History SuspiciouslySpecificDenial / Literature

* In ''The Reeve's Tale'' by Creator/MargaretFrazer (set in 15th-century England), a teenage boy is explaining to the village reeve how he happened to be in a position to see a plot-critical event (note that the land belongs to a noble, and commoners aren't allowed to hunt there):

* In ''The Reeve's Tale'' by Margaret Frazer (set in 15th-century England), a teenage boy is explaining to the village reeve how he happened to be in a position to see a plot-critical event (note that the land belongs to a noble, and commoners aren't allowed to hunt there):

** The selfsame copper in ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' cynically muses on whether "community leaders" are really the ones saying "do not use the shiny new axes in the cupboard... no, not that cupboard, this one right here."

* The ''Literature/HerculePoirot'' story ''Literature/LordEdgwareDies'' has Poirot speculate that Lord Edgeware was willing to give his wife a divorce due to a letter she sent him threatening to reveal some form of marital cruelty. He comes to this belief because Lord Edgeware stated to Poirot that his decision eas "not on account of anything in that letter", before Poirot even mentions the letter.

* In ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool: [[https://archive.org/stream/manga_Mahouka_Koukou_no_Rettousei/%21Side%20Stories/Sword%20Art%20Online%20x%20Mahouka%20Koukou%20no%20Rettousei%20-%20Dream%20Game%20Crossover%20%5BAlternative%20Layout%5D_djvu.txt Dream Game]]'', the narration abruptly breaks off to inform us that Tatsuya's analysis of the dream world was not "a means to turn his attention away from Miyuki's soft and supple limbs", though no one asked.

* ''Literature/IndustrialSocietyAndItsFuture'': Kaczynski's at pains to point out he doesn't think various groups (e.g. Black people, women, the disabled) are really inferior personally while claiming many leftist activists do at heart, he's just noting this as a psychological phenomenon. So often does Kaczynski say this one might well suspect that it's really the opposite, given his attack on leftism and Social Darwinist leanings.* In ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool: [[https://archive.org/stream/manga_Mahouka_Koukou_no_Rettousei/%21Side%20Stories/Sword%20Art%20Online%20x%20Mahouka%20Koukou%20no%20Rettousei%20-%20Dream%20Game%20Crossover%20%5BAlternative%20Layout%5D_djvu.txt Dream Game]]'', the narration abruptly breaks off to inform us that Tatsuya's analysis of the dream world was not "a means to turn his attention away from Miyuki's soft and supple limbs", though no one asked.

-->'I never so much as touched this fish. I certainly didn't –- handle -– it, certainly didn't paw it over and over,' he shuddered, 'like some disgusting fish-pervert, like somebody who couldn't help himself, who just had to press his fingers into the soggy, firm, cod-smelling flesh again and again, as if he were kneading bread, touching it, caressing it, forcing it through my fingers like a potter moulding clay, throttling its silvery-shiny wetness, its fishy firmness, pressing it again and again and again, slapping it, faster and faster shouting out "bad fish! bad fish!" at the top of my voice, until losing myself in a foul conniption fit of ecstasy.' He wiped a small quantity of spittle from the edge of his mouth with his sleeve. 'I didn't do anything like that. I hope you believe me?'

* ''Literature/IndustrialSocietyAndItsFuture'': Kaczynski's at pains to point out he doesn't think various groups (e.g. Black people, women, the disabled) and really inferior personally while claiming many leftist activists do at heart, he's just noting this as a psychological phenomenon. So often does Kaczynski say this one might well suspect that it's really the opposite, given his attack on leftism and Social Darwinist leanings.
* In ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool: [[https://archive.org/stream/manga_Mahouka_Koukou_no_Rettousei/%21Side%20Stories/Sword%20Art%20Online%20x%20Mahouka%20Koukou%20no%20Rettousei%20-%20Dream%20Game%20Crossover%20%5BAlternative%20Layout%5D_djvu.txt Dream Game]]'', the narration abruptly breaks off to inform us that Tatsuya's analysis of the dream world was not "a means to turn his attention away from Miyuki's soft and supple limbs", though no one asked.

** The Watch books have a recurring minor character called "Done-it Duncan", who will confess to anything if prompted (including stealing fire from the gods--of course, he was a bit younger back then). This actually makes him a useful informant, as most of his confessions are along the lines of "It wasn't X what done that, it was me."

--->"Grenades!" I ordered, in a firm and manly tone that did not sound at all like a panicked fourteen-year-old.

* '''Enforced''' in ''Gelsomino in Land of Liars''. The backstory explains that when the current military junta took over the government, they forbade speaking the truth--completely. After a while, the citizens (at least the braver ones) adapted and now they are talking '''only''' in such denials--i.e. "I am not going to theatre" means exactly the opposite. The people now understand each other quite well, while the effect on a stranger is devastating.

* ''Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': The Perfectly Normal Beasts from ''Literature/MostlyHarmless'' are an example of the denial actually being believed InUniverse. The Beasts appear out of nowhere, run past a village on a pre-industrial planet, and then disappear without a trace again. The village elder, not wanting the other villagers to start asking questions that he couldn't answer and thus put his wisdom into dispute, named them Perfectly Normal Beasts, thus ensuring that no one would think that the appearing and disappearing was odd or worth investigating - after all, it must be Perfectly Normal, or else the Beasts wouldn't be called that!

* Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's ''The Tell-Tale Heart'' has the [[UnreliableNarrator narrator]] claim at the very beginning that he is not mad, murdering a man and putting him under the floorboards - but imagining that the heart is still beating, causes him to blow his cover. There's a reason the story is often used to introduce the concept of an unreliable narrator.

-->'I never so much as touched this fish. I certainly didn't – handle – it, certainly didn't paw it over and over,' he shuddered, 'like some disgusting fish-pervert, like somebody who couldn't help himself, who just had to press his fingers into the soggy, firm, cod-smelling flesh again and again, as if he were kneading bread, touching it, caressing it, forcing it through my fingers like a potter moulding clay, throttling its silvery-shiny wetness, its fishy firmness, pressing it again and again and again, slapping it, faster and faster shouting out "bad fish! bad fish!" at the top of my voice, until losing myself in a foul conniption fit of ecstasy.' He wiped a small quantity of spittle from the edge of his mouth with his sleeve. 'I didn't do anything like that. I hope you believe me?'

* ''Literature/TheBible'': Genesis 9:15: "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a [[TheGreatFlood flood]]; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth."

* In ''Litereature/BadKitty: Kitten Trouble'', Kitty is tired of constantly being whacked by the newspaper delivered by the newspaper delivery kid. She sets up a trap for him, except she labels it with signs reading "Free baseball cards for horrible kids!", "Yes- free!" and most notably, "Not a trap." Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work.