History Main / OrphansOrdeal

* Robin from the ''[[LetsPlay/DreamSMP Tales from the SMP]]'' episode "The Village That Went Mad" fits the trope. He lost his parents in a GreatOffscreenWar and is looked down upon by most of the village for being an orphan child; while he does have a surrogate father-figure in the form of Catboy, he ends up executed for supposedly murdering someone. Ultimately, Robin is heavily implied to become a DeathSeeker as a result of his trauma, not defending himself when the townsfolk turn their accusations on him and have him killed.

** ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'': Penny's need for a new family is a recurring point. Mme Medusa is marked as a true villain by her casual cruelty to Penny; she crosses the MoralEventHorizon by telling Penny, "What makes you think anyone would want a homely little girl like you?" That's more of a KickTheDog moment than a MoralEventHorizon. She crossed the MEH whenever it was that she decided to make a small child dig in a frequently-flooded cave for diamonds.

** If you choose the [[MultipleChoicePast Colonist]] background, Commander Shepard watched [[SpacePirates batarian pirates]] [[DoomedHometown destroy his/her home town]] [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday shortly after s/he turned sixteen]]. Not only did Shepard's parents die, but everyone except Shepard who wasn't killed was MadeASlave as they were dragged off. Not the happy origin, [[TheWoobie clearly]].

* ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden'': David has one of the darkest and nightmarish childhoods to be had. When he was six, his parents were burned alive and his home razed to the ground by an organization who had their eyes set on him to become the incarnate body of a dark fighting god, and the event was so traumatizing that he fell into a deep confused depression and detachment from any sense of connection and affection. He was eventually accepted into an orphanage -- one used as a front to provide said organization with plenty of children and teenagers to sacrifice for their [[BloodMagic messy magic rituals]] -- and ripened to a nice age of [[DangerousSixteenthBirthday sixteen]], where his birthday would find him witness to the horrific fates that would befall the rest of his lifelong friends. Panicking and fearful of death before being sacrificed in the actual ceremony, David only escaped after snapping and taking the chances into his own hands, arming himself with a chainsaw and leaving behind a bloody massacre on the way out.

* ''Literature/TrixieBelden'' has Jim, who is taken in by his [[AbusiveParents abusive stepfather]] after his parents' deaths and regularly beaten, starved or left tied up for days on end as punishment. When found by the protagonists he's homeless, sleeping rough in an abandoned building and terrified of being caught and forced to go back. He's eventually HappilyAdopted at age fifteen (to the point of AngstWhatAngst).
* ''Literature/ToShapeADragonsBreath'':

* ''Literature/TrixieBelden'' has Jim, who is taken in by his [[AbusiveParents abusive stepfather]] after his parents' deaths and regularly beaten, starved or left tied up for days on end as punishment. When he's found by the protagonists he's homeless, sleeping rough in an abandoned building and terrified of being caught and forced to go back. He's eventually HappilyAdopted at age fifteen (to the point of AngstWhatAngst).

* Nellie O'Malley from the Samantha series in the ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'' goes through this. After her parents die of influenza, Nellie and her younger sisters are sent to live with their only living relative, Uncle Mike (her brother's brother). [[EvilUncle Mike exploits them]] sells everything they own [[TheAlcoholic for drink]], then promptly abandons them; the sisters end up going to an OrphanageOfFear called the Coldrock House for Homeless Girls. There they are treated badly, expected to learn to defer to their "betters", and underfed. Nellie [[DontSplitUsUp almost gets separated from her sisters]] when she is selected to go out west aboard the orphan train without her sisters, who are considered too young. She and her sisters are rescued by Samantha from Coldrock and later adopted by her uncle Gardner and aunt Cornelia. But in ''Nellie's Promise'', Uncle Mike comes across Nellie again and threatens to take back custody of her and her sisters so he can make them work in a factory for his own needs (rather than him having to work). Nellie almost escapes to Boston to prevent this and when the fears of her issues with him finally come out, Samantha's aunt and uncle (who are now formally Samantha's guardians as well) locate Mike and make him sign away his rights to the O'Malley sisters--it is only then that the poor girl really starts to get a break.

