in the gut is to kill off the main character or narrator… and resorting to the narrating ghost trope doesn’t always work.
I still remember the first literary death that really shocked me. The author killed off the love interest in the second book of a four-book series. I spent the rest of the series hoping there was some mistake and wishing for the dead person to still be alive. Alas, it was historical fiction, so it wasn’t a possibility. I was kind of miffed at the author, but the death made sense and managed to further develop the love interest’s character (noble death) and move the story along (revenge!) so it turned out okay in the end.
The worst sort of death in books for me is the pointless one that’s just there for shock value. I get more annoyed than sad with those. I remember one of my high school English teachers once telling us about how, in fiction, everything is supposed to have meaning. That’s what makes it different from real life. Random, senseless things happen in real life. In a book, if your character gets stabbed with a really sharp carrot stick, it had better have some relevance to the plot.
Really?! I would’ve said opposite actually! 😛 Most of the YA books I read have a lot of deaths! Although a lot of them are guilty of jack-in-the-box deaths these days. *siiiiiighs heavily* I always feel that’s immensely cheating. Like even the author can’t let go?! Althoooough there are exceptions for me. Like I shall holler for 900 years about Game of Thrones and which characters I refuse to believe are dead.
HAHA. I never finished Twilight but I can understand your feels there. 😉
Omg that sounds like a really epic historical series then!! I’ve had that with a few…like sitting there hoping it was a mistake. XD
The pointless ones have grown on me since I started reading Game of Thrones. But GAH. They really are shockingly HARD to swallow. D: And I get that things should have meanings. But I also feel like the meaning of a “pointless death” is sometimes that’s just how things go sometimes.
I love your graphics! What a cute little skull.
I think #8 is one of the worst. I can think of one example off the top of my head, and even though it makes sense realistically, I’M READING FICTION FOR A REASON. Do you actually have examples of books where the author pulled it off? Please share!
I also hate #2, because it always seems pointless. I can think of an example where all but two characters died at the end, and the second book suffered greatly because of it. And then there’s Game of Thrones, where EVERYONE dies. I can’t believe you didn’t make “Death by George R.R. Martin” it’s own category. XD
I think a parental figure death would fit in with #3. Parents are ALWAYS dying of in both YAs and fantasies.
Prettiful deaths. :’) Who would’ve thought.
I do have examples for #8 but it’s kinda spoilery. So if you REALLY want them, I can tell you. HAHA DEATH BY GRRM SHOULD BE IT’S OWN CATEGORY. But really he just uses all of these characters….sometimes all of them in one chapter. -_- Omg I hate him and I hate those books and yet I love them and keep reading them. Halp. I have a problem.
YA loves to kill its parents right?! -_-
Lol, I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t be a surprise to either of us, considering all the characters you enjoy killing and all the murder mysteries/thrillers I’ve read this year. 😉
HIT ME WITH THE SPOILERS. I’m a sucker for spoilers. Um, unless you see the book on my to-read shelf?
Either YA parents are the worst ever or they die before we can learn that they’re the worst ever.
I
stalkedresearched your goodreads…and you didn’t have it added so…Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill!! I TOTALLY CRIED. And at first I thought it rendered the book really really POINTLESS…but then I thought about it a lot and I think it actually was just sending a very harsh message. *nods* So it did work. Of course then there’s Allegiant, and I really think that worked. XD And I swear there’s this other one but I cannot remember it right now. Gahhhh. MEMORY. WHY MUST YOU FAIL ME.Haha, that’s what it’s there for! Allegiant is the example I thought of that does fit with Tris’ character, but it still made me wonder why I bothered reading the series in the first place. I haven’t heard of Only Ever Yours. (How do I make italics in a comment? That would be so useful!)
Oh oh it’s really easy to do Italics. Just go < em > and then < / em > (with no spaces) and it should work!!
AGH. WordPress isn’t letting me show you…I shall DM you on twitter!
Erm, like this?
yES. PERFECt. GENIUS.
I was thinking about how much you liked the ending to the Divergent series with the last one! I also can’t stand Jack-in-the-box deaths. Like, if you’re going to kill someone, kill them! (Unless it was a faked death all as a ploy to accomplish some goal, but that’s the ONLY reason someone should ever “come back to life”.)
yES. I actually think it fit with who Tris was and WHAT she stood for?! So like it made perfect sense to me…ALTHOUGH I BAWLED FOR A LONG TIME. And the Jack and the Box ones make me annoyed because I feel like the author is too attached. -_- And for some reason, blah. It’s not realistic to me!!
It also, like you said, takes the fear out of the reader. And YESS Tris is exactly what I was talking about! It fit perfectly but until the very end I was waiting for it to be a jack-in-the-box, haha!
I was actually waiting for a jack-in-the-box with Tris too a bit. xD Or for certain-deaths-in-the-hunger-games because I COULDN’T BELIEVE THEY’D LET THAT BE REAL. *wails*
Oh gosh, I feel like some series like those two and Harry Potter and even the Selection.. they just EXPLODE with deaths by the end!
Yes yes yes to all of these but CAIT THOSE GRAPHICS ARE SO PRETTY
PRETTY DEATHLINESS. WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT, RIGHT?!?!
Ok, I have a rant about this topic lol. I kind of hate that sooooooo many authors “kill” characters, make you think they’re dead, only to bring them back. Because of this trend, I now never believe characters are dead. Every time a character “dies,” I’m wary, and I kinda wait, not wanting to get sad if they’re not really dead. But then if they ARE dead, I miss my opportunity to grieve, and that’s even worse! I wouldn’t mind if this was in *some* books because sometimes the “death” is a catalyst for something, but it is in way too many books for completely unnecessary reasons.
But gah, the bright light one! I recently read a book that did that, and the character was only in the book for like one chapter, but he was so kind and amazing and most definitely what you described and I was so upset that he was just killed off like that!
Also, I did read a book this year in which pretty much everyone died at the end, including the protagonist, the love interest, and the almost love interest. It was actually kind of unsettling to have a 4 book series end that way, especially because it turned out the whole thing kind of *was* pointless.
