History Main / PleaseShootTheMessenger

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[[folder: Literature ]]

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* In the ''OswaldTheLuckyRabbit'' cartoon "Not So Quiet," Pegleg Pete, a general, does this to Oswald, a low-ranking soldier.

[[folder: RealLife]]

* A nonlethal variant happened to AlfredHitchcock. When he was a little boy, his father gave him a letter and sent him to a police station. The letter contained a request to throw little Alfred into a cell for a night. Since then, Hitchcock, generally a brave man, feared police.
* The Spartan general Pausanias who was conspiring with the Persian king communicated via letters with instructions to kill the messenger. This backfired when [[GenreSavvy when one of them opened the letter]] and alerted the ephors.

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/armlessmaiden/index.html The Girl Without Hands]]'', inverted. The message that she be well treated is turned to one that she be executed.

* In the opening of Thomas Gifford's ''The Assassani'', a priest kills a messenger for reading the letter before delivering it. The wax had nightshade in it, so when the messenger heated the wax to reapply the seal, the smoke from the plant dilated the messenger's eyes, making it obvious he tampered with it.

* OlderThanFeudalism: Iobates was the King of Lycia. His nephew Proetus sent Bellerophon to Iobates with a note that said "Kill the bearer of this message." So, Bellerophon was sent to destroy the horrible monster Chimera.

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* Caliph Al-Akim is said to have toyed with this by dropping random missives for people to find and deliver, containing either an order to kill the bearer or an order to give them gold if delivered unopened.
* A nonlethal variant happened to AlfredHitchcock. When he was a little boy, his father gave him a letter and sent him to a police station. The letter contained a request to throw little Alfred into a cell for a night. Since then, Hitchcock, generally a brave man, feared police.
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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

** In the Creator/GrimmBrothers' "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/29devilgoldhairs.html The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs]]", it's robbers that do the switch, out of pity.

The plucky, eager young Bob has been ordered to deliver a message to Alice. Bob, desperately wanting to please his superiors, runs along as fast as he can and hands over the envelope before the wax has dried. He watches, nervously, as Alice reads it and... wait why is she pointing a gun at him?

[[OhCrap What do you mean the message told her to?!]]

* In ''TheDestroyer''series, if it ever becomes necessary to disband CURE via KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade, Smith will commit suicide after sending Remo to deliver a PleaseShootTheMessenger message to Chiun.

[[folder: Live-action TV ]]

* Bugs Bunny once tricked Elmer Fudd into thinking he needed a special license to shoot a "fricasseeing rabbit". Daffy Duck writes up the license but Bugs tricks Daffy into making it a "fricasseeing duck" license.

* In the ''OswaldTheLuckyRabbit'' cartoon "Not So Quiet", Pegleg Pete, a general, does this to Oswald, a low-ranking soldier.

->"Wilt thou know \\

Not shriving-time allow'd."

* ''Literature/TheBible'': In the Second [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel Book of Samuel]] King David has Uriah the Hittite carry a letter to Joab, his commanding officer. The letter told Joab to [[TheUriahGambit put Uriah in the front of the battle and have the other soldiers move away from him so that he would be killed]].

Not to be confused with ShootTheMessenger.

** In the GrimmBrothers' "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/29devilgoldhairs.html The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs]]", it's robbers that do the switch, out of pity.

* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/russian/russianwondertales/vasiliiunlucky.html Vasilii the Unlucky]]'', the rich merchant tries to avert his daughter's marriage to a poor man's son by many means, including having the son carry a letter to his wife with instructions to kill him. The three men who enacted that they would marry changed the letter to direct her to marry him to their daughter.
** In ''[[http://mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/081.htm The Story of Three Wonderful Beggars]]'', it happens the same way.
** In the GrimmBrothers' ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/29devilgoldhairs.html The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs]]'', it's robbers that do the switch, out of pity.
** In ''[[http://mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/260.htm The King Who Would Be Stronger Than Fate]]'', the princess herself makes the change.
** In JosephJacobs' ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/fishring.html The Fish and the Ring]]'', robbers do it. (It's also a GenderFlip.)
* In JosephJacobs' ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/indian/sonofsevenqueens.html The Son of Seven Queens]]'', the son was given such a message by the wicked woman who had stolen the queens' eyes and usurped their place, but he altered it to say that her mother should give him his mothers' eyes.

* ''Literature/TheBible'': In the Second Book of Samuel King David has Uriah the Hittite carry a letter to Joab, his commanding officer. The letter told Joab to [[TheUriahGambit put Uriah in the front of the battle and have the other soldiers move away from him so that he would be killed]].

* Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are the unfortunate messengers in ''{{Hamlet}}''. Notably, they actually did know what the letter was before Hamlet changed its contents from "Kill Hamlet" to "Kill Rosencrantz and Guildenstern."

* ''IClaudius'' has a [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]] version: Caligula punishes someone who's annoyed him by sending him with a letter to the King of Morocco. The letter says, "Kindly send bearer back to Rome."

* In ''KangarooJack'': [[spoiler: They're delivering the ''payment'' for their murder, rather than the contract.]]

** In JosephJacob's ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/fishring.html The Fish and the Ring]]'', robbers do it. (It's also a GenderFlip.)
* In JosephJacob's ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/indian/sonofsevenqueens.html The Son of Seven Queens]]'', the son was given such a message by the wicked woman who had stolen the queens' eyes and usurped their place, but he altered it to say that her mother should give him his mothers' eyes.

* A nonlethal variant happened to Alfred Hitchcock. When he was a little boy, his father gave him a letter and sent him to a police station. The letter contained a request to throw little Alfred into a cell for a night. Since then, Hitchcock, generally a brave man, feared police.

** In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/29devilgoldhairs.html The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs]]'', it's robbers that do the switch, out of pity.

** In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/fishring.html The Fish and the Ring]]'', robbers do it. (It's also a GenderFlip.)
* ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/indian/sonofsevenqueens.html The Son of Seven Queens]]'' was given such a message by the wicked woman who had stolen the queens' eyes and usurped their place, but he altered it to say that her mother should give him his mothers' eyes.

This trope is when a character causes another - usually an UnwittingPawn - to deliver a message containing the single instruction to harm the person delivering the message. While the instructions are usually fatal, that is not a requirement for the trope. This method of disposing of the UnwittingPawn is usually a KickTheDog moment for the person sending the message. Compare UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom.

This trope is when a character causes another - usually an UnwittingPawn - to deliver a message containing the single instruction to harm the person delivering the message. While the instructions are usually fatal, that is not a requirement for the trope. This method of disposing of the UnwittingPawn is usually a KickTheDog moment for the person sending the message. Compare SwissMessenger.

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* This is how [[spoiler: John Looney]] betrays [[spoiler: Michael O'Sullivan]] in ''RoadToPerdition''. The message in question read "Kill [[spoiler:O'Sullivan]], and all is forgiven." [[spoiler: Michael]] being [[spoiler: [[{{Badass}} Michael]]]], however, the people that he sends this message to don't succeed in offing him. [[spoiler: John Looney's son Connor]], on the other hand, is a lot more successful in [[MoralEventHorizon his part of the betrayal]].

* Iobates was the King of Lycia. His nephew Proetus sent Bellerophon to Iobates with a note that said "Kill the bearer of this message", officially making this trope OlderThanDirt.
* TheBible. In the Second Book of Samuel King David has Uriah the Hittite carry a letter to Joab, his commanding officer. The letter told Joab to [[TheUriahGambit put Uriah in the front of the battle and have the other soldiers move away from him so that he would be killed]].