* Nellie O'Malley from the Samantha series in the ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'' goes through this. After her parents die of influenza, Nellie and her younger sisters are sent to live with their only living relative, Uncle Mike (her brother's brother). [[EvilUncle Mike exploits them]] sells everything they own [[[[TheAlcoholic for drink]], then promptly abandons them; the sisters end up going to an OrphanageOfFear called the Coldrock House for Homeless Girls. There they are treated badly, expected to learn to defer to their "betters", and underfed. Nellie [[DontSplitUsUp almost gets separated from her sisters]] when she is selected to go out west aboard the orphan train without her sisters, who are considered too young. She and her sisters are rescued by Samantha from Coldrock and later adopted by her uncle Gardner and aunt Cornelia. But in ''Nellie's Promise'', Uncle Mike comes across Nellie again and threatens to take back custody of her and her sisters so he can make them work in a factory for his own needs (rather than him having to work). Nellie almost escapes to Boston to prevent this and when the fears of her issues with him finally come out, Samantha's aunt and uncle (who are now formally Samantha's guardians as well) locate Mike and make him sign away his rights to the O'Malley sisters--it is only then that the poor girl really starts to get a break.

** Theod Knetch's family--and a great majority of his people, the Naquisit--were massacred in what [[WrittenByTheWinners the Anglish call the Nack Island Uprising]] (started when coal deposits were found on the island, leading to the Anglish breaking their treaty to get access to it). Theod's father was executed with many others and his mother was hanged immediately after his birth--as in the ''very'' next day; he was sent to an orphanage in New Linvik, where he was raised until he was six and then made a servant of an Anglish household. He is painfully disconnected from his Native culture because of it, initially considering himself the son of murderers and only knowing the Anglish side of the history of the Naquipaug massacre until Anequs comes around.
** Liberty's Black parents escaped enslavement in Berri Vaskos (the part of North Markesland colonized by the Vaskoshish) to New Anglesland where chattel slavery was outlawed. However, her father died in a mill fire when she was six and her mother of a fever when she was ten. She tried to get work but was turned out by her landlady and sent to the Vastergot Society for Friendless Girls and trained as a maid of all work, later hired to work as a laundry maid for the academy.

** Franchise/{{Batman}}'s story is worse than average in some ways (he saw both parents violently killed up close), better in others (Alfred turned out to be the ideal ParentalSubstitute for him). This also happened with his adopted children. One of the explanations for why he adopted [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] is precisely so that Dick ''wouldn't'' end up as damaged as he is. [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd]] never showed much grief for being an orphan until ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'', which also coincided with his emotional instability. And while [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] wasn't orphaned until much later, and lost each of his parents in seperate instances, he went through a lot of trauma with their deaths and initially resisted being adopted, though that was due to his anger at Bruce for [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie]]'s death.

** Theod Knetch's family--and a great majority of his people, the Naquisit--were massacred in what the Anglish call the Nack Island Uprising (started when coal deposits were found on the island, leading to the Anglish breaking their treaty to get to it). Theod's mother was hanged immediately after his birth--as in the ''very'' next day--and he was sent to an orphanage in New Linvik, where he was raised until he was six and then made a servant of an Anglish household. He is painfully disconnected from his Native culture because of it, considering himself the son of murderers and only knowing the Anglish side of the history of the Naquipaug massacre until Anequs comes around.
** Liberty's parents escaped enslavement in Berri Vaskos (the part of North Markesland colonized by the Vaskoshish) to New Anglesland where chattel slavery was outlawed. However, her father died in a mill fire when she was six and her mother of a fever when she was ten. She tried to get work but was turned out by her landlady and sent to the Vastergot Society for Friendless Girls and trained as a maid of all work, later hired to work as a laundry maid for the academy.

* Nellie O'Malley from the Samantha books in the ''Literature/AmericanGirlsCollection'' goes through this. After her parents die of influenza, Nellie and her younger sisters have to go live with their estranged [[TheAlcoholic Uncle Mike]]. [[EvilUncle Mike exploits them]] for child labor money, then promptly abandons them so the sisters have to go to an OrphanageOfFear called the Coldrock House for Homeless Girls. There, Nellie [[DontSplitUsUp almost gets separated from her sisters]] when she is selected to go out West aboard the Orphan Train. She and her sisters are luckily rescued and taken in by Samantha's family. But in ''Nellie's Promise'', Uncle Mike returns and threatens to take back custody of Nellie and her sisters so he can make them work in a factory again for his own profit. It is only when Samantha's guardians formally request to be the legal guardians of the O'Malley sisters as well that the poor girl really starts to get a break.