Anyway, sorry for such a long comment! Apparently I have lots of thoughts about character deaths lol.
Oh oh I’m with ya on this. My ONLY exception is the Winchesters because I love them so much my little heart is liable to explode if they don’t come back. *ahem* BUT YEAH. I feel like the authors can’t part with the character?!? And for some reason that makes me snort and not take the book seriously.
And I know right?!? Every time I see a legit happy character I immediately think, “Well, they’re gonna die…”. IT’S SO SAD. *glares at all the contemporaries*
I’m not okay with pointless books. *sigh* And there was one (I won’t name it in case you haven’t read it!) but I honestly could NOT understand the reason behind the entire book, except maybe it was kind of a message/teaching book? And it was driving a point home? But the actual STORY felt really pointless when the main character died. D:
(Never apologise for long comments! I LOVE THEM :D)
Oh, I agree all right! I don’t think you missed any hehe. Good job as usual Cait! 😀
Awk, thanks, Stefani! 😀 It was (evilly!!?) fun to write. XD
I never saw it broken down into types of deaths and how each effects the reader. It was enjoyable reading about. I think maybe you should do a separate villains death post 🙂 Oh the ways writer’s love to kill off characters.
Yes! Yes! Because I can’t believe I forgot about villains. D: And they can have such varied reasons for death too. OH YES. WAYS. Ways is notoriously horrible. *cries forever* I SHOULD. Great idea. 😉
For me the worst death is when the author takes the time to introduce the character, you know the characters life, and how great of a person they! Then all of a sudden your bawling out your eyes because the author was like just kidding! You might love them but their gone! Whoops! It honestly makes me want to rip apart the book, kill a few people, then die myself.
yESSS. LET ME HOWL WITH YOU. That is the worst. *arms you with tin foil armour and a small butter knife* GO KILL THINGS, MAYA. GET REVENGE FOR US ALL.
All bookish deaths are absolutely devastating, but I have to agree that some are more painful than others. I feel like random and pointless deaths (#6) are definitely extremely painful simply because, like you mentioned, you’re not really expecting them.
In terms of secondary character deaths (#2) I’m kind of split on those. I feel like you don’t really know them as much as you would, say, the main character, so their deaths don’t really hit as hard on you as those of characters who have bigger roles, if that makes sense. But, at the same time, that’s the reason why they’re so painful too: you want to know more about them and you want to see what they’re like.
When it comes to deaths that revolve around selflessness and bravery, whether or not I like them depends on how they’re done. I feel like a lot of deaths involving selflessness aren’t done purely out of selflessness; they’re done so they story can move on, and that bugs me a little. But, if they’re done right (i.e. Luke Castellan, Bianca diAngelo & Tris Prior) then they can be really emotion-provoking.
Thanks for sharing Cait and, as always, fabulous post! ♥
P.S. You forgot the most painful death of all – when a pet dies. 😭💔
yESSS I think #6 is definitely my least favourite/most painful. But then I say “least favourite” but I always get impressed when a book hits me in the feels super hard?!? SO I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT CLEARLY. XD
Oh oh and it’s like there are two kinds of secondary-character deaths, really, right? Like more like “red Shirt” deaths, where the character is sorta there to die, but you don’t really know them sooooo. #awkwardunfeelingnessensues
I always thought Bianca’s death was a bit of a “move her out of the way so we can develop Nico more” Because if she’d lived, Nico would be toooootally different. SO YEAH. I felt like she was “gotten rid of”. I think Tris did a 100%-Tris-Thing, so I was totally okay with it!! LUKE. BABBBBBY. HE COULD’VE BEEN FORGIVEN. *unsure whether likes book-Luke or movie-Luke tbh*
What I hate about the secondary character death, though, is when I don’t know the secondary characters. It’s painful when it’s something like the death of a certain brother from a certain series, but there was another book that I read that already had secondary characters dying in the first book. I couldn’t remember who was who. :/
Oh yes! There’s like two types of secondary-character-deaths, which I should’ve said but I didn’t think of. xD Like the ones you love and the ones that are literally just there to be killed of, and you can kinda tell, right? That’s frustrating.
And 99% of these are of course present in Harry Potter. *sob*
yES THEY ARE. I only just read book 6 and AM STILL noooooooT OKAY.
You missed the “Redshirt” type of death. The secondary characters that are added to a scene just to be killed off.
And the funny thing about death in books is that I’m all NO STOP KILLING THEM LET EVERYONE LIVE STOP IT. But as a writer, I’m going MWUA HA HA, KILL THEM ALL MAKE THEM SUFFER MWUA HA HA.
Funny how that is.
*facepalm* I TOTALLY DID. Agh, epic fail, Cait. That is a pretty notorious kind of death too, and sometimes I can even tell when a character like that is going to die. >_>
OMG ME TOOOO. I am exactly like that. Literally no one survives my books, but as a reader I get SO MAD when that happens. XD I think it’s my way of getting back at all the authors who destroyed my feels?!?!
I can think of examples for all of the types of character deaths you listed. I absolutely loved the graphics you used in this post!
Eeep, thank you, Veronica! They are the cutest skulls right?! YAY FOR CUTE…SKULLS….OKAY NOW I SOUND LIKE A CRAZY THING.
I hate deaths! I can deal with the bad characters dying but any other character dying – I just end up a mess. Even if the death is talked about – I still end up a mess. I can’t control the tears. I just cry.
Thanks for the post.
*pats shoulder* I am a little more callous, XD But sometimes it reeeeally gets me because they’re like MY FRIENDS and I just get sad for ages. And series are the worst!! Because there’s more pressure to kill of characters. *collapses in a heap* I almost procrastinate series because I don’t want people to die!!
I just wrote a secondary character death a couple days ago in my NaNo novel. All the feels!
*pats shoulder*
*gives you chocolate cake*
ARE YOU OKAY, ALISON? YOU MEAN MEAN WRITER. XDXD
I think the worst kind are the ones that DON’T matter–that have no point. Supernatural is what I IMMEDIATELY thought of for number 5. I think a lot of the CW shows have this aspect to them (coughTheVampireDiariescough). 7 and 8 are totally Allegiant, which made me cry like a baby but I still loved. And, yes, I DID read that in Merida’s voice.
