Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.
— Aesop
Here's an index involving characters showing gratitude (and the lack thereof).
Tropes:
Related:
- 100% Heroism Rating: When everybody gives the hero the respect that they've earned.
- Androcles' Lion: 'Cause even animals can show gratitude.
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: Someone gets clothes as a reward.
- And Your Reward Is Edible: When you get food as an expression of gratitude for heroics.
- And Your Reward Is Interior Decorating: Getting furniture as a reward.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: When a character shows gratitude to the hero for being kind to them when no one else was.
- Charity Workplace Calendar: Posing for a workplace calendar to raise money.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Someone is ungrateful of another person saving them.
- Crossing the Burnt Bridge: Somebody insults another person, believing they'll never see them again, but they do see them.
- Debt Detester: Somebody who hates owing anybody anything.
- Does Not Know How to Say "Thanks": A character has no idea how to respond to the character's act of kindness.
- The Dreaded "Thank You" Letter: A character hates writing a thank-you letter, whether because they don't know how, they are lazy, they find letter-writing boring, or they don't like the gift.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: When nobody gives the hero any gratitude or respect they deserve.
- Dude, Where's My Reward?: When the hero isn't given the material/monetary reward that they've earned.
- Entitled Bastard: Isn't grateful for your help, yet expects you to help them anyways.
- Gift for an Outgrown Interest: A gift-giver's idea of what the recipient would like is based on very outdated memories.
- Grudging "Thank You": Thanking a character, though with some reluctance.
- The Farmer and the Viper: When kind deeds are repaid with malice.
- Hospitality for Heroes: A shopkeeper gives away something free to show gratitude.
- I Feel Guilty; You Take It: When the hero turns down a reward that they feel they doesn't deserve.
- Involuntary Charity Donation: Stealing from a villain and donating it to charity.
- I Owe You My Life: When the hero's reward is lifelong devotion and loyalty from whoever they helped.
- I Was Just Passing Through: When the hero's rival helps him but makes an excuse to avoid his gratitude.
- Keep the Reward: The hero turns down a reward (for reasons other than feeling guilty).
- Klingon Scientists Get No Respect: When the hero is disrespected because they don't wear their people's hat.
- Kneel Before Frodo: A gesture of respect and gratitude towards a hero who's lower on the social scale than the one making the gesture.
- Makes Us Even: A mathematical sort of gratitude often seen between characters with normally opposing agendas.
- Medal of Dishonor: Either someone fakes gratitude by making a lame award, or they are sincerely grateful but the person being awarded finds the award lame anyway.
- New Skill as Reward: Being rewarded by being taught a new skill.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: A character performs a good, or even heroic deed, and for their trouble they get accused of committing a crime
- Paying It Forward: Expressing gratitude to one's benefactor by helping someone else entirely in a similar situation.
- Recruited from the Gutter: Somebody has a bad life and another person saves them by recruiting them. This makes the other person work for/with them out of gratitude.
- Repaying for the One: A group of characters, out of gratitude, do favors for the person who helped them.
- Rescue Romance: When the hero's reward is love.
- Rescue Sex: When the hero's reward is sex.
- Short-Lived, Big Impact: Because sometimes imitation/inspiration is the highest form of flattery.
- The Simple Gesture Wins: After several grand gestures, the one that inspires the most gratitude is the unimpressive one.
- Smooch of Victory: When the hero's reward is a kiss. (Possibly a prelude to Rescue Romance.)
- Snarking Thanks: Showing gratitude in a sarcastic or insulting manner.
- Standard Hero Reward: Like Rescue Romance, but with royalty.
- Stolen Good, Returned Better: Somebody is grateful because while the other person did steal from them, they improved the item.
- Thanking the Viewer: Because many creators and artists actually do depend on their loving fans.
- Thank the Maker: Robots or artificial lifeforms view their creators as deities.
- Thank Your Prey: When the hero shows respect towards an animal they've killed for giving them sustenance.
- That Was the Reward: Someone refuses or destroys something, then learns it was a reward.
- Think Nothing of It: The hero doesn't accept the gratitude of others, usually due to being humble.
- Ungrateful Bastard: A character expresses a lack of gratitude to the one helping them.
- Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Someone demands a reward for a courteous or noble action that everyone does.
- What Have You Done for Me Lately?: Disregarding the good someone has done because they haven't done anything recently.
- Why Couldn't You Save Them?: Someone is angry at the hero for their failure to save a loved one, regardless of whether there was anything the hero could have done to save that person's life.
- You Would Do the Same for Me: Helping someone because they would've helped you out if you were the one in trouble.