* ''Literature/ToShapeADragonsBreath'': Theod Knetch's family--and a great majority of his people, the Naquisit--were massacred in what the Anglish call the Nack Island Uprising (started when coal deposits were found on the island, leading to the Anglish breaking their treaty to get to it). Theod's mother was hanged immediately after his birth--as in the ''very'' next day--and he was sent to an orphanage, where he lived until he was six and made a servant of an Anglish household. He is painfully disconnected from his Native culture because of it, considering himself the son of murderers and only knowing the Anglish side of the history of the Naquipaug massacre until Anequs comes around.

* ''Literature/ToShapeADragonsBreath'': Theod Knetch's family--and a great majority of his people, the Naquisit--were massacred in what the Anglish call the Nack Island Uprising (started when coal deposits were found on the island, leading to the Anglish breaking their treaty to get to it). Theod's mother was hanged immediately after his birth--as in the ''very'' next day--and he was sent to an orphanage, where he lived until he wa six and made a servant of an Anglish household. He is painfully disconnected from his Native culture because of it, considering himself the son of murderers and only knowing the Anglish side of the history of the Naquipaug massacre until Anequs comes around.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' has Po finally realize he was orphaned by the most horrific means, but he then achieves Inner Peace by remembering how HappilyAdopted he was and how far he's come. [[spoiler:We eventually find out his birth father is alive, and Po reunites with him in the final installment]].

** Later in 1981, the bratty orphan, Nancy, is legally adopted by the Olesens. Nancy claims that she was abandoned by her "loving" mother, but she tells this lie to help her cope with the truth: her birth mother had died while giving birth to her (a condition today known as pre-eclampsia), and with hospital officials unable to find her biological father, she is taken to an orphanage. Of all people, it is Mrs. Olesen -- the series villain, who had wanted to adopt Nancy just to spoil -- who helps her realize she has people who love her and are willing to give her a stable home. And truth be told, Nancy's own unstable life prior to being taken in by the Olesens may have played a large role in her personality: Moving around from orphanage to orphanage, likely much of it not her fault; and abuse (both physical and sexual) that was likely unchecked given the era.
** In 1982, Laura and Almonzo (by now, the series two main leads) take in their niece, Jenny (Shannen Doherty, in her first major role). Jenny becomes orphaned when her father dies suddenly of heart disease; her mother had died some years earlier. Jenny is shaken by losing her father and tries suicide, but it is a friend of the Wilders -- Jeb Carter, who is Jenny's age -- that rescues her from suicide by drowning ... and at the same time, overcome his fear of water and shut up Nancy for good.
** During the 1982-1983 season, Mr. Edwards (a year after divorcing his wife, due to his alcoholism) is involved in two custody battles. In "The Wild Boy," a mute boy is discovered to be orphaned, although he does have someone -- a cruel circus master, who had doped the boy so high he acts like "The Wild Boy -- "taking care" of him, and Edwards rescues him from the circus to give him a stable home. (An episode later in the season has the boy returning home to his loving biological father.) An episode played more for laughs is when Edwards agrees to take care of Blanche the orangutan, after her master dies suddenly.

* In ''LightNovel/BalancingMySupportMagicAndSummoningMagicInADifferentWorld'', two of the main characters, Arisu and Tamaki, are orphans, but rather than being adopted into loving homes from the orphanage, are taken in by BitchInSheepsClothing AbusiveParents who treat them like shit and give them serious complexes, due to the trauma of severe emotional abuse over the tiniest slight, real or imagined.

* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', part of Jaehee's route is discussing how losing both her parents (her father when she was a child and her mother when she was a teenager) has taken its toll on her mental health and self-identity, which is to say that she doesn't really ''know who she is'' because she's spent her life since their deaths working to be completely self-sufficient so she wouldn't have to rely on anyone else, and therein didn't have any time or energy to spend leaning about herself.

* In ''VisualNovel/MysticMessenger'', part of Jaehee's route is discussing how losing both her parents, her father when she was a child and her mother when she was a teenager, has taken its toll on her mental health and self-identity, which is to say that she doesn't really ''know who she is'' because she's spent her life since their deaths working to be completely self-sufficient so she wouldn't have to rely on anyone else, and therein didn't have any time or energy to spend leaning about herself.

** The Pre-Crisis version of Franchise/{{Superman}} had him often fixated on the loss of his biological parents and his world with his super-memory of his short time there. The modern version however has no such baggage.

