Actions speak louder than words. What characters do can say a lot about them, for good and ... not so good. This trope will make us dislike characters before we really have the chance to get to know them.
Kick The Dog - used to immediately identity a character that we're not supposed to like, often through petty misdeeds or unforgivable acts. This trope has no purpose but to label a character as "bad" to the audience upon introduction.
This trope is the polar opposite of Save The Cat.
This is not limited to kicking dogs - it can be any cruel action, unkind remark, or abuse. The world is full of examples, more than we can account for. Just about every story has them and the possibilities are endless. Doing so gives the audience an emotional reaction and suspicion, a great tension building tool. Even the little balloon animal in this example happens to be a dog!
Have you ever kicked a dog? ... In your story, of course. What Kick The Dog moments have you seen?
I'm David, and don't throw off the emperor's groove ...
"Sooooorrrrrry!"
I wonder if this can be set up through words or cruel statements as well as acts and deeds. Hmmm...pondering.
ReplyDeleteLiiiightttt buuuulbbbb!
ReplyDeleteLike Darth Vader strangling people set him up as the villain, though the black armor and ominous music kind of gave that away. It's too bad in books you can't have bad guys with shifty eyes because that's the real way to tell if someone is evil.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh yes. You HAVE to have a kick the dog person. They add flavor to a novel. And I just love to hate them. ;)
ReplyDeleteI have a few characters like this. One of my favorites would lure a dog to her with a bone and then break the dogs neck. Yikes :)
ReplyDeleteWell, during my A to z blog opera, I had the bad guy set fire to the apartment and send his power through the complex so the smoke detectors did not work. I suppose that would be a "kick the dog" kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteHah, just the title of your post made me angry!
ReplyDeleteIn my current work in progress, the main character and a snarky, more experienced cousin are bandying about. Said cousin often says things that are mean-but-funny, mostly to motivate the main character (shh).
I've never used the kick the dog trope. Having a hard time thinking of an example in something I've read.
ReplyDeleteI love that you're talking about Kicking the Dog today and Peggy is talking about Saving the Cat. They both have their place because there are parts of them that both seem real. Villains are complex characters.
ReplyDeleteI like this "kick the dog" trope. I've actually not heard of it before your post. Are there subtle ways to kick the dog? Like pushing it hard with your foot? I think I've done that before with the mom character in one of my YAs.
ReplyDeleteI still haven't seen despicable me. I seriously need to!
ReplyDeleteBasically it's the opposite of Save the Cat.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm... I totally have a Kick the Dog character in my latest WIP... I think this type adds a certain dynamic to your story that is needed ;) (And both those movies are too cute!)
ReplyDeleteThis can be a great characterization too, but you have to make sure the actions and motivation are true to the character. Sometimes characters have stereotypical kick the dog moments that seem more cardboard then actual characterization.
ReplyDeleteI think most everyone will use this trope though because people do mean things and if we tell the story correctly we'll see some of them.
This is very interesting....I've never even thought about it. I think I have used Kick the Dog characters in some of my earlier manuscripts. I'm going to think about this as I draft my next WIP!
ReplyDeleteI love simple concepts like this. Its such an easy way to introduce characters. And very showing, instead of telling.
ReplyDeleteHm... Mine didn't kick a dog so much as shot a man in the leg. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteOh, man. Don't get me started, David. In my first book, the antagonist is brutal. Mean. Terrible. If there were a dog in the room, he'd kick the living death out of it. Yep, he's the epitome of the villain.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the antagonist has to have some bitter element to him/her, otherwise, what's the point. A book has to have that conflict, and what better way than to have some creepy or even just a stupid head cheerleader who hates the protagonist to make the story have an edge to it, to keep the reader, well yes, reading.
Good post David. Show don't tell. I can't think of one example to add to the kick the dog one you gave .... way too early over here and my brain hasn't kicked in yet, lol.
ReplyDeleteI confess to a few 'kick the dog' moments in Without Alice and in My Dream Of You...
ReplyDeleteI use smell. One of my characters has a terrible tendency to overuse a very strong perfume and he giggles over the idea of buying slaves, calling it a 'delightful business'. Would that be the same?
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Yep, done this one too. Kick the dog is a fun one to use. How many different ways can you send the signal that someone's not good?
ReplyDeleteAh, I have a few characters that are guilty of this one. None have ever kicked a dog, but they've done other petty things.
ReplyDeleteGreat, great, great! Isn't it great that sometimes the simplest things are the most powerful? And yeah, I just used four greats. Isn't that great? Okay, I'll stop. Great, no more using that wonderful word. Ahh, I failed already!
ReplyDeleteIt was AWESOME to chat with you and your wife at Storymakers! (I didn't use great—I'm cured!)
Hmmmm... I've had a character make a really degrading comment so you know they're a DB right up front, and I also like the sneaky villain, where you think they're so charming at first, and then they stab you in the heart. Literally, in one of my books :)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite Kick the Dog is when Jack N sent the dog down the trash shoot in As Good As It Gets.
ReplyDeleteThe princes in Stardust use the "kick the dog" trope pretty often. ;)
ReplyDeleteCan appearances be considered a "kick the dog" moment? Like in Lord of the Rings, when everyone who is bad looks ugly and hideous?
ReplyDelete