History InsultBackfire / Literature

* ''Literature/AHouseWithGoodBones'': The antagonist, [[spoiler:the revenant of Sam's grandmother]], insults Sam by saying she's fat and can't find a husband. It's so [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore trite]] and petty that it [[TooAnnoyedToBeAfraid defuses the horror of the situation]] and gets Sam to tear a strip off them in response.

* ''Literature/AHouseWithGoodBones'': The antagonist, [[spoiler:the revenant of Sam's grandmother]], insults Sam by saying she's fat and can't find a husband. It's so [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore trite]] and petty that it defuses the horror of the situation and gets Sam to tear a strip off them in response.

** ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'': The new Minister of Magic, [[LawfulNeutral Scrimgeour]], accuses Harry of being "Dumbledore's man through and through". Harry, of course, [[UndyingLoyalty proudly admits it]].

* ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' applies this when Atticus is called a "n-word-lover."

** ''Literature/XWingSeries'': Garik “Face” Loran used to be a famous child actor in the Empire’s propaganda movies before defecting and eventually becoming a New Republic fighter pilot. Given his history, numerous Imperial characters try to insult him by claiming that his movies were awful. Face usually turns this around by simply agreeing; those were ''Imperial'' movies, of course they were terrible.

* ''Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy'': In ''I, Jedi'', a drunken pilot attempts to insult Corran Horn. Corran, recognizing this for the provocation it is, tells the man off for his lousy attempt and offers ''some more imaginative'' Corellian jokes instead.[[note]] Corran himself is Corellian.[[/note]]

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--> '''Jin''': A thistle, huh? I can see it. Medicinal. Tough enough to grow anywhere. And really, they are truly beautiful flowers, the same colour as her eyes.
* In the beginning of ''Literature/DragonBones'', Ward [[ObfuscatingStupidity pretends to be very dumb]], so every time someone calls him stupid, he's rather relieved that his plan is still working. Later, when he thinks about the king, he notes what a blood-thirsty, sadistic and overall nasty coward king Jakoven is, and then adds that his own father (who was similar) would probably have ''liked'' the king if he wasn't such a coward.

** In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', Lord Rust calls Sir Samuel Vimes "a thief-taker -- nothing more". This is what finally makes Vimes sail for Klatch instead of remaining in Ankh, since he iS a thief-taker and takes pride in his work. Which [[SpannerInTheWorks leads to stopping the war Rust wanted]].
** It backfires AGAIN for Rust when he contemptuously refers to Vimes as "''not a gentleman''", with all the venom he can muster. Vimes' response?
--> '''Vimes''': I ''knew'' there was something about me I liked.

* In the ''Literature/PrinceRoger'' series, one of the supporting characters is a Satanist. Her (originally Catholic) planet got this way during a religious civil war, in which one side demonized the other as Satanists. The other side accepted and maintained the term, having decided that given the evil of their opponents, Satan must actually be good.
* Calderon's ''Life is a Dream'':
-->'''Clotaldo''': Why, this is madness!
-->'''Rosaura''': Yes it is.
* ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' applies this when Atticus is called a "n-word-lover."
* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', Blackstar at one point starts going on and on about how generous [=ThunderClan=] was to give up a piece of territory, and how much good use [=ShadowClan=] has been getting out of it as a hunting ground, using the concession as an opportunity to mock [=ThunderClan=] for weakness. Firestar, who had simply not thought the piece of territory important enough to fight for, responds: "I'm glad to hear that you are getting so much out of a piece of land prey-poor by [=ThunderClan=] standards." Blackstar is not amused.

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'': Hermione reappropriates the FantasticSlur for [[SuperpowerfulGenetics wizards of impure blood]], declaring herself to be "Mudblood and proud of it!"
* {{Invoked}} in ''The Lost Library of Cormanthyr'', Literature/ForgottenRealms novel by Mel Odom:
--> '''Zyzll''': I don't trust her.
--> '''Tweent''': She's a drow. Don't trust her. She won't be offended. In fact, she may feel quite honored.

