History WhatTheHellHero / Literature

** When Harry is self-wallowing in pity in Order of the Phoenix due to him thinking [[spoiler:that he was possessed]], [[spoiler:Ginny]] calls him out on his selfishness, reminds him of [[spoiler:her encounter with Tom Riddle/Voldemort]], and proceeds to tell him that [[spoiler:he was not possessed]].
** Harry mentally applies this trope to [[spoiler:his dad]] in ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix''. After entering one of Snape's memories, Harry is appalled to see his teenage father casually attack and humiliate Snape for fun in front of a crowd of people (something Harry had experienced himself several times).

** Perhaps the best WTTH? in Inheritance is the poor soldier Eragon and Arya meet on their way back to the Varden. "Why are you doing this, you're a monster!" he screams as he surrenders. Eragon still [[PsychoForHire murders him because "he was a threat"]]

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': In ''Literature/ManaMutationMenace'', Kasile gives [[spoiler: Nolien]] a royal dressing down for knowingly setting off Dnnac Ledo's anti-ordercraft alarms, thus endangering the Medical Mana Mutation negotiations and potentially starting a war.

* At the end of ''The Ethos Effect'' by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., the hero is forced to decide whether it is permissible to kill many people now so that more can live peacefully in the future. He decides that it is, and decides to commit genocide on the new would-be EvilEmpire, ''before'' it can become a threat to the rest of the galaxy. Some extremely pacifistic SufficientlyAdvancedAliens call him out on this, accusing him of misusing [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum their technology]]. [[ScrewYouElves He argues with them]], saying that no, he's not a deity, just a tool-using creature who used the biggest hammer he could find because nothing else could possibly do the job, complaining that they're [[StupidGood too afraid of corrupting themselves]] to take sides when humans fight each other.

* In ''Literature/LoyalEnemies'', Shelena's mocking of Tiriann, Veres' [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]], finally makes him slap her, and for a good reason, because it's just plain distasteful. The only thing in her defense is that she's drunk at the time and she apologizes to him once she sobers up.

* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'', Foxleap's plan to save a group of a cats from a hawk goes wrong and one Tribe cat gets killed. One Tribe cat scolds him harshly for not listening when he was told to not interfere.

* In ''[[Literature/VorkosiganSaga Captain Vorpatril's Alliance]]'', [[spoiler: Simon Illyan]], who is implicitly trusted by the Emperor, especially in matters of national security, conspires to help a group of foreigners steal priceless historical treasures, starting a course of events which results in [[spoiler: the sinking of Imperial Security's headquarters]]. On finding out about this, more than one person's response is "What the ''hell'', [[spoiler: Simon]]?"

** ''Literature/TheElenium'' features a scene where Sparhawk wants to go kill Krager before he can cause more trouble, and it given this reaction from Aphrael, pointing out that if Sparhawk goes to do this, then Ehlana is left vulnerable to attack.

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', we learn that back before Dumbledore was a hero, he was about to abandon his mentally ill sister to [[AmbiguouslyGay go off with Gellert Grindelwald]] on a mad chase for power and glory when his brother called him on it. The ensuing fight, and its tragic consequences, led Dumbledore to rethink his path and ultimately become the nearly universally admired man he was.

** Snape gives one to [[spoiler:Dumbledore]], when Dumbledore reveals that [[spoiler:Harry, whom Snape has been protecting out of his love for Harry's mother, must die in order to defeat Voldemort.]]
** Dumbledore gives one of his own to Snape when he realizes that [[spoiler: Snape is only worried about Lily being spared in Voldemort's attack and doesn't care if James and baby Harry are killed]]. Granted, [[spoiler: he and James hated each other, but the murder of a baby doesn't seem to bug him as long as he gets a chance to [[ComfortingTheWidow comfort the widow]]]].

* In ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', when the orphans are forced to burn down a hospital to survive, they wonder if they are really the "good guys" after all.

* ''Literature/TheSilerianTrilogy'': Several examples. [[spoiler: Torturing to death a Silerian traitor is one gruesome instance]].

* '''Franchise/HarryPotter''

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', we learn that back before Dumbledore was a hero, he was about to abandon his mentally ill sister to [[AmbiguouslyGay go off with Gellert Grindelwald]] on a mad chase for power and glory when his brother called him on it. The ensuing fight, and its tragic consequences, led Dumbledore to rethink his path and ultimately become the nearly universally admired man he was.

** When Lupin [[spoiler:decides to abandon his pregnant wife and unborn child (partly from fear and partly in order to protect them from the FantasticRacism he experiences as a werewolf) and Harry, in a fit of [[ParentalAbandonment anger]], calls him a coward, says he's [[EvenTheDogIsAshamed ashamed]], and informs him that it's very much not what James would have wanted.]] Lupin, usually quite reasonable, [[spoiler:comes to realize the error of his ways after a brief fit]].