*breaks down sobbing* I will forgive anything in the sake of the Winchesters because I love them so ALSO THEY HUURRRRT MY FEELS CONSTANTLY. And yES! I think Allegiant actually worked really well. I was shocked, but it fit with what That Character was trying to achieve and what she believed/stood for, so IDEK I CRIED BUT IT WORKED.
#8 *cough* Allegiant *cough* WHY MS.ROTH WHYYYYYYY (It’s also number 7) How could she die? No!!! Save me! Also Jack in Shiver was probably # 2 because he wasn’t likeable but he was interesting (His death was so random and pointless and no. More on that later) Anyway, thank you for identifying these tropes 🙂
I DO CRY TOO. But in a way I get it?! Because it fit with who she was and what she was fighting for. Soooooo. YEAH. XD I know I’m a minority but I think it worked. 😉 Agh, Jack was super annoying to me. I am very heartless when the annoying ones die. I just kinda say good and move on. I AM A SAD HEARTLESS BEAN. XD
I just realized that all these kinds of death applies to A Song of Ice and Fire books. 😀
yESSSS. With big emphasis on the “sudden and unexpected and pointless deaths” BECAUSE LET US JUST CRY FOR A MOMENT ABOUT 90% OF THOSE WHO DIED. OMG.
Ohmygod Supernatural HAHAHA. The Winchesters always get their turn in every season finale, it’s either Dean or Sam. *sings Carry On my Wayward Son*
For the Mentor death my thoughts goes directly to character’s death in HP 5 & 6 *wails* It’s too painful and I just didn’t expect them to die! Who would guide Harry and cheer him up and always be there for him??
I think the most painful death is the shocker one. I mean like we’re reading peacefully and the BAM! The character is dead, and we just left shocked and have to re-read it several times to let the death sink in.
There’s one other type of character’s death I think. The peaceful one. When we get an epilogue after all the hardships the characters had, they could die peacefully? (*coughs Clockwork Princess*) It wasn’t that painful, it actually bittersweet. But still. Straight to my poor fangirl heart.
OH and of course the Villains death! Their death could bring happiness (Kronos) or pain for us (the Darkling).
*sobs and drowns in chocolate at the mention of Carry On my Waward Son* BUT YEAH. EXCEPT THINGS LOOK BAD FOR S11. Although I haven’t caught up yet but I. am. terrified they’ll stop bringing them back.
yESSSS. Absolutely! HP fits like most of these types of deaths, actually. And I feel like JK Rowling has a problem with giving Harry parental figures and then RIPPING THEM HORRIBLY AWAY. SHE IS SO MEAN.
Agh, I am still not 100% happy with the ending of Clockwork Princess. XD I feel like she got both?!? AND THAT’S NOT HOW TRIANGLES ARE SUPPOSED TO WORK, OMG. Like how was Will supposed to feel all his life knowing his wife was gonna run off with another dude the second he died?!?!? SRSLY. I would’ve lived for ever just to spite them or something….
I totally forgot about villain deaths!! I SHOULD’VE MENTIONED THEM, OMG.
I’m in love with this post because it hits so close to home! I never actually thought about the types of deaths and their pain levels but you nailed it 😉
And for all the authors that use more than one of these types of deaths in one single story, WHY MUST YOU TORTURE US!!??
Eeeeep, I’m so glad you liked my
mean and nastywonderful post. XDXD Omg, I know right, though!? It’s like, okay fine, kill one, but ONLY ONE CHARACTER. YOU’VE REACHED YOUR MAXIMUM.There should be a group of policing readers who patrol the caves of authors and stop them before they kill too many of our beloveds.
Readers: STOP RIGHT THERE! You already killed the mentor, you can’t kill the happy one too!
Writer: But…
Reader: NO BUTS!
Writer: But I already killed him.
Reader: *writes a ticket* You’ve violated the first law.
And I just remembered….what about when the author kills the pet! THAT IS JUST NOT ALLOWED! I love animals too much to see them die. It’s a cruel, cruel joke authors play on us readers….
yES THIS IS A PERFECT IDEA. Like when they hit a limit on the computer, it just shuts down until they’ve backspaced and fixed things *nods* That is totally the way it needs to be. SAVE THE FEELS.
And omg yesss, I can’t believe I forgot animal deaths. BECAUSE THEY ARE SERIOUSLY THE WORST OF EVER AND THERE ARE SO MANY I’M UTTERLY CRYING OVER STILL. Basically if a character has a pet I’m 99% sure it’ll die. -_-
Yeeees! The computer shutting down is perfect! Someone needs to make this happen!
The pet ALWAYS die and it’s tragic. Sometimes I think they’re more sad than human deaths >_< Is that absolutely terrible? XD
I LOVE HOW YOU’VE CATEGORISED THESE POSTS SO MUCH! I especially love the Jack in The Box death that you’ve mentioned, lol! Surprise!
The random and pointless deaths are the worst, especially if they are super fabulous characters that we’ve really grown to like and we don’t get any justice for it.
Awesome post as always Cait!
Eeep, thanks, Jeann. 😀 Sometimes we just need to sit down and analyse DEATH for a while, don’t we?! 😛 HAHAHA *breaks down sobbing* Ahem. But yes, I think the random/pointless deaths are the hardest to handle because we’re so used to everything in literature making SENSE. So in a way I get it that it shouldn’t happen to often?! But also I think it makes the most impact because it’s like real life.
I think it’s clear which character deaths I would like to talk about. There are a ton of really significant ones in The Hunger Games books, since it’s a book about killing kids and such, but man, those Mockingjay ones HURT.
I just read a book that featured the “random killing”, but it was almost necessary, because the book was SO much more believable, considering the world it was in and the everyday risks. I mean, I cried so hard I almost threw up, BUT STILL. I at least respected the way the author chose to do it.
I’m worried about a kickstarter death I want to write. BUT it isn’t for any of those reasons, so maybe it will be okay? Or maybe someone will tell me it sucks and I will have to think of a new way to do things 😉 But it isn’t for emotional value OR to spur the character forward. It’s just… a thing.
