Oden from ‘One Piece’

The scene that made me think of this topic is from ‘One Piece’.  Oden was a leader who sacrificed his life to save his retainers and people.  He also sacrificed his dignity before that by dancing in the street every day for a while.  Anyway, I know I’ve seen scenes like this in other stories, so I got to thinking about this ultimate sacrifice.

Since we are raised to believe that life is precious, giving it up to save others is a big decision.  In fiction, we see many characters do this without hesitation.  They feel that it is their destiny or it is better for them to die than others.  Whatever the reasoning, it is fairly common for heroes, mentors, and other heroes to die in the hopes of helping their allies survive and progress in their adventure.  While we might never do it ourselves, we can understand where the action is coming from.

This can go for villains as well.  Even though it is done for darker results, there are loyal henchmen who will give up their lives for their masters.  The main antagonist typically won’t do this unless their goal is something they don’t care about living to see.  For example, a villain who wants to destroy the world might stay with the device that will do so to make sure it goes off.  The interesting thing is that a reader can still understand what is going on and why.  The villains are as determined as the heroes to win, so they will do whatever it takes.

All of this is why I think a sacrifice needs to be built up.  The character doesn’t have to be shown as loyal and dedicated though.  Those traits makes it more believable for them to do it without hesitation.  Yet, a character who is unsure of themselves can still do a sacrifice and make it work by them openly wrestling with what they want.  A shock death out of nowhere doesn’t really work here because the character needs to have been established as being capable of a sacrifice.  It could even be to prove they aren’t selfless, which is harder to pull off.

There is something to be said for the accidental sacrifice too.  I won’t say I don’t like this one, but it tends to be done for either comedy or comeuppance.  I find this very difficult to pull off well because it can be seen as an empty shock death or the author having run out of ideas for the character.  This is because it comes as a surprise to everyone and there isn’t the usual nobility one would expect.  I’ve seen some people say it doesn’t really count as a sacrifice because the character didn’t mean to do it.  That brings up the debate on if intent is necessary for such an act.

This is a plot event that I use a few times because I feel a sacrificial death can have a lot of meaning.  It can get the survivors to think about their own actions and strive to become stronger.  Basically, it’s a useful catalyst for growth, especially when you remove a more powerful character.  Now, the remaining heroes no longer have this high-level ally to depend on, so they have to grow.  I’ll probably use it plenty of times, but I am going to limit it to series where it makes sense.  For example, it doesn’t really work for Darwin’s adventures.

So, what do people think about a character sacrificing their life?  Is it an overused trope?