Should you Kill your Parents? (In a Character’s Backstory)
- ava allegory
- Oct 30, 2021
- 3 min read
Why do all beginner writers and roleplayers jump to kill off their character's parents, and can doing so be harmful for your character?
It seems that the trope of having deceased parents has been around since the beginning of time. What modern hero in literature doesn’t seem to have more than one dead parent? There are countless examples of this trope in play in countless forms of literature. However, falling for this mistake can actually be more harmful than good.
Why is this trope so common?
Having dead parents is a common trope used in the heroes’ tale, especially for classic characters like Captain America, Superman, and Batman, who were huge during the Golden Age of comic books. This was when comic books were beginning to be mass produced and were booming in popularity. Ever since then, this trope has been a staple in the “hero’s journey”. A large reason this trope works well in conceptualizing characters is because it allows for loose ends, which can be tied back together with the “found family” trope. Although this trope appears as an easy and effective way to create dark character backstory, does it do more harm than good?
To put it bluntly, the trope of having dead parents can actually be incredibly harmful to your character design. A lack of close connections and family ties can make your character appear two dimensional and poorly designed. Removing parents from the picture gives you less to work and mold within your character. The parents are an extension of the world and your worldbuilding. Therefore, withdrawing them can cause a sort of disconnect between your world and character if done poorly. Parents allow for your character to be more three-dimensional, have a more moldable identity, and can strengthen the bond between your character and the world.
How do you write impactful parents?
While the parents themselves don't have to have a “good” alignment, it can be easier to create an ineffective or flat parent than an impactful one. Looking at your relationship with your own parents never hurts. How has your parents affected your personality and the person you are now? Some easy questions to ask are:
What are their parents’ jobs, and how much of their time is spent there?
Do they have the standard monogamous mom and dad, or do their parents have a different relationship? Do their parents keep in contact with their family?
What interests do they share with their parents?
What do their parents do when your character is feeling down?
Does your character travel a lot with their parents?
What kind of household did your character’s parents grow up in?
Family provides a look into why the character acts, speaks, dresses, and lives the way they do. Parents play a crucial part in raising and molding your character, and removing them from your story means you’re missing out on a world of beautiful and amazing opportunities.
Having deceased parents for the hero’s journey is a false need that has been ingrained in the literary community since the Golden Age of comic books, but it can be more impactful on your character to have parents, if done correctly. In the end, there is no “right way” to create a character, and it's all up to what you feel best to do. However, parents or guardians can add a sense of personality to your character that is incredibly unique and beautiful. This form of dimension can’t be brought from any other source, and it truly brings a breath of life into your character.
DnD with a Z is a DnD blog that writes about the next generation's relationship with roleplay, writing, and DnD. To get regular updates about when articles go live, follow the author's twitter.
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