As I thought about this, I decided that there weren’t any I think are worse than the others, they are ALL sad and they all make me cry. Except maybe the kickstarter one, unless it is done VERY well.
Clearly we are talking about the Hunger Games. Clearly we are taking about Finnick here. CLEARLY. NOTHING IN MOCKINGJAY MADE SENSE. XD And by not making sense…it made sense!?!? Because that’s war. *sobs* I’m still not okay and that’s 99% of the reason I refuse to watch the movie.
And like for battles and perilous adventures too!! Without deaths it doesn’t seem as perilous. Deaths do keep the stakes higher *nods* And we do need that in books.
oh, pfft, kickstarter deaths aren’t BAD or anything. xD My NaNo book was built on kickstarter deaths, hehe. As a reader, I personally don’t weep over them. *nods*
OH!
GOSH!
THE FEELS!!!
THE MEMORIES!
IT HURTS SO MUCH!
*curls into a ball*
*sobs forever*
*pats shoulder*
*gives chocolate*
IT’LL PROBABLY NEVER EVER BE OKAY.
My first thought when I saw this post was: DOBBY!
For some reason authors seem to enjoy killing off my favourite characters. WHY DO THEY LET ME GET ATTACHED AND THEN TAKE THEM FROM ME? WHY?
What annoys me most is when authors DON’T kill off people. I guess that sounds really morbid, but whatever XD. If an author clearly is just keeping a character alive because they’re writing for young people (and obviously young people cannot handle death) it REALLY rubs me up the wrong way. SO PATRONISING!
MY THOUGHT IS DUMBLEDORE OKAY!? I’M STILL CRYING. I PROBABLY WILL NEVER STOP CRYING. Ahem. And yes, I think authors target us, tbh? My favourites always die. ALWaYS. IT’S JUST NOT FAIR, HARVEY.
And no no, I get that too!! Because often times I feel like they’re coddling their characters?! And it can be unrealistic.
“The secondary character death that you saw coming that guts you and makes you weep uncontrollably.”
This happened in Illuminae. One of the secondary characters bit the dust and his final moments were so gut wrenching. I was reading the book in public and nearly ugly cried at the auto repair shop. It was horrible and amazing at the same time.
OMG YES. Actually there were several just “HOW ABOUT NO” moments in the death-department in Illuminae. And it’s one of the only jack-in-the-box deaths that I’m actually okay with because OMG MY LITTLE OTP. <3 *(space)ships them forever*
I must admit, I haven’t read many books where the death of a character hit me hard. There were two specifically that comes straight to mind, though. I’m dreading the fourth installment for The Raven Cycle. Tbh, it hasn’t really hit me yet that Gansey is supposed to die, but when it comes it will definitely hit me hard. WHICH MAGGIE STEIFVATER WILL HONESTLY BE THE DEATH OF ME BECAUSE OF A PREVIOUS DEATH THAT HAPPENED EARLIER IN THE SERIES WHO I WILL NOT SAY BECAUSE SPOILERS. That’s the main death that left me devastated???? I was in such a slump after reading that book and it took me a while to pick up the next one (but not too long because I obviously wanted to find out what happens next). Sometimes I still get so sad just thinking about it. Did it affect you, Cait? Ahhh, it has honestly ruined me.
I REFUSE TO BELIEVE HE’LL DIE. I JUST OUTRIGHT REFUSE IT. I mean, I’ve read all of MAggie Stiefvater’s books and she’s ALWAYS had perfect endings that I’ve not complained about a bit. So I’m like 70% sure that the ending won’t tear us limb from limb!?!? But I’m also crying because I FEEL LIKE ONE OF THE OTHER BOYS MIGHT SACRIFICE FOR GANSEY?!?!!? AND THAT WILL BE JUST AS BAD. Because I love all the Raven boys. *cuddles them* *probably gets stabbed for efforts *but still*
WHY DID I NOT THINK OF THAT???? WHY HAVEN’T I THOUGHT OF THAT?? DON’T SAY THAT, CAIT!! NOW YOU’RE MAKING ME NERVOUS OH MY GOD. 😩 Because Adam has already sacrificed himself to Cabeswater and if something happens to him, something will happen to Cabeswater which will then cause something to happen to Noah, right??? When Cabeswater had disappeared, Noah started to, too… didn’t he? Oh god, I need to read the books again because I’m forgetting some small things. BUT WAIT, NOTHING CAN HAPPEN TO RONAN EITHER BECAUSE IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HIM, SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN TO CHAINSAW AND HIS BROTHER. CRAP. This comment is so spoiler-y but idhgijwjgdeg I’M WORRIED NOW!! 🙈
I’M SOOOOORRRRRRRRY. BUT YOU KNOW SOMETHING BAD HAS TO GO DOWN. And now you can fret along with me of all the possibilities. At least if it’s horrrible there will be many support groups to go cry in, right?! (Although of all the Maggie Stiefvater books I’ve read [which is, um, all of them] I’ve never been unsatisfied with her endings. SO HIGH HOPES.)
RONAN MY BABY HE IS MY FAVOURITE OF THEM ALL.
I’LL BE HONEST, I WASN’T SATISFIED WITH HOW FOREVER ENDED…. but I still liked it! BUT YES, RONAN IS MY BABY AND I WILL DIE IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HIM. 😰 THE ANTICIPATION IS HORRIBLE. Though, I think no matter the ending, it will still be my favorite series of all time and I will still love Maggie Stiefvater’s writing!
Did you read Sinner!?! Because it gives Isabel/Cole closure! AND IT’S A GORGEOUS BOOK AND I LURVE IT. *happy sigh*
I did! It might just be me, though, for some reason I’m so hard to satisfy with endings. I guess maybe it’s just because I don’t want it to end lol.
I think the “Mentor’s Demise” is the one that hurts the most, for me. It rips my heart out and then chews it up and then spits it out. Gah! All the feels. I think I’m experiencing it right now… how can this be happening? Ahhh!
AWK! I have not read that one AND NOW I REALLY WANT TO. Is that bad?!!? haha. xD
This is a very very good list. Of evil things. Yes.
