All the ways to Deconstruct Knight in Sour Armour

So when I first came here, back when the It Just Bugs me page was here on the forums, I did one of my first posts on how I disliked Knight in Sour Armour.

Back then, I misunderstood the trope a little, assuming that it implied that an idealist had to be incredibly cynical and bitter about their own idealism.

While I acknowledged that being able to do good when you didn't even like people was noble, I wondered if anyone that bitter could really help others for very long.

I've come to a better understanding of the trope since then. I realize that it's not necessarily about being cynical in your idealism(and I've since realized that such a thing is not so bad either) as it is recognizing that the world is not always a good place, and working to improve it.

However, I still want to deconstruct this trope in any way possible, from mildly poking the at the weak spots of the trope to tearing its neck out.

I really want to go after it on all levels, but I don't really know how to deconstruct something(another trope I misunderstood for a long time) so I'm coming to you guys for suggestions on how to do it. It might be a great help for future writing endeavours(provided I ever start before the turn of the Century).

I want to treat it with respect, but also show it's flaws(because I believe everything has flaws).

And then, after this, I'm going after Combat Pragmatist as well.

Deconstruction is basically about starkly comparing a trope to reality to highlight the ways they don't match up. In my opinion that's pretty difficult here because I don't really see anything especially unrealistic. A lot of people really are like that and they tend to act and get treated in pretty much the same ways the fiction depicts. What do you find unrealistic?

Parody might be easier than deconstruction. For that all you need to do is accentuate any ridiculous aspects to absurd proportions and throw in a few obscene jokes.

edited 4th Jan '13 4:09:54 AM by Kesteven

I'm not sure. I guess I just wanted to see if it could be done.

Like I said, I kinda misunderstood it at first. Plus, I feel any trope can be deconstructed in some way. There's nothing that can't be taken apart if you look closely enough.

The question to ask is not, "can I deconstruct this?" It's, "can I create a story with Emotional Torque by deconstructing this?" The deconstruction is a means, not an end.

I'm not saying the answer to your question is a "no". It might be, it might not be. That's for you as a writer to decide.

Ah. I see your point.

I guess I need to ruminate on it a bit more.

I dunno, I think deconstruction for its own sake can be an interesting writing exercise, just don't expect it of itself to produce anything worth reading.

Deconstruction is a form of criticism, so you sort of have to know what you're saying before you say it, and ideally you want what you're saying to be good. You CAN critique any trope but if your criticism is weak or obvious it seems sort of pointless.

edited 5th Jan '13 3:37:27 AM by Kesteven

If I may add my 2 cents:

Okay, so the Knight in Sour Armour(KSA) loves the world/cause/humanity/etc but is bitter about fighting for it.

What if that was a front? Babylon 5 had the episode "Comes the Inquisitor" where the titular Inquisitor gives a Secret Test of Character to the heroes: Would you still do the right thing even if nobody ever found out?

So what if there was a character that invokes this trope to test other characters? A mentor figure who acts all cynical and sour to maintain a distance from the students and test their character? Give'em Training from Hell, tell'em it's The Spartan Way but secretly this character wants them all to pass the test and is genuinely hurt when some fail. Not a Jerk with a Heart of Gold but someone who is forced to act that way.

edited 5th Jan '13 12:37:00 AM by TairaMai

That's interesting.

I think I saw that referenced in the the film Se7en with Morgan Freeman 's character. He was apparently saddened when Brad Pitt 's characters succumbed to wrath and killed the bad guy.

I'm sure I've seen it mentioned somewhere on this Wiki, but I can't find where it was now.