Basic Trope: A character who always has low expectations for everything and thinks the world isn't a good place.
- Straight: Bob has a negative view of the world, claiming it's an unjust place and that bad stuff is always bound to happen and snarking at whoever thinks the world can change for the better.
- Exaggerated: Bob thinks the world is comparable to hell, snarks at the prospect of there being any semblance of positivity, and thinks the only way it could be back to normal is via a Reset Button.
- Downplayed:
- Bob has low expectations for a certain topic or activity.
- Bob doesn't think well of the world, but works to make it a better place because he knows it can change.
- Bob is only sometimes cynic.
- Justified:
- Bob grew up in very bad conditions/with an abusive family, which made his expectation on life this low.
- Bob used to be better when he was younger, but suffered a traumatic experience that warped his expectations.
- Inverted: The Idealist
- Subverted:
- People present Bob to have low expectations, but meeting him presents him as actually pretty idealist.
- Took a Level in Idealism
- Double Subverted:
- ...but Beneath the Mask, Bob has cynical views.
- After having taken a level in idealism, something happens to Bob that causes him to take a level in cynism.
- Parodied: Bob's cynical views merely invoke Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob has elaborate, cynical expectations of the world every now and then, and elaborate, idealistic expectations otherwise.
- Averted: Bob's expectations aren't low.
- Enforced: The author wishes to teach a lesson to the audience that not everything in the world can be expected to always result in success.
- Lampshaded: "I don't think Bob has ever believed life won't be cruel everyday."
- Invoked: Alice causes Bob to be more cynical about something by presenting her views.
- Exploited: Bob tries to convince others to not be as positive of the world, be it through a speech or more dubious methods.
- Defied: The Pollyanna
- Discussed: "If you went through hell in a handbasket, your views of life would worsen."
- Conversed: "Bob has rarely had good expectations, his way of viewing the world is cynic."
- Deconstructed:
- Bob used to have very high expectations of the world, but after he experienced a traumatic event on which he hasn't seeked help to deal with them, his views of the world are now negative and couldn't care less if an opportunity to turn over a new leaf arised.
- The Jaded Washout
- Reconstructed: ???
Back to The Cynic.