I do so love evil lists of evil things *nods evilly*
THIS POST IS LIFE. YAS.
READ THE HUNGER GAMES AND YOU TELL ME, CAIT.*sobs for all eternity*
#4 is definitely a Hunger Games trope. #7 reminds me of Mulan 2. When I was watching and That Thing happened (if you haven’t seen, I shall not spoil), I had to stop the movie on Netflix. I was literally so heartbroken for a few minutes. ALSO FINDING NEMO. ALWAYS.
THIS POST IS DEATH ACTUALLY. *falls over laughing at own really lame joke* HAHA I’M JUST KIDDING. OMG THANK YOU, PEACH. <3 The Hunger Games just fits like...all of these categories!?!? With a big BIG emphasis on the shocking pointless deaths. *cries because Mockingjay makes everything unokay* I actually haven't seen Mulan 2 but I don't mind spoilers for disney movies, haha. XD FINDING NEMO YES. THAT'LL NEVER BE OKAY.
The secondary character killing spree, kills me every time. Because they were the best! And I love them.
Rue’s death was one of the worst deaths I’ve ever read. Emotionally, not writtenly. It was written perfectly. Perfectly devastating. D:
Also, Tris’ *sniffles* demise. The Hero’s Grand Finale is the most crushing thing you can do to any bookworm. Tris’ finale was THE most realistic death ever. And the aftermath? I was pretty much with Tobias every step of the way. Just in this state of shock, expecting that there’s some trick behind it and Tris is actually okay. Roth is GOING TO RESURRECT HER, RIGHT? RIGHT?! SOMEONE TELL ME IT’S OKAY! But it wasn’t okay, and it only sank in when the next chapter didn’t have the “Tris/Tobias” heading. Because there was no need for one anymore.
*whispers* Have you seen Mockingjay 2 yet?
The death of glory and honor has Finnick written all over it.
Ah! The mentor death always gets me too. My dad and I read the first Ranger’s Apprentice at the same time. So my dad suspected that Halt was going to die in the second book because he was too cool of a mentor and the authors always kill off the good mentors. I am so glad he was wrong. The mentor death is almost cliched, but some mentors get spared. Like, were would Katniss be without Haymitch? (She wouldn’t have had the chance to shoot Coin. . .she wouldn’t have stayed alive.)
Basically the Hunger Games is just written to be one big crying fest. *sobs away in rememberence* I seriously MISSED the fact Finnick died at first because I was reading so fast and crying so much. I had to reread. SO I READ HIS DEATH TWICE BASICALLY AND AM STILL NOT OKAY BECAUSE OF IT. Rue….Rue…oh Rue and Prim.
And I think Tris’ death was just endlessly perfect and EXACTLY what she would do. Although I wish she’d died for Four instead of stinky Caleb?!?! Although I guess that was kind of the point. XD Maybe Caleb didnt’ deserve it but she loved him anyway. *wallows in tears*
I HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOCKINGJAY 2 MOVIE BECAUSE I CANNOT. I am too sad just thinking about it.x D I’ll probably see it when it’s out on dvd?
I’m forever glad Haymitch (and Halt!!) didn’t die!! Two of my favourite mentor figures of all. :’)
Cruel and cold I know but human deaths don’t always get to me much in a book but change human for dog and it is very different.
I have read and am currently reading dystopians with dogs in them and I have to search for the name of the pet on my kindle (I love how I can search for names on it) to make sure that dog stays alive because if it doesn’t then those floodgates will open!!
I can’t BELIEVE I forgot to list animal deaths!! THEY ARE THE WORST!! When I see a pet in a story, I’m like 99% sure they’re going to die. *collapses in anticipation of tears* They are absolutely devastating. D:
I am in complete agreement with the Super side note!!
This is a really awesome deaths list!
AWK, thanks Julie. XD It was deathly (har har har *ahem*) grand to write about. XD
I HATE FAKE DEATHS WITH A PASSION. Sometimes you can tell, too, if they’re going to come back to life. It just feels like all my emotional investment into grieving for them is wasted haha.
yESSSSS. (Except in Illuminae, right?!?!? Like that was good. That was okay. THAT MADE EVERYTHING BETTER.)
I read somewhere that JK Rowling once thought of killing off Ron in the latter part of the series, aka #2. That would’ve totally destroyed me because golden trio!!! I really hate it when a really close friend has to die to make the hero go BAMF. I think it’s called fringing? Can’t remember. I remember in the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker series, there were some character deaths in book 2 that left me hurting for a few days. I could not move on! But the death made sense and it was the glorious, for peace and honor kind of death.
Aww, that totally would’ve changed the series!! (Although I actually really dislike Ron 😛 so I wouldn’t have been devastated hehe) OMG but the deaths that kind of stay with you…ahh I HAVE SO MANY OF THOSE. And I just gaze at the series and think sad thoughts ever after. *sobs*
Every single number brings a book or two in my mind. Well done, Cait. Well done reminding me of all the awful character deaths I’ve ever experienced and rekindling the feels. ……. I’m just going to sit in the corner and question the meaning of life.
Don’t worry, I’m calm. *deep calming breaths* I’M CAAAAAAAALM!!!!
There there. *pats shoulder and gets you tea and a crumpet* It’s NEVER GONNA BE OKAY. The life of a bookworm is just rife with havoc and tears. CALMNESS IS AN ILLUSION. EMBRACE THE WAILING.
NOOOO CAIT I’M GOING TO CRYYYY. I hate character deaths! Why can’t everyone be happy???? I think all of the ones you listed are pretty painful, but I feel sometimes the secondary character one is the worst. Especially if they were like the life and soul of the plot/party and now they’re… gone? *sob* Although sometimes in a book with LOADS of characters, one of them goes and because there are so many left, you don’t really mind. Oh, but what about circumstances where characters aren’t killed but are still snatched away from the protagonist and the reader. Like Simon and City of Heavenly Fire? Or Jace and City of Lost Souls? Or Jem and Clockwork Princess? Just Cassandra Clare books in general! Now please excuse me while I go and sob quietly in the corner, mourning all of the characters who are no more.
