Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Tuesday Tropes: The Apple of Discord


Jill and Mary are the very best of friends, like peas and carrots and marshmallows in cocoa, but then someone comes along and asks them to make a choice that only one of them can benefit from. No one could have foreseen the bitter rivalry that is about to ensue ...

The Apple of Discord - based on a moment in Greek mythology, this conflict trope serves to ruin working relationships, usually through the intervention of a third party, which causes like-minded friends to be at odds with each other, and end up disagreeing over everything. It can take any form, centered on choice.


Common uses of this trope can be found when main characters are captured by an enemy. Be it food or some shiny trinket, they cause a fight among the baddies, allowing our heroes to escape. This worked for Martin in Mossflower and Frodo in The Return of the King. Even Bilbo used this to make trolls argue over how to cook him, too.

I think we all know how that turned out ...

Sadly, discord does not always favor your protagonist. What if you happened to win a pair of tickets to a concert, but have one too many friends who want to go with you? Someone could lose an arm.

Don't judge me - The Girl loves this stuff ...

This Apple first appeared before Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, meant for the most beautiful of the three. Paris had to make the ultimate choice, and in return, Aphrodite set him up with Helen of Troy.

How about them apples ...?

The Apple of Discord can take on any form, or person, but what makes the apple a discorded one is the choice that has to be made between the feuding parties. Such a trope may be in our against your character's favor, but it succeeds in adding conflict to any story.

When have you thrown an Apple of Discord at your characters? What form did it take? What was the choice they had to make?

I'm David, and this is the "Banana" of Discord ...

29 comments:

  1. No apples, bananas, pears... Not even a carrot! Wait, maybe a carrot.

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  2. Is that what they used in those Saw movies? I never actually watched those but I gathered from reviews and such they usually involved a sadistic choice like that.

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  3. I wish there was an apple of friendship. And more arm wrestling ponies.

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  4. I totally remember that My Little Pony episode, is that sad?

    Great post!

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  5. Great post, haven't used this trope lately.
    BANANA!

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  6. You wrote this whole post just so you could include the clip from Despicable Me. Clever sir! I salute you :)

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  7. Banana!

    I haven't ever used it. I hate discord (I know, that's death to a writer) It turns my stomach to see two friends turning on each other.

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  8. I really enjoyed this post, David. In my present WIP I hadn't thought of an "apple of discord" between friends, but now you've given me a good idea.

    I think my favorite "apple" was the coke bottle in The Gods Must Be Crazy. Everyone got a long so well until that coke bottle fell from the sky. It was wonderful how it really made the whole story!

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  9. I love that story about the apple of discord, but I never though before how it applied to other stories. Thanks for enlightening me:)

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  10. I don't think I've used that one before, but I can think of several real-life examples of this immediately, so I guess it's got some worth! Also: you're really a Brony, aren't you David? It's okay, we won't judge you (much). ;)

    (Bronies: http://ponybot.net/?i=4873 )

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    1. Will I regret going to that link? :/

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    2. I shouldn't think so. It's just a comic riffing on the "real geek girls" except with girls mocking a brony for not being a real "pony fan."

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    3. You do know about bronies, right? Bros who like watching My Little Pony? A few of my male friends are total bronies with no shame about it whatsoever. It's kinda awesome.

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    4. I've heard it goes a little beyond that, but yes, I do watch it with my girl. It's hilarious. :)

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  11. My Little Pony rocks. And I've definitely used this trope before. Good one!

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  12. The Virgin Snack of discord for me. Many dragons lost their life because of this. :)

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  13. I think this is a good one, after all conflict is the lifeblood of any story. I *think* I used it in my recent WIP without knowing what it was called (peer pressure situation whereby my protagonist splits from his group of friends because he thinks a different way about something).

    And I must be a brony because I asked for (and got) a My Little Pony for Christmas when I was four.

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  14. I have never used this trope, but that Despicable Me short is FABULOUS! Oh, how I love my minions. Yes. They are MY minions. haha

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  15. OMG I LOVE THOSE MINIONS!!! :D

    Can't say I've used an apple of discord before, I don't think... I'll have to do a little more research and thinking before I can answer that with certainty. :)

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  16. I don't think I've used an "Apple" in any of my stories yet. Sometimes I enjoy them in stories. Other times, they bug the heck out of me when they are too obvious and contrived. (It's so overused in sitcoms, especially ones aimed at teens.) The trick is to make sure that the apple actually has value and presented at the right time. Conflict for the sake of conflict makes me roll my eyes. It needs to be appropriate, and the characters react to the apple as they should, not necessarily as the author wants them to.

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  17. You know, maybe in my next book I'll try and use ALL your tropes... Challenge accepted!!!

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  18. I used a form of this in my women's fiction trilogy; a love triangle in one, the choice of a legit or illicit lifestyle in the second, and a combo love triagle and life choice in the third. These apples sure create drama, and are fun to write. For me, anyway.

    ........dhole

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  19. For my current WIP, my main characters are all competing for the same prize, so I guess that would qualify as an Apple. In scenarios where Apples come into play, characters often reveal their true values, whether they will stay clean or play dirty. Happens in fiction, and in real life too.

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  20. Ooh, I'm editing a scene that sort of has this element in it right now.

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  21. hi david. not sure how you found my spot today, but i appreciate the comment! saying hello back. i'm not much of a reader or a writer, just a blogger with lots of photos. but appreciate the visit! :)

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  22. I've used the cell phone of discord...does that count?

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  23. Hmm, that's a great post, and a lot of great ideas accompanied it. (And it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that apples are my favorite food.)

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