Week 12 Story: Common Tropes Among Story Characters

All tropes come from the TvTropes website: Source

Situational Hand Switch- The main character is injured or partially incapacitated, forcing them to use other parts of their body to accomplish tasks. We see the character grow despite their struggles.

Iconic examples of this trope:
-Eragon. The character Eragon breaks his wrist and has to fight with his other arm for some time.
-Game of Thrones. Jaime Lannister had his hand cut off. The great swordsman had to learn to fight with his other arm.
-Star Wars. Luke Skywalker had his hand cut off by Darth Vader. Luke, however, gets around this by obtaining a robotic hand.
-Peter Pan. Captain Hook had his hand cut off. It was replaced by his hook!
-The MCU. Bucky Barnes (also known as the Winter Solider) lost his arm falling from a train. It was replaced with a cybernetic implant.


God of Thunder- Religions and stories love to have some sort of deity who can control lightning and thunder.

Iconic examples of this trope:
-Thor. God of Thunder in the MCU and in Norse mythology. He controls lightning with a number of different weapons that only the worthy are capable of wielding.
-Zeus. The head god of the Greek Pantheon, he is known for his iconic lightning bolt he uses as a weapon.
-Jupiter. Zeus's Roman counterpart.
-Indra. Indian mythology.
-Keranos. God of storms in Magic: The Gathering.
-Zapdos, Raikou, Thundurus, Zekrom. These are all iconic legendary electric-type pokemon.


Fur vs Fang- The battle between werewolves and vampires appears in numerous media despite the two creatures having no inherent difference requiring conflict

Iconic examples of this trope:
-The 2004 movie "Van Helsing." Only a werewolf is capable of killing Dracula.
-The Underworld franchise. The entire movie franchise is based on the battle between werewolves and vampires.
-The Dresden Files. Monster hunters known as the "Alphas" can turn themselves into wolves. They fight off vampires from time to time.
-The Vampire Diaries.
-The Mortal Instruments.
-Tolkien's LOTR Universe. Vampires and werewolves both serve Sauron but hate each other.
-Twilight.

"I Just Want to Be Normal"- The main character of the story doesn't want the responsibility, powers, or strength that they have come to possess.

Iconic examples of this trope:
-Elsa in Frozen. Elsa tries to hide her powers to be seen as normal.
-Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse. He wants to fit in at school even before he has powers. he struggles with his powers as various Spiderman characters depend on him.
-Maximus in Gladiator. Emperor Marcus Aurelius wants Maximus to be the next Emperor. Maximus wants to return home to spend time with his family.
-Cypher in The Matrix. He aligns himself with the Matrix to catch Morpheus so they will return him to the Matrix.
-X-Men. The ongoing struggle between mankind and mutant-kind creates strife despite so many mutants wanting nothing more than to be "normal."

Mutants in the X-Men often struggle with their powers- they just want to be normal.

Source

Some tropes are so common that there's no reason to give examples that have them. Such tropes include:
The "Nice Guy"
The "Sensitive Guy"
The "Manly Man"
The "Clingy, Jealous Girl"
The "Girly Girl"
The "Damsel in Distress"

It seems quite clear that despite any storyteller's desire to create a new "type" of character, there are so many different tropes that it is almost impossible to create a new trope that does not already exist. Personalities, types of characters, types of conflict, and more are all summarized by a number of different tropes. Thus, while there are so many stories in the world, I wonder- are there not a ton of stories that are effectively the same? For example, I think of the Hallmark Christmas movies my girlfriend loves. I hate them. Why? If you've seen one, you've seen them all because the same tropes are present in every movie.
Are there a limited number of stories that can be created? Is the media, story-telling ability of the author, and the "shell" of the character (boy, girl, cat, bear, angel, alien, bacteria, etc...) all that differentiates the exact same story from another almost exactly like it? I think of Warriors (books about clans of cats who work together or fight at different points) and the MCU. In all honesty, is there that big of a difference? Both have character development, internal struggles, teamwork, and more. It's just that one is about cats and one is about superheroes. At the core, are they the same story?
This website is making me think ALOT about storytelling.