** Snape gives one [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome memorable]] What the Hell, Hero? speech to [[spoiler:Dumbledore]], when Dumbledore reveals that [[spoiler:Harry, whom Snape has been protecting out of his love for Harry's mother, must die in order to defeat Voldemort.]]

* There's a moment at the end of ''Literature/FoolMoon'', second novel of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', where he has to confront a pack of hexenwolves, or werewolves who use enchanted belts to change form. At this point, he's physically and magically exhausted. Having defeated one earlier and stolen his belt, he uses it, and becomes a raging monster. His wake-up call moment comes when he sees his reporter girlfriend, and she's terrified of him.
*** Actually this novel has quite a few What the Hell, Hero? moments, as far as Murphy's concerned.

** Earlier that year, in New Mexico, Ramírez tried the same. All he achieved was Harry's mercy, by execution, for the ghoul he'd been torturing. Harry himself remained cold and angry and terrifying.
** Noticeably absent in ''Literature/{{Changes}}'', when Harry agrees to [[spoiler:become Queen Mab's Winter Knight]]. Everyone understands why he did what he did, and offer their moral support.
*** To be fair, there is one scene where it seems like his allies are about to give him one of these. But Harry cuts them short, saying that there isn't enough time to debate the ethics of his choices while [[spoiler: his daughter]] is in danger.
*** To be more fair, Harry could probably cause much more pain and suffering [[spoiler:if he is Mab's toy. Good thing he planned for that...]]
*** And to be even more fair, a substantial chunk of the next book, ''Literature/GhostStory'', features Harry mentally applying a What the Hell, Hero? to ''himself'' for the lines he crossed in ''Changes''. The other characters don't really get to do it until ''Literature/ColdDays.''
** Harry also gives a few of these to Molly over the course of the series when she does something reckless, often when she's tried to once again MindRape someone despite being absolutely forbidden to do so ([[EvilTastesGood for extremely good reason]]) under pain of both her and Harry's deaths.

* At one point in ''Literature/TheScorchTrials'', [[spoiler:Teresa psychologically and physically tortures Thomas to a severe extent, because WICKED had requested her to do so, and she believed it was for the best]]. When Thomas recovers from the ordeal, he is understandably angry at Teresa, especially since she didn't try to find another way to go about things, as Thomas and his friends had on many occasions. Teresa believes ''she has nothing to apologize for'' and has the nerve to get ''angry at Thomas'' because he resents the way she treated him. Teresa acts like nothing happened and tries to continue their budding young romance, even kissing Thomas to shut him up. Thomas completely calls her out on her behavior [[spoiler: and is completely turned off to her for the rest of the series.]]

** In ''Divergent'', Tris's dad calls her out for [[spoiler: shooting Peter in the arm.]] Though she points out that, despite being Dauntless, he is cowardly and borderline psychopathic and lives depended on it. She knows he will give in quickly once he is in pain.

* In ''Literature/StarTrekDestiny'', Geordi La Forge gives Captain Picard this when he decides that the best way to beat the Borg is to use thalaron weaponry, a weapon so deadly people died to stop it from being used. Geordi specifically points out that he wasn't going to sully Data's memory to use a weapon he gave his life for to prevent being used.

* A handful of times in the RizzoliAndIsles series, Jane Rizzoli gets called out on her IrrationalHatred of beautiful women (which is out of jealousy that she herself is average looking). In particular, her first partner Thomas Moore adds a dash of BrutalHonesty to this when he suggests that what really turns men off isn't her plain looks, but her brusque and abrasive personality.

* At one point in ''[[Literature/TheMazeRunner The Maze Runner Trilogy]]'', [[spoiler: Teresa psychologically and physically tortures Thomas to a severe extent, because WICKED had requested her to do so, and she believed it was for the best.]] when Thomas recovers from the ordeal, he is understandably angry at Teresa, especially since she didn't try to find another way to go about things, as Thomas and his friends had on many occasions. Teresa believes ''she has nothing to apologize for'' and has the nerve to get ''angry at Thomas'' because he resents the way she treated him. Teresa acts like nothing happened and tries to continue their budding young romance, even kissing Thomas to shut him up. Thomas completely calls her out on her behavior [[spoiler: and is completely turned off to her for the rest of the series.]]

* In the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series novel ''Captain's Fury'', the First Lord has one of these when he [[spoiler:awakens the Great Fury Kalarae prematurely]] causing the deaths of tens of thousands, to avoid tens of thousands of additional deaths. This provokes a What the Hell, Hero? from [[spoiler:Amara]] and triggering that person's resignation.