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': Orphans are extremely common, with many [[ChildSoldiers joining the military]] to survive. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are all orphaned during the fall of Wall Maria, being among the ''many'' refugee children left without families. Later on, [[spoiler: Connie]] is left orphaned when his village is destroyed. Discovering the secrets of his father's research is one of Eren's driving goals, and a major plot point of the series.

** Franchise/{{Batman}}'s story is worse than average in some ways (he saw both parents violently killed up close), better in others (Alfred turned out to be the ideal ParentalSubstitute for him). This also happened with his adopted children. One of the explanations for why he adopted [[ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} Dick Grayson]] is precisely so that Dick ''wouldn't'' end up as damaged as he is. [[ComicBook/RedHood Jason Todd]] never showed much grief for being an orphan until ''ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily'', which also coincided with his emotional instability. And while [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] wasn't orphaned until much later, and lost each of his parents in seperate instance, he went through a lot of trauma with their deaths and initially resisted being adopted, though that was due to his anger at Bruce for [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie]]'s death.

* The German author Antonia Michaelis has two books (''The Adopted Room'' and ''Secret of 12th Continent'') which deal with two inmates of an orphanage. Both lost their parents and are ''very'' unhappy about it. [[spoiler: in the end, one gets HappilyAdopted, while the other manages to find his father]]

* ''Literature/{{Dogsbody}}'': This is essentially Kathleen's story. A bit different in that her father is kept apart from her in prison. [[spoiler: When he does die during an escape attempt, her situation changes for the worse]]. She's taken in by relatives before the book begins, but some of them treat her as servant and abuse her emotionally.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Harry having been orphaned at the age of six (his mother died in childbirth and his father had an aneurysm) is still a source of anguish in his adulthood, both in itself (he is often lonely due to his lack of a family) and because of the situation it left him in (he was adopted by a man who turned out to be a dark wizard, who trained Harry [[TrainingFromHell in a particularly harsh manner]], and eventually tried to enslave him and his other adopted child (who was also Harry's lover) when they were in their teens, forcing Harry to kill him). He eventually gets hints that his parents' deaths may not have been accidental, and that his mother (also a wizard) ran with a very bad crowd. [[spoiler: In later books, it starts to work out. Harry discovers that his mother left her dark allies behind, that he has a brother and that his maternal grandfather is still alive and wants to be a part of his life. He also finds the identity of his mother's killer, allowing him to avenge her.]]

* ''Literature/TheStand'': Leo Rockway was still a kid when the Superflu wiped out most of the human species and took his family. He afterwards nearly died of infection, and was so traumatized he stopped talking and took to carrying a knife around all the time. Nadine becames his ParentalSubstitute [[spoiler: but it doesn't end well]]. In the end, he's adopted by Larry and Lucy.

* ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'': Michael Burnham lost both of her parents to a Klingon raid when she was a child, and has carried SurvivorsGuilt for it ever since. She was fostered by Spock's parents, Sarek and Amanda, and her attempts to immerse herself in the stoic culture of Vulcan has done nothing for her ability to handle grief in a healthy fashion. [[spoiler: She later learns that her mother is alive, but trapped in the distant future due to TimeTravel.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' just hates orphans. Lucius, after having his father killed by [[spoiler:Renault]], has his mother die of disease. He is then put in an orphanage where he was tormented and brutally picked on by adults and children alike. After this, he's hired on with the Cornwells, who become sort of a surrogate family to him [[spoiler:until they die, too, by committing suicide when their house is attacked]]. As a result, he has a "sickness of the soul" that he cannot get rid of and that plagues him frequently. After the end of the game, he opens his own orphanage [[spoiler: which is heavily implied to be destroyed shortly before ''Sword of Seals'' with Lucius sacrificing himself to save his charges]].
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]'': The vast majority of the members of your army in the second half of the game have both of their parents dead or missing. This is because [[spoiler: they are the children of your army members from the first half who were all slaughtered halfway through the game.]]

* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt''. Antimony spends the first several chapters dealing [[EmotionlessGirl in her own way]] with the double-whammy of her mum's death and her father's subsequent disappearance. Now she's trying to solve some of the mysteries from the Court's and her own parent's histories. [[spoiler: And when her father finally does show up, he's an emotionally abusive jackass who treats her like dirt, and all the other adults in the court just shrug it off with "[[UnfortunateImplications you just have to get to know him better]]."]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "The Wandering Juvie", [[spoiler: Gina turns out to be without a family, explaining her violent path]].