Mmmm ... it does look like such a delicious apple ...
Ever since the dawn of humanity people have wrestled with their ethical dilemmas - to
eat that delicious fruit despite God telling you not to, to
kill someone who has threatened you, or to
help someone at the possible cost of your own safety. There's no choice more eternal and more obnoxiously inescapable as the moral dilemma, and that's why it's been featured in every kind of media ever created.
Even the ones that wouldn't normally apply.
The main kinds of moral dilemmas are:
Naturally, the 'right' choice (if there
is one) will vary depending on the
tone of the work, the
character in question, the
morality involved, the
reactions of the characters or audience, the
morality of the culture, and much, much more. To say that the possibilities are endless is an understatement (even if you
Take a Third Option).
Of course, that's not to say that not all those possibilities are equal. A
Moral Dissonance can result when a character is hailed for making the 'right' choice when it wasn't right at all. Or a dilemma can seem false and contrived when a character agonizes over killing the
Big Bad but had no such problem
killing random Mooks. Or the audience themselves might
dispute the character's decision and wish they did something
'more awesome/badass'. Or the character might make a choice that's completely
Out of Character to their previous characterization.
Unsurprisingly, moral dilemmas are rich with
Aesops. There's always a lesson to be learned if someone
makes the right choice - or makes the
wrong choice and screw themselves over. There can be an
Aesop to be learned just by the moral dilemma itself; obviously someone wouldn't be torn over whether or not to cheat unless they thought cheating was okay on some level.
And since there's always a lesson to be learned, moral dilemmas are major turning points for character development. A hero character that ultimately chooses to do something immoral can
jump off the slippery slope or even push themselves straight into being an
Anti-Hero. A villain who chooses to do the right thing can be elevated to a
Noble Demon or even
redeem himself - because sometimes
Even Evil Has Standards.
Expect a
good angel and bad angel to appear on a character's shoulders to debate the dilemma.
Moral dilemmas may also not apply to people who consider themselves
above such petty things.
No examples please! Place examples in the specific moral dilemma trope itself.