P.S “stabs you in the feels” that is just amazing phrasing, Cait, I love it 🙂
I DON’T EVEN KNOW. YOU TELL ME. WHY CAN’T THE ALL LIVE AND EAT CAKE AND GET ALONG?!?! *weeps with you* It’s so frustrating when the secondary-characters die because they’re often the BEST. I get scared when a secondary character is too awesome these days. xD
Being not-killed-but-gone is still awful and terrible. *collapses* I was screaming about Simon. SEE SIMON WAS THE GREATEST AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!??!!
Haha, I totally agree about #4, especially when the world/story is something like Westeros 😛 #6 is frustrating, I agree about that too; no particular death comes to mind, but yeah, when the shock wears off, it leaves you all “Whhhhy?” Another frustrating character death that comes to mind for me is when a character starts off strong–you know, fleshed out characterisation, interesting motives, etc, etc–and then their role gradually putters out over the course of the story only to die off-stage/hearsay (I’m looking at you, Shakespeare, re: Lady Macbeth). Dunno why that stood out in my mind when I saw the heading for this entry, but there you go 🙂 Great post!
AGH. Everything dies in Westeros, it’s more surprising when they LIVE by this point. XD I haven’t actually read Macbeth, but I HEAR THE FEELS ON THIS ONE. I just hate it when the awesome character die and all the pathetic ones live. *heavy sigh*
So glad you liked the post though! YAYYYYY!!
Personally, I would say that I find mentor deaths the hardest to take because THEY ARE SO PAINFUL and WHY MUST THEY HURT SO BAD and THEY WERE SO COOL AND CUTE WHERE DID THEY GO?
And I actually think this applies for movie deaths, too, and I personally find movie deaths harder than book deaths because movies have a soundtrack and that’s a lot harder for me to resist. I am very good and withdrawing myself emotionally from books, but movies are hard. So I would also say that these apply very much for movie deaths, too.
By the way, yes, I am thinking of Avengers 2 for #6.
I AM WITH YOU ON THIS. Particularly if the mentor is like the first time the protagonist has had a NICE loving and caring sort of “parental” figure in their life…and then, omg, the author goes and snatches it away. *collapses wailing*
Oh yes. OH YES THE SOUNDTRACK. Those weeping violins are hard to resist howling to, tbh.
This is such a cool idea for a post! Personally I think the Bright Light Goes Out death is the hardest to cope with because I never ever ever see it coming :'( Just the fact that your list is this long…authors are evil (but I still love them)
agh THESE EVIL AUTHORS THAT WE LOVE SO MUCH. Being a bookworm is really really hard. XD
I hate the mentor’s demise! I know that the reason for it is to force the hero to do things on his or her own without the guidance and protection and support of the mentor, but it’s still horribly sad. 🙁 I also hate pointless character deaths that are done just for the shock. (I’m looking at you, Allegiant.)
IT IS. Particularly if, like, the mentor is the first time the character has had a parental figure or something…it’s just heart-stabbing. :'(
OHHHHH MAN, this post is GOLDEN. Yup, I think you managed to capture all the different kinds of death. I definitely hate hate the one where secondary characters die. UGH. It’s like you’re so busy wishing the main characters would die, but then the friend die, and you like the friend more than the MC and *dead* SIGH. But I do have to agree with you that no deaths seem pretty much unrealistic. 🙁
I knooooow right?! Especially when the secondary characters are cooler. *heavy sigh* I LOVE THE SECONDARY CHARACTERS. PROTECT THEIR DARLING LITTLE LIVES!
Yes. This post is my jam (as they say colloquially). I am a huge fan of murder mysteries, especially cozies, so different character deaths fascinate me. I have to admit, I do like a death trope. Often, they are clues to the murder/mystery. (Though, I have less experience with deaths in YA.)
I do like a good Secondary Character death, but sometimes they’re predictable, especially of the ‘Bright Light’ variety. I was listening to a Doctor Who book yesterday, and there was a character who helped calm down one of the MCs as she was venturing into a danger zone – and then, of course, he got killed in the danger zone.
(I am guilty of #4, though…)
Yes! Not all tropes are bad! 😛 I feel like the word “Trope” kind of means “bad” but not necessarily…so I do like some of these tropes nad I use them in my writing too of course *nods* But gahhh yes some are more predictable than others. I’ve got to the point where I’m not even surprised if a mentor dies. *sigh*
I just finished reading the Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness and I think every single one of these types of death are featured in that trilogy. But I think the kind of character death that KILLS me is the death of the loyal pet. That one never fails to hurt. Another one that I find particularly painful is the death of someone who has had a lot of character growth through the book/series. IT HURTS TOO MUCH TO CONTINUE.
AGH. MANCHEEEE. THAT’S ALL I CAN SAY. (I’m horrified that I forgot to talk about pet deaths!!) I haven’t finished the series because I’m still crying about Manchee. D’:
I feel like you can find an example of all of these just in the first season of Supernatural. I am a professional at dealing with character deaths not that I have survived a whole 8 seasons of Supernatural. (And I agree that Sam and Dean should always somehow come back from the dead!)
But sometimes, character deaths still get to me, especially #2 and #6. I become overly attached to secondary characters and I just CANNOT DEAL when my favorites die. The worst thing ever is when a secondary character dies in a random and shocking death. My beloved secondary characters deserve more than a accidental stab wound or something equally as arbitrary as a death.
yES. I THINK YOu’RE RIGHT. I think they just try and do every kind of death possible. *heavy sigh* I’m actually procrastinating watching S11 because I’m so scared they’re going to die and not come back. D:
The random shocking deaths honestly have me huddling in a corner. I’ve finished books and seriously not been able to talk to other humans because it felt like MY FRIEND HAD DIED. omg. Authors. Cruel beans.
HIIIII.
So first off, your graphics through this entire post are awesome. Just. Gah. That needed to be said. “It can also have me screeching on in all caps all over the internet, which is always pleasant for my followers. You love me, you know you do.” DUDE THAT IS WHAT MAKES YOU AWESOME (well one of the many things) AND I DO LOVE YOU FOR IT. *nod nod* And you’re right, character deaths are brutal to witness.
