History Main / ProtagonistCenteredMorality

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish 2023}}'': The protagonist Asha opposes King Magnifico's efforts to take wishes from people and only grant the few he deems worthy, saying everyone deserves the right to their wish being a possibility. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Asha is gifted magic which she will use to become a FairyGodmother, thereby becoming someone like Magnifico who will have to make decisions as to whose wishes come true thanks to her supernatural assistance.]]

* This is pretty much Kenai's biggest flaw in ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear''. Kenai hates bears [[BearsareBadNews because he thinks they're monsters]], so he kills one after it kills his older brother Sitka. This results in Kenai [[KarmicTransformation being turned into a bear as punishment]]. Later, he meets a bear cub named Koda, who thinks that [[HumansaretheRealMonsters humans are monsters]]. [[spoiler: Turns out, the reason why Kenai was turned into a bear was because the bear he killed early on was actually Koda's mother.]]

* This is pretty much Kenai's biggest flaw in ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear''. Kenai hates bears [[BearsareBadNews because he thinks they're monsters]], so he kills one after it kills his older brother Sitka. This results in Kenai [[KarmicTransformation being turned into a bear as punishment]]. Later, he meets a bear cub named Koda, who thinks that [[HumansartheRealMonsters humans are monsters]]. [[spoiler: Turns out, the reason why Kenai was turned into a bear was because the bear he killed early on was actually Koda's mother.]]

* ''Literature/WorteniaSenki'' is particularly egregious in this. Good and evil basically boils down to "will it help Mokishiba or hurt him?". At the start of the story, he kills members of a "gang" wearing red bandannas that are well-known kidnappers, murderers and rapists, albeit in self-defense after they attack him and try to rape a couple of war-slaves he came across because said war slaves had magic spells on them keeping them from defending themselves. Some time later, he allies himself with this same band to use them as soldiers while fighting off the Ortomea army... knowing full well how they'd treat any villages [[RapePillageAndBurn they came across.]] In addition, before using the Red Bandanna "gang," he was propositioned by a pirate fleet under similar terms. The pirate fleet was utterly exterminated despite having no difference from the red bandanna gang. Mikoshiba's explanation? Having the pirates as allies would destroy the morale of his ChildSoldiers.... whom Mikoshiba purchased from a slaver for the express purpose of putting them through TheSpartanWay. At no point in this does he stop being the hero.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wish 2013}}'': The protagonist Asha opposes King Magnifico's efforts to take wishes from people and only grant the few he deems worthy, saying everyone deserves the right to their wish being a possibility. At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Asha is gifted magic which she will use to become a FairyGodmother, thereby becoming someone like Magnifico who will have to make decisions as to whose wishes come true thanks to her supernatural assistance.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rumble}}'': The Morality if this film seems to be centered on protagonist Winnie Coyle and her hometown of Stoker as the movie declares that anything bad done to that town is an act of evil as it is impoverished. In that regard, it paints Tentacular as the villain as he wants to move away from Stoker to Slitherpoole to forge his own identity and it tries to paint him as evil by portraying the injuries and trauma he inflicted on fellow wrestler King Gorge as a KickTheDog moment. However the film glosses over the fact that Gorge’s trauma and injuries are partially Winnie’s fault because she interferes with the match it occurred in and told Tentacular how to beat Ming Gorge. The same can be said for how the characters want to disntancw themselves from the posthumous character the original Rayburn. While Steve is shown to be wanting to dissonance himself from his father and is shown the be approved to go ahead go ahead with that and be his own person, the townspeople of stoker are shown to be not happy with Tentacular’s desire to move away from Raybur as he is not related to Rayburn, meaning that Winnie approved Steve’s desires to distance himself from Rayburn but not Tentacular’s . Winnie is never called out for these things and her overall hypocrisy and behavior throughout the film as it blames Tentacular and Tentacular alone for everything

