Basic Trope: Spanking a kid with a belt.
- Straight: Al whips Bob with a belt whenever he rebels.
- Exaggerated:
- Al whips Bob for everything he does, including forgetting to turn off the television.
- Al whips Bob even when Bob is an adult.
- Downplayed: Al whips Bob as a last resort.
- Justified:
- Al figures that Corporal Punishment is the best way to keep Bob on the straight and narrow.
- Al's parents had done the same thing to him when he was a child, and believes if he turned out okay after all of that, so can Bob.
- Al firmly believes that Misery Builds Character.
- Bob has definitely crossed the line twice. And after several warnings and privations, Al goes for the corporal solution to make Bob understand that he has indeed crossed the line.
- Bob doesn't respond to discipline unless it's physical. Al has no choice but to beat him into shape, that's all Bob understands, despite Al's best efforts to teach him otherwise.
- Inverted:
- Bob takes out Al's belt and whips himself.
- Bob whips Al with a belt.
- Subverted: It appears that Bob hasn't done anything wrong although he think he did and got nervous when Al shouts "where's my belt!" He is then relieved when Al was looking for it to fasten his pants.
- Double Subverted: He then sees Bob and whips him for no apparent reason.
- Parodied:
- Al's belt is actually made of soft silk.
- Al can make anything obey by threatening to take his belt off. For example: his computer, his car, his refrigerator...
- Al takes off his belt, and his pants fall down.
- Al strips Alice the Alpha Bitch naked, puts her over his knee and spanks her in front of her school and their phones.
- Averted: Al doesn't whip Bob with a belt.
- Enforced: The writer wants to show how Al is a strict or abusive parent.
- Lampshaded: "Well, back in the days, when we crossed the line we were given the belt you know..."
- Exploited: Bob appears to love being whipped by Al and rebels as much as he can to receive them.
- Defied: Al only resorts to less severe punishments for Bob.
- Discussed:Lisa: "I know Bob was misbehaving, but there's no need for you to whip him."
Al: "Maybe, but it is necessary. Some kids function like this, you will have to deal with this. Words are sometimes not enough and a scale of punishments is a necessary part of education." - Conversed: "After watching the Al/Bob scene, I'm glad my parents never gave me a whipping."
- Deconstructed:
- The whippings Bob receives has made him resentful towards Al for the remainder of his life and when he becomes an adult, he cuts ties with him.
- Al becomes gradually abusive after frequently whipping Bob.
- Bob becomes more rebellious the more he is whipped by Al.
- Bob runs away from home.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob eventually comes to terms that as harsh as the punishments were, it was necessary that it got through him. However, this isn't to say that he would use Corporal Punishment on his children when he becomes a parent. As for his relationship with his father, his resentment towards him tones down.
- Al realizes what came of him and learns to channel his anger.
- Played For Laughs: Al whipping Bob with a belt was a main aspect of Bob's Hilariously Abusive Childhood.
- Played For Drama: Al whips Bob so hard that Lisa, Bob's mother, calls out Al for being too hard on him. Either Al justifies this treatment or realizes that Lisa was right.
If you don't go back to the main page, I'll take off my belt and whoop your behind!