AHAHAHA YES I READ IT IN MERIDA’S VOICE. and you are awesome. (just…in case I forgot to mention, you know?) Yes, you’re right — it is rather cliche and you just don’t care about characters that you don’t spend much time with. (Same in real life too, usually…)
YES SECONDARY CHARACTERS ARE USUALLY THE BEST. Like…even in my own writing, I often fall much deeper in love with my secondary characters than my main characters. (And usually guy sidekick characters are like THE FREAKING BEST for some reason?!?!? idk.) UGH YES, and everyone’s just like, “Oh see the good people get the bad stuff happen to them and then the mean characters can just get everything good happen to them” and I’m like…THIS IS FICTION JUST STAHP. STAHP AND MAKE ME HAPPY OR I BURN DA BOOK. (but not really. in my head.)
“Plus it gives the reader TOO MUCH SECURITY!! No one dies?” *whistles and plays with her thumbs in the corner* heh. heh heh. Anyway, yes — I hate the random shocker deaths. It’s like, “Excuse me, Author, but how did the story improve with that? HOW DID IT IMPROVE — IT DIDN’T THERE I ANSWERED FOR YOU.”
“because if I have to be finished with a book forever, everyone might as well be dead TOO. HUMPH.” DUDE YOU CRACK ME UP. and that last GIF was the best. Thank you for this post. It was flipping brilliant. xD
love,
abbiee
Screeching in all caps has become my speciality. :’) I mean, where else on the internet can you go but here to be FORCEFULLY YELLED AT TO GO READ CERTAIN BOOKS AND THEN AFJDAKSLDJ ABOUT THEM TOGETHER!??! I FILL A NEED, CLEARLY. *ahem* XD Aww, thank you! The graphics just came off canva, heheh.
Oh oh I totally agree. When I write I often go, “but the secondary character is cooler and maybe they should just write this book omg“. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY IT HAPPENS THAT WAY TBH.
But I’m always super mean to my own characters so I guuuuuess I shouldn’t complain but OMG IT’S DIFFERENT WHEN YOU’RE READING TO WHEN YOU’RE WRITING!!
Zomg, but thank yooooou. Your comments always totally make my day. :’)
ugh I hate character death, especially the ones you get to know or end up rooting for you know? But yeah, whats up with the characters that are so full of life and loving it for authors to just smush them? x.x
I knooooow, right?! It’s like “Oh dear you are too happy DIE DIE DIE”. *goes to cry in a corner*
I love this! I knew there were so many kinds of deaths, but seeing it in list form is so awesome and kind of blew my mind. The random death is so sad! The worst!
~Sara
Aww, thanks, Sara. I think…about death a lot?!?! OMG I AM A CRAZY BEAN. XD
Sometimes I wonder if authors get together in their freetime for the sake of coming up with all of the terrible ways they can rip the readers hearts out. I agree that sometimes it’s necessary, but STILL. I get super attached to a character an then BANG dead :'(. (Excuse me while I go sob over my losses.)
I’m utterly sure they do. *nods sagely* I’m sure there are little Evil Author Meetings where they plot ways to destroy readers feels. They probably have matching evil tee-shirts, tbh.
All these deaths are major ouches. I like catalyst deaths. I use one in my story. If they’re done well then you care about that character even early on, which is what I’m striving to do and it seems like it worked with my betas because I had several of them yelling at me. XD 95.5% of the time I can’t stand main character deaths. It DOES make the book seem pointless. I can only name one anime that did it well and that’s it.
I use catalyst deaths in my NaNo book too, actually! 😛 Although the current draft is HORRENDOUS but hopefully the reader will care a … little?!?!
OH MY WORD i needed this. this is beautiful. and so extremely RIGHT ON. now i know exactly what NOT to do. secondary character murders are the worst, as well as the Hero’s eternal grand finale (i have this thing with NOT killing off main characters) and random and pointless deaths are seriously going to be the death of me. like, “why did you have to dieeeee…..GAH”
so yes. to all of the above.
HAHAAH. Some of these are good though, in writing!! Like I’m monstrously guilty, as an writer myself, of finales where everybody dies. XD MY BAD. 😛 Secondary characters though….omg. *sniffles*
I am so evil because I kind of love it when characters die. Sometimes I just need a good cry and a fake death always helps with that.
OMG, I love this post! All your feels where spot on! I am trying to think what I think is the worst death….and that is when a main character dies without any real meaning/reason!!! It kills me!! BUT I also get super hurt when my favorite secondary characters die as well. Like you, I don’t necessarily mind deaths in my books because it does at some realism, but sometimes it is too much! lol
I don’t know if it’s really a type, but there’s the inevitable character death, where you know they’re going to go and you’re just waiting for it and watching as they deal with it and then they die. I know it’s kind of like the bright light one, but it can also be different too. I don’t think that one hurts nearly as much, because you can be prepared for it. Honestly, I think the worst death is the shocker death, especially if it’s the shocker death of a bright light, because I know from personal experience that it’s so much harder to deal with a death when you in no way see it coming and when it’s just a meaningless death. Honestly, the mentor death doesn’t really bother me since it’s generally a given, so I don’t let myself get too attached. The finale death doesn’t tend to hurt that much, but if it’s for sacrificial reasons, the glorious death can be pretty painful. I definitely think these types of deaths can be mixed to varying degrees of painfulness.
What about the brutally feels-destroying “this character is in the middle of their character arc and becoming a better person and for once they have so much to live for and actually want to be alive for like the first time in a long time but then they very very suddenly just get murdered” because I’m planning one of those for my book omw please don’t tell my betas they’ll kill me
This post is brilliant! I think you’ve got all of them here. The ones I find most difficult to deal with are The Mentor’s Demise, and the ones where I don’t expect The Hero’s Eternal Grand Finale! The Mentor’s Demise is so hard to deal with. I’m thinking of one in particular. OH, and this particular… um… thingie… also includes a Bright Light death that tears me apart every time! And a number of Deaths of Glory and Honour. Oh my god, the pain! THE PAIN! How do we cope? One of the reasons I don’t want to read the Game of Throne series is because I keep hearing – mostly from you – that everyone dies. And I just feel right now WHAT IS THE POINT?! So I’m not in a place to read them yet.