Reading Notes: Tales of India: Krishna and the Gods Part B

All chapters for this reading come from "Krishna and the Gods": Source

13. Surya

Surya is the son of Dyaus and Prithwi. Everyday he would hop on his chariot and bring light and life to the Earth. Eventually, he grew tired and lonely of this- he wanted a wife. Sanga, daughter of Wiswakarma the architect of the gods, became his wife. Together they had three sons, one of which was Yam who became the judge of the dead. Sanga was weak and unable to withstand the power of Surya. She had to leave him to continue living. She replaced herself with a woman named Chhaya. When Surya rode his chariot to bring life to the Earth, it did not have the usual effects. He had been deceived! He flung Chhaya from his chariot and told his driver to continue on while he searched for Sanga. He found her and convinced her to come back, promising that he will not turn his full radiance upon her ever again. She returns to him.

14. Waruna

A great and powerful king wanted a son. Try as he might, he could not have a child. He prayed to Waruna for a son that he would, in turn, sacrifice to Waruna. Waruna granted the king a son. The king was immensely happy, yet ther weight of his deal wore on him. One day the son asked the king what was weighing on his mind. The kind told the son of the promise he had made to Waruna. Waruna thought the king was failing to meet his promise, so the king developed an illness. The son took some of the king's gold with him as he went to buy a son from a family in the kingdom- the king could then sacrifice that son in his stead. Finally the son found a family that would take his money. Before the boy, bought to be sacrificed, was to be killed, he asked if he could sing. The king granted permission. The boy sang a song of joy and celebration so beautiful that the other gods convinced Waruna to not require the boy as a sacrifice. Waruna did exactly that.

16. Indra

A mortal man named Ahi was jealous of the many sacrifices made to Indra. He thought that he had the power to be as great as Indra. Thus, he built a great fortress to protect him from Indra's power. He constructed lightning bolts of his own with magic. He captured the rains so that other mortal men would no longer worship Indra. Once Indra learned what had happened, he summoned the Maruts, spirits of the storm. Indra and the Maruts attacked the citadel, smashing it into pieces and killing Ahi. They released the rains, and the people once again loved Indra.

18. Brahma

In the beginning there was only Brahm. He created the gods and made them immortal. He made Agni to rule the earth, Wayu to rule the air, and Surya to rule the sky. He created manifestations of himself as Brahma, Wishnu, and Siwa. He made the waters and placed a seed in them. That seed grew to produce Brahma. He roamed the seas as a boar  until he raised the land out of the waters with his tusks.
One day Brahma was offering a sacrifice. His wife, Sawitri, refused to hurry through her tasks to join him for the sacrifice. Thus, Brahma asked Indra to find him a second wife so that his sacrifice might not be for nothing. He married Gayatri, the milk maid, and began the sacrifice.
Sawitri then came and was outraged. She said vile things and wished terrible things on everyone present. Yet Gayatri used the sacrifice to call down blessings on everyone that Sawitri had cursed and reaffirmed the fact that they are gods- such curses cannot affect their power.

20. Siwa (Shiva)

Siwa lived on the peaks on the Himalayas. He, with Brahma and Wishnu, controlled everything as the creator, preserver, and destroyer. Yet, Brahma and Siwa argued, and Siwa raised arms against Brahma. To absolve this sin, he had to wander the wilderness. His queen Uma followed him into this penance. They suffered the heat of India in the wilderness. Then during the rainy season, Siwa grabbed a cloud to use as protection from the ceaseless rains. He journeyed to the city of Benares to be absolved of his sins. Even today, people continue to make this journey for penance.
One day, Uma died. Siwa was so heartbroken that the other gods had her be born again. She had to prove the power of her love before the reincarnated Uma could join Siwa again. She did so, and Siwa swore that nothing would ever take her from him again. Shortly afterwards, the Asuras made war on the gods. They defeated Indra and the other gods, yet Uma took up Siwa's weapons and defeated the Asuras. Now, whenever men want to win her favor, they must win in combat.