-->(Frodo's aunt Lobelia:) "You don't belong here; you're no Baggins - you - you're a Brandybuck!"
-->"Did you hear that Merry? That was an insult, if you like," said Frodo as he shut the door on her.
--> "It was a compliment," said Merry Brandybuck, "and so, of course, not true."
* Gerald Tarrant of the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'' [[CardCarryingVillain strives hard]] to be an absolute depraved monster ([[EmotionEater with good reason]]). Calling him any variant on 'evil' only tells him its working.
* The Truax was written as a response to ''Literature/TheLorax'' by people who thought the message was anti-logging. But the real message of ''The Lorax'' was pro-sustainability; or, to put it another way, they responded to the book by rewriting it so that it sucked.
* In Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/CreaturesOfLightAndDarkness'', Wakim is showing a distressingly cavalier attitude towards the plague-killed corpse (on a world with no disease and very little death) that he and a woman have discovered.
--> '''Megra''': "You are a deviant from the social norm!"
--> '''Wakim''': "Is that an insult or a diagnosis?"
* In ''Literature/LemonadeMouth'' after the bully [[TitleDrop delivers the eponymous insult]] the main band of TrueCompanions decides it's AGoodNameForARockBand.
* In David Eddings' ''Literature/DomesOfFire'', Stragen takes the Styric Council to task for not being more proactive in the emerging crisis in Daresia. When one of the Councillors calls him a bastard, he glibly confirms that he ''is'' the illegitimate son of a nobleman. He then proceeds to point out he is also a swindler, murderer, and thief... and that someone like him is still doing more good for Daresia than the Council has deigned to.
* Invoked in ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' by Dominique. She writes what looks like savage criticism of Howard Roark, but she intends that Roark get the hidden meaning that his buildings are too good for the city.
* In ''Literature/{{Excession}}'', [[AlwaysChaoticEvil a particularly nasty race]] gets referred to as "an affront to civilization" after eating an group of foreign diplomats. They're absolutely delighted and officially ''change the name of their species'' to the Affront.[[note]] TruthInTelevision: this is one theory of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache#Name_and_synonyms how the Apache]] got ''their'' name, though there's no real consensus on whether the theory is accurate.[[/note]]
* [[Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo 1636]] The Baltic war gives us an example with a self-insult:
--> '''Jeff''': Just explaining how it happens that at the tender age of twenty-one I'm more suspicious than your average retired cop.
--> '''Gretchen''': I said, stop bragging.
* In Jon Berkely's ''The Hidden Boy'', the main characters practice "Mumbo Jumbo," a sort of listening-to-the-land that allows them to know many things. The term was actually created by the Gummint (government) to try to de-value the practice, but the practitioners embraced the term and it lost all its sting.
* The ''Literature/AlexRider'' series' final book, "Scorpia Rising", has this: a captured french agent calls [[BigBad Razim]] insane, and he calmly replies that a little bit of madness is important for scientific research.
* Early in ''Cursor's Fury'', third book of the ''Literature/CodexAlera'', Tavi dubs the incompetent Knights in the legion, "Knights Pisces," after the joke that an untrained soldier flops around like a landed fish. The Knights adopt the name in earnest after Tavi pulls a trick with some sharks, explaining that you'll be surprised just how much damage a fish can do.

* In ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', a liberal reporter calls banker Michael Mulligan by the supposed slur of "Midas Mulligan" because of Mulligan's ability to make money on his bank's investments -- as opposed to making investments for socially worthy purposes which might not be profitable -- and the nickname sticks to him. Mulligan likes it so much he has his name legally changed to Midas Mulligan.
* In the Literature/{{Drenai}} novel ''Waylander II'':
-->"The man asked [Angel] how it felt to have a face that looked like a cow had trampled on it. He said "Like this!". Then he broke the man's nose."
* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': Invoked by Sir Charles Latrom, a minor villain. When Lyra explains the concept of daemons (animal-shaped embodiments of a soul) to him, she tells him that his daemon would be a dung beetle. He responds that if the Ancient Egyptians were content to be represented by [[ScarabPower such a creature]], then he has no problem with it. [[spoiler:It turns out that he actually is from Lyra's world, and therefore does have a daemon: a snake.]]
* "Literature/ClockpunkAndTheVitalizer" has a mild version, in which a news reporter refers to The Vitalizer as a "sociopath unchained" and "greed-drive asshole." The Vitalizer apparently (as far as Clockpunk can tell) responds with interest.

* Throughout most of ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety and the Riddle of Ages'', Sticky asks his friends to call him by his real name of George, trying to become more adult by shedding his nickname. At one point, during a heated discussion, Constance refers to him as "George," it being an old habit of hers to try to needle him using his real name. Far from being insulted, he instead thanks her for remembering to use his real name, despite her obvious irritation with him.
* A fantastic example of this occurs in "[[Literature/JediAcademyTrilogy I, Jedi]]." A drunken pilot attempts to insult Corran Horn. Corran, recognizing this for the provocation it is, tells the man off for his lousy insult attempts and offers ''some more imaginative'' Corellian jokes instead.[[note]] Corran himself is Corellian.[[/note]]

*** When AlphaBitch Pansy Parkinson sneers at Harry that Warrington was going to knock him off his broom, Harry calmly retorts that Montague's aim was so poor he'd be more worried if Warrington ''wasn't'' aiming for him. Parkinson shuts up after that.

** When AlphaBitch Pansy Parkinson sneers at Harry that Montague was going to knock him off his broom, Harry calmly retorts that Montague's aim was so poor he'd be more worried if Montague ''wasn't'' aiming for him. Parkinson shuts up after that.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Hermione reappropriates the FantasticSlur for [[SuperpowerfulGenetics wizards of impure blood]], declaring herself to be "Mudblood and proud of it!"
** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'', The new Minister [[LawfulNeutral Scrimgeour]] accused Harry of being "Dumbledore's man through and through". Harry, of course, [[CharacterWitness happily admits it]].
** From ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', there's the "Weasley is Our King" song. At first it's used by the Slytherins to mock Ron's sub-par quidditch playing, but is later used by the Gryffindors to ''praise'' his quidditch playing once he proves himself to be quite good at it. Doubles as a TriumphantReprise.
** Also in ''Order Of The Phoenix'', when AlphaBitch Pansy Parkinson sneers at Harry that Montague was going to knock him off his broom, Harry calmly retorts that Montague's aim was so poor he'd be more worried if Montague ''wasn't'' aiming for him. Parkinson shuts up after that.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}},
** In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', Lord Rust calls Sir Samuel Vimes "a thief-taker -- nothing more". This is what finally makes Vimes sail for Klatch instead of remaining in Ankh: once a thief-taker, always a thief-taker, and Vetinari's terrier is, after all, supposed to chase things. And Rust's war gets a Vimes [[SpannerInTheWorks in the works]]. It happens AGAIN with Rust when he contemptuously refers to Vimes as "''not a gentleman''", with all the venom he can muster. Vimes' response?

** In ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', Lord Rust calls Sir Samuel Vimes "a thief-taker -- nothing more". This is what finally makes Vimes sail for Klatch instead of remaining in Ankh: once a thief-taker, always a thief-taker, and Vetinari's terrier is, after all, supposed to chase things. And Rust's war gets a Vimes [[SpannerInTheWorks in the works]].

** Mistress Weatherwax regularly tries to become more of a vile old crone, ''despite'' her natural good looks.
** She's surprisingly hygienic in spite of the fact that she doesn't bathe, she "just washes. As and when parts become available."
** Granny Weatherwax simply does this because she's trying to fit the role. She is [[OldMaster a master of psychology]] ("headology") and knows people expect a stereotypical witch of her. It's simply better all around for her.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', Hermione reappropriates the FantasticSlur for [[WitchSpecies wizards of impure blood]], declaring herself to be "Mudblood and proud of it!"

* In ''Literature/GoodOmens'', the horseman of the apocalypse Famine is killing time by running an {{Expy}} of the Burger King, and buys a meal to check that it indeed has no nutritional value and throws it away uneaten. Though it doesn't happen, it's mentioned that if anyone who saw that reminded him that children were starving in Africa, he'd be pleased you noticed.

** In ''Discworld/{{Jingo}}'', Lord Rust calls Sir Samuel Vimes "a thief-taker -- nothing more". This is what finally makes Vimes sail for Klatch instead of remaining in Ankh: once a thief-taker, always a thief-taker, and Vetinari's terrier is, after all, supposed to chase things. And Rust's war gets a Vimes [[SpannerInTheWorks in the works]].
** In ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', Vetinari says, "What a nasty suspicious mind you have, Vimes," and Vimes thanks him. It was probably intended as a bit of a compliment in the first place anyway. Played with when Vetinari tells Vimes he has "the mind of a true policeman" when Vimes continues being ProperlyParanoid, Vimes thanks him, and Vetinari asks if that's even a compliment.
** In ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'', Borogravian propaganda has attempted to tarbrush Vimes as "Vimes TheButcher". However, the Borogravian people, spotting that Ankh-Morpork and her allies are getting closer to [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] Borogravia by the day, take the epithet to mean that Vimes is a skilled and ruthless commander rather than a slavering psychopath (which was the intent). Vimes himself just finds the whole thing morbidly hilarious, though a bit peeved that they haven't actually made up any war crimes to accuse him of.

* {{Invoked}} in ''The Lost Library of Cormanthyr'', ForgottenRealms novel by Mel Odom:

** In ''Discworld/MonstrousRegiment'', Borogravian propaganda has attempted to tarbrush Vimes as "Vimes TheButcher". However, the Borogravian people, spotting that Ankh-Morpork and her allies are getting closer to [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] Borogravia by the day, take the epithet to mean that Vimes is a skilled and ruthless commander rather than a slavering psychopath (which was the intent). Vimes himself just finds the whole thing morbidly hilarious.