The Hero’s Eternal Grand Finale, though! I have read just one book where I didn’t expect it, and I couldn’t believe it. I just didn’t expect it at all, because hello, they’re the narrator! But there have been a couple where it was obvious from the very beginning or the title that the main character was going to die, and so it wasn’t so bad. Still seriously upsetting, but expected.
Great post, Cait!
I could find a Harry Potter example for every single of these deaths! Think carefully! All of them appear in Harry Potter. Every single of them. Now, I’m going to spoiler a lot, totally misbehaving your attempt to not do this but it’s crucial. Read away, all you ignorant people who still haven’t come so far to read the Deathly Hallows:
1. Harry’s parents die, before Harry even is old enough to notice
2. No commentary necessary, is there?
3.Dumbledore
4.Fred Weasley
5.Harry Potter
6. Cedric Diggory, I mean, one moment he and Harry are really doing it in the cool way, sharing their victory, the next, avada kedavra and he is dead before you even realize.
7.Harry Potter
8.Harry Potter
Amazing, isn’t it? And Harry gets trice an awful death. I wasn’t really aware, but when I read this, I noticed, that I could always find at least one Harry Potter example. There are actually more, but already this is mindsquishing.
Only one point I totally disagree: It might be not nice to kill the bright light -but isn’t it as well ugly if the moody one dies? I mean, that person must have had a reason, why person was moody, so I actually think, you should give that person a chance to become happy at last before he or she dies?
*hides eyes* I am an ignorant person who hasn’t yet read Deathly Hallows, but it’s on reserve from the library so I’ll have to come back and answer your comment properly then. 😛
I pretty much love all the deaths except the pointless ones. Yep, you heard me say it, I love me some death. Of course, it has to be done well and the author has to make me care. But when done right, I LOVE deaths in my books. (I think I need therapy.)
OOOOOOH LOVE THIS POST!!!
#1 I think this was actually used really well in Red Rising and have to admit that Pierce Brown did a good job of making me care for the character before he heartlessly had her killed off. THE BASTARD! Although a tiny part of me still believes she lived. That she had a child. That Darrow met that child in book 2. This seems HIGHLY impossible. What with the character being buried and all. BUT WHO KNOWS! We shall see. I have faith till the end. Then it would be a shocker and not cliche. But make it awkward in terms of new romance. OOOPS!
#2 I HATE THIS! DAMN YOU, ROWLING, YOU LOVE THESE KINDS!!!! :'( Gaaah. The last book was just a battle of all these wonderful secondary characters being killed off. I sob from beginning to end. DAMN THAT BITCH!!!! – Gah, the HP feels are still too real and too fresh.
#3 Yup this one gets me every time too. It hurts me. But I feel this one is very cliche and seems to happen ALL THE TIME. But more in movies than in books.
#4 Yup. Authors are just cruel bitches. That is what I am getting from this post and it might be killing me a little bit. HOW DARE AUTHORS DO THIS TO ME. I’m just thinking of Rue right now. *sobs*
#5 Yup. Supernatural is definitely the exception. Although I wish they would stop killing off Sam or Dean and then bringing them back. STOP IT!!!
#6 THIS ONE IS DEFINITELY HORRIBLE AND THE WORST. It comes out of nowhere and DESTROYS ME!
#7 This one is almost bearable. It feels like the death wasn’t pointless. There’s some kind of meaning to it,
#8 I’ve rarely seen this done. I am thinking of one particularly trilogy that ended this way. It was not done well. It didn’t feel like it was for a reason. And it just…. NO! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! I CAN’T EVEN.
This post has made me ALL THE CAPS! I’m sorry.
AHH THE PASSION OF THIS COMMENT. <3 THANK YOU, CHARNELL. XD😂
And omg I like your Red Rising theory. I LIKE IT A LOT.
(I heard they ARE stopping bringing Sam/Dean back?! The reapers said so in like the first episode of the latest season?! So now we can officially fREAK OUT NON STOP *weeps*)
So now… I know exactly what sort of deaths I need to do to make my readers really mad. 🙂 And that’s all I ever wanted 😛
But actually, I know the death that prompts the main character into action is pretty typical/boring, but I wrote a fantasy where the main character is prompted by the first page death of their child in front of their eyes. It was pretty emotional for me to read because I was thinking about my own kiddo and how awful that would be. So I think maybe sometimes that kinda death can work?
Mwhahaha, yes. This is grand deathly advice. 😂 I’M JUST KIDDING. But hehe, I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
And I do agree with you…*nods* Sometimes those prompting-deaths are really unavoidable anyway to get the story going, and I think, if it’s written well, ANYTHING can be emotional, right?!?
Yes, I did! I guess that’s a little morbid haha
Very true. I hope to one day make everyone sad when the pet tarantula is killed :p
Whoa, yeah, this is such a unique post! With the one in which the main character dies, I haven’t read any books with that happening (but I was spoiled for that one particular dystopian book), but nonetheless, it has to be done well. Interesting post, Cait! 🙂
Aw, thanks, Alice. My brain comes up with the weirdest of ideas 😂 😂 AHEM. Omg but you were spoiled for THAT certain dystopian?! That must’ve been enormously irritating. *pats shoulder* *gives you cake*
OH GAWD YOU GOT TAYLOR STUCK IN MY HEAD! And yes I did sing, “And now they’re lying on the cold hard ground. OH! OH! Trouble…. trouble…. trouble….” Also I will forever admire Veronica Roth for completing #8 with a flourish! (Well poor Four). And for #3, the only one I can think of off the top of my head *SPOILER ALERT* is Brom from Eragon, but I don’t know a lot of people who read that.
YOU ARE MOST WELCOME FOR THE TAYLOR SWIFT.😂 Ahem. And I will always admire Veronica Roth too. :’) I know a lot of people hate what she did, but I think it was 100% in line with her characters and totally made sense. *sniffles*
#4 definitely has to go to “Hold the Door.” I still bawl my eyes out!
oh god don’t remind me!
thanks for the tips, bye bye bubbly mentor!