Reading Notes: Tales of Ancient India: Krishna and the Gods, Part A

All of these chapters are found in the same book, Tales of Ancient India. Source

1. How Kans Afflicted the World

There is a great king named Ugrasen. Life is perfect for everyone in his kingdom. One day, the king has a son. All sorts of bad omens indicate that the son's birth should not be celebrated. The king asks wise men to tell him what all of these omens mean. They tell Ugrasen that his son, Kans, will be a mighty ruler, but he'll rob his father of his power, work with the powers of evil, and oppress the followers of Krishna. This quickly became evident when Kans as a child would strangle people he met. He eventually overthrows his father, gathers armies of demons, and becomes a powerful ruler over a terrible wasteland. The gods took action- they went to the strongest of the gods and asked for help in stopping Kans. He tells them to be born as mortals and that he will follow suit in time.

2. How Kans Threw Dewaki into Prison

Dewaki is set to marry Wasudew. Kans throws a great feast to celebrate. During that feast, Kans is told that Dewaki's eighth child will be his downfall. He grabs Dewaki and throws her to the ground, yelling at her. Wasudew acts a voice of reason. He convinces Kans to allow them to continue living but that Kans can do whatever he wishes with any children they have. They have six children. Kans kills them all. Before having a seventh child, Dewaki prays to Wishnu, the mightiest of the gods. She gives birth to the seventh child, and Wishnu takes the child to another house to be raised. Kans comes looking for the seventh child- they tell him the baby died before it was born. He doesn't trust them. The locks up both Dewaki and Wasudew. In time, the gods come and free Dewaki and Wasudew from their prison.

3. How Krishna Was Born

Krishna is born to the Wasudew and Dewaki amid trumpet sounds and nature collectively celebrating. Krishna's godly form is presented to his parents. He tells them that he needs to be taken away to another city so that he can one day put Kans to death. Then he makes Wasudew and Dewaki forget his godly form, but they remembered his message. Krishna puts guards to sleep, opens the door, and frees Wasudew from his handcuffs. They swap Dewaki's eighth child with a baby girl. As Kans goes to kill this baby girl, the gods intervene and inform Kans that Dewaki's eighth child will still kill him.

6. How Indra Worshipped Krishna

Krishna did everything possible to make the people of Brindaban love him. He put out forest fires and defeated evil an evil serpent that plagued the land. In doing this, Krishna became more popular among the people than Indra. Indra became jealous and sent torrential rain to destroy the city. Krishna protected the city by holding a mountain over it. Indra comes down and worships Krishna. The people of the city realize who Krishna truly is. They also worship him. Yet, he wipes their minds so he can continue to live in peace and secrecy.

9. How Krishna Slew Kans

Krishna and Balaram went to the wrestling grounds. A great elephant blocked their path. They tell the rider to move the elephant or it will die. The elephant goes to attack Balaram, who swats away the elephant's trunk. The elephant attacked in pain and fear. His tusks passed right through Krishna. The brothers battled demons, warriors, and wrestlers, defeating all of them. Kans, in fear, told his men to go kill Ugrasen, Wasudew, and Dewaki. Krishna killed his men on the spot. Then he jumps towards the throne. Kans tries to defend himself with his sword, but Krishna ultimately grabs Kans by the hair and splatters him across the ground. He defeats all of Kans' brothers. He then performs funeral rites for Kans with the many widows of Kans.

12. How Rukmini Became the Bride of Krishna

Rukmini was so beautiful that word of her beauty travelled throughout the land. Krishna falls in love with the idea of Rukmini. She then hears great stories of Krishna from a travelling bard. she starts to pray that Krishna may become her husband. Her two brothers each propose husbands. The first proposes Shishupal. The second proposes Krishna. The first brother is outraged and claims that on Shishupal is fit for Rukmini. When Rukmini finds out she is to marry Shishupal, she sends a messenger to Krishna, asking him to come marry her. The older brother and Shishupal plot to get rid of Krishna once he arrives in the city. Their schemes don't work. Yet, when Krishna gets Rukmini into his chariot and he raises his sword, Shishupal flees. In fact, no bloodshed occurs. Krishna and Rukmini are married.