** For the most part, the Unforgivable Curses are treated as utterly evil magic that only utterly evil people would use. In the seventh book, Harry juses Crucificatus (the torture curse) on a Death Eater merely for insulting [=McGonagall=] . Who then praises him on his gallantry!
** All the so-called good characters think of those without magic as lesser: Hermione mind-wiped her own parents instead of explaining the situation and giving them a choice of how to proceed. Ron has a squib cousin nobody in his family ever talks about. Arthur Weasley, who works with Muggle inventions on a daily basis, does not know the least thing about Muggles and talks about them as if they were animals in a zoo. This is the same mindset everyone accuses the Death Eaters and Slything House of. And Muggle-born or Muggle-raised students like Hermione and Harry (and Lily) seem to have no problem with it whatsoever, instead leaving the Muggle world (and all related skills) behind as quickly as possible.
** Snape has spent roughly the last two decades as a spy for the good guys at both great personal risk and great personal cost, and has personally saved Harry's life a couple of times. Harry is perfectly aware of all of this. Yet Harry seems hung up on the fact that Snape doesn't like him and is an unfair and vindictive teacher, as if these facts cancelled out all the rest. He even lets Snape die in front of his eyes without even attempting to rescue him, and doesn't seem in the least remorseful about that. Nor, apparently, are the readers supposed to feel bad about it. To be fair, there’s not much Harry could’ve done to save Snape anyway, and he still named one of his children after him in the epilogue, so at the very least, Harry seems to aknowledge what Snape did for him and his mother.

** For the most part, the Unforgivable Curses are treated as utterly evil magic that only utterly evil people would use. In the seventh book, Harry juses Crucificatus (the torture curse) on a Death Eater merely for insulting McGonagall. Who then praises him on his gallantry!

** Lily Evans watched her Housemates bully her childhood friend for seven years while he was outnumbered four to one - including at least one incident where they outright tried to murder him. She later ended up marrying one of the two worst bullies and making the other the godfather of her child. Yet the books act as if Snape were solely at fault for their falling-out, and the only one who should have made amends.

** Snape has spent roughly the last two decades as a spy for the good guys at both great personal risk and great personal cost, and has personally saved Harry's life a couple of times. Harry is perfectly aware of all of this. Yet Harry seems hung up on the fact that Snape doesn't like him and is an unfair and vindictive teacher, as if these facts cancelled out all the rest. He even lets Snape die in front of his eyes without even attempting to rescue him, and doesn't seem in the least remorseful about that. Nor, apparently, are the readers supposed to feel bad about it.

** All the so-called good characters think of those without magic as lesser: Hermione mind-wiped her own parents instead of explaining the situation and giving them a choice of how to proceed. Ron has a squib cousin nobody in his family ever talks about. All the Gryffindors hate the squib caretaker, Filch. Arthur Weasley, who works with Muggle inventions on a daily basis, does not know the least thing about Muggles and talks about them as if they were animals in a zoo. This is the same mindset everyone accuses the Death Eaters and Slything House of. And Muggle-born or Muggle-raised students like Hermione and Harry (and Lily) seem to have no problem with it whatsoever, instead leaving the Muggle world (and all related skills) behind as quickly as possible.

** Snape's bullying of Harry due to his history with James Potter, is used to demonstrate that he's a SadistTeacher and a petty {{Jerkass}}. Meanwhile, Hagrid is depicted as a NiceGuy despite the fact that his introductory scene has him give Dudley a pig's tail purely because his father insulted Dumbledore[[note]]The movie adds a moment where Dudley starts eating the birthday cake Hagrid baked for Harry, possibly to make Hagrid's actions more sympathetic[[/note]], and [=McGonagall=] is seen as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and a CoolTeacher despite endangering Neville's life ''twice'' through punishments for relatively minor infractions[[note]]sending him, Harry, Hermione, and Malfoy out into the Forbidden Forest because he was caught out of bed after curfew, and later, when Neville writes down and misplaces the passwords to the Gryffindor common room, