History Main / DeathBeforeDishonor

* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': The finale forces the heroes to either accept Ozymandias' plan to prevent WorldWarIII or reveal the truth to the world - which will result in the reignition of hostilities and probably an apocalyptic nuclear war. Rorschach, by far the most morally unyielding of the team, cannot let all the villainy that's occurred for the plan to work go unpunished - though he knows that since Ozymandias has [[PhysicalGod Doctor Manhattan]] on his side, there's no chance of stopping the supervillain. Instead, Rorschach tearfully unmasks and [[SuicideByCop all but orders Manhattan to kill him]].

!!WARNING: As this is a Death Trope, the entries below contain unmarked spoilers for character deaths. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.

*** In ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', Reid, Hoshi, and T'Pol of the Enterprise are trapped on a disabled Klingon cruiser. The humans, new to space exploration and galactic politics, look for escape pods, but T'Pol, the Vulcan officer, informs them they [[ArmoredCoffins won't find any]] because the Klingons believe abandoning ship is dishonorable.[[note]][[https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/223411/32862 Other sources disagree]] on escape pods. Plus, if there's no escape pods, there's little honor in not taking them.[[/note]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* In ''LightNovel/IsItWrongToTryToPickUpGirlsInADungeon'', one of the Xenos decides to sacrifice herself before [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil she's taken advantage of]] by members of the Ikelos Familia.
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* In the climax of ''Film/TheDevilsAdvocate,'' Kevin Lomax is offered anything he could possibly want in exchange for participating in [[LouisCypher John Milton]]'s plans; more to the point, his part in the plan involves impregnating Christabella [[spoiler: his half-sister, in order to produce TheAntiChrist]] - and Kevin's been lusting after her for most of the film anyway. Despite clearly being tempted by the offer, Kevin can't bring himself to go through with it even after the moral decline he's suffered over the course of the story, especially since [[spoiler: it'd mean betraying his wife, who's recently committed suicide thanks to his neglect]]. Instead, he opts to shoot himself, simultaneously [[HeroicSuicide depriving Milton of his victory]] and sparing Kevin from doing the unforgiveable.
* In ''Film/FinalScore'', it's "death before ''further'' dishonor". The BigBad of the film is Arkady, one of the leaders of a bloody revolution in an Eastern Europe country 17 years prior, who is seeking his disappeared brother Dimitri (the other, [[CainAndAbel less]] [[GeneralRipper psychotic]], leader of the revolution, went to the CIA and asked to be taken away to make it stop) and restart the whole thing. When Dimitri finally decides to oblige his brother's demands and meet him, he makes clear that he [[RetiredMonster prefers the new life the CIA gave him and he doesn't wants to go back]]. Arkady makes clear that he won't accept that and gives Dimitri a gun and orders him to shoot Danni - an innocent bystander and TheHero's [[IHaveYourWife niece]] - to prove that he still has commitment to the revolution. Dimitri [[HeroicSuicide blows his own brains out]] instead.

* The normally unflinching Inspector Javert of ''Literature/LesMiserables'' is left bewildered when Jean Valjean - who he had believed was an immoral ex-con - spares his life and risks his own to save a young man. For the first time, Javert finds himself [[ToBeLawfulOrGood unable to act lawfully and morally at the same time]]: arresting Valjean would be an unjust act, but letting him go free would be a breach of the law Javert values above all else. With his worldview in tatters, the inspector despairingly jumps into the Seine.
* ''Literature/{{Shogun}}'', part of Creator/JamesClavell's book series ''Literature/AsianSaga'', has Blackthorne live under Toranaga's aegis on a small property. After killing a rabbit, Blackthorne hangs his prize on a fencepost to cure the meat. This violates the sanctity of the grounds, and the groundskeeper mustn't allow this infamy, yet if he removes the rabbit, he violates his master's wishes. The poor fellow is caught in a MortonsFork, and removes the rabbit. He is executed by beheading that morning for dishonoring his master, which the man accepts quietly.

*** In the series premier of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', a Klingon is found on Earth injured and in critical condition. The humans consult the Vulcans who advise them they'll to take the body back to the Klingon home world. This surprises the humans as the Klingon is alive and expected to recover. But the Vulcans inform them that Klingon would rather die than be carted back wounded and shipless.

* In ''Manga/IsItWrongToTryAndPickUpGirlsInADungeon'', one of the Xenos decides to sacrifice herself before [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil she's taken advantage of]] by members of the Ikelos Familia.

For these rare few, suicide is a more attractive option than wrongdoing. As for what kind of person would go through with such an act, the personality varies: in some cases, the character involved lives by an inflexible moral code that has made an impossible and likely immoral demand of them; in other cases, the character has lived immorally - but has finally found themselves forced to do something that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even they find repugnant]]; or maybe the character is simply an ordinary human being pushed to the limits of morality in their efforts to survive, and cannot bring themselves to cross another line. There may even be mind control involved, and suicide is the only way to prevent the victim from committing an unforgiveable act while under coercion. Whatever the case, the only sane option is to die.

* In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', Nero, a Romulan from an alternate future, loses the final battle against Captain Kirk and the Enterprise and is now in danger of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard being crushed by the black hole he created with the intent of destroying Earth and similar to the one he used to destroy Vulcan]]. Kirk offers to beam the Romulan crew to safety on the Enterprise, but Nero defiantly insists he would rather die than be saved by the likes of James Kirk. And so he does.

*** In ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', Reid, Hoshi, and T'Pol of the Enterprise are trapped on a disabled Klingon cruiser. The humans, new to space exploration and galactic politics, look for escape pods, but T'Pol, the Vulcan officer, informs them they won't find any because the Klingons believe abandoning ship is dishonorable.

A subtrope of HonorBeforeReason; may be classed as a HeroicSuicide.

Compare and contrast BetterToDieThanBeKilled.

'''WARNING: As this is a Death Trope, the entries below contain unmarked spoilers for character deaths. You have been warned.'''

!!Examples
[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

[[folder: Comics]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': The finale forces the heroes to either accept [[spoiler: Ozymandias']] plan to prevent WorldWarIII or reveal the truth to the world - which will result in the reignition of hostilities and probably an apocalyptic nuclear war. Rorschach, by far the most morally unyielding of the team, cannot let all the villainy that's occurred for the plan to work go unpunished - though he knows that since [[spoiler: Ozymandias]] has [[PhysicalGod Doctor Manhattan]] on his side, there's no chance of stopping the supervillain. Instead, Rorschach tearfully unmasks and [[SuicideByCop all but orders Manhattan to kill him]].

[[folder: Film - Live Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* During the second contest in ''Series/SquidGame,'' Player 119 loses the DeadlyGame and holds one of the guards at gunpoint in a desperate attempt to save himself. However, he orders the guard to unmask... and discovers that his hostage is a teenager ''at the most''. Horror-stricken, unable to find any other way out, 119 turns the gun on himself.

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[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

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* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': As part of a social experiment, the Joker rigs two ferries to explode with the push of a button and places the triggers in the opposing boats, threatening to blow up both ferries if a decision isn't made before time runs out. On the ferry carrying convicted criminals, the guard with the trigger agonizes over the decision before a huge prisoner approaches him, demanding to be given the trigger so he can do "what you shoulda done ten minutes ago." The guard relents - only for the prisoner to toss the device out the window into Gotham Harbor, preferring to die rather than blow up a ship full of innocents. Thankfully, the other ferry can't go through with pressing the button, sparing both groups.

Everyone has a different approach to being confronted by moral dilemmas, especially if it comes down to literal matters of life and death: some might weigh their options and find whatever decision they can live with the most; others might try to wriggle out of the simple binary choice by finding an option that doesn't break any moral codes or hurt any innocent bystanders... but for a few morally-upstanding types, there is no such option, and the only alternative is death.

* In ''Manga/IsItWongToTryAndPickUpGirlsInADungeon'', one of the Xenos decides to sacrifice herself before [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil she's taken advantage of]] by members of the Ikelos Familia.

*** In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode Balance of Terror, the Enterprise and a Romulan warbird are locked in a game of cat and mouse. Eventually, Captain Kirk outmaneuvers his foe and permanently disables the warbird. He then offers to beam survivors aboard the Enterprise. The Romulan Commander tells him it is not the Romulan way to be taken prisoner. He laments that they could not meet on more civil terms and then triggers his ship's self-destruct sequence, destroying the ship and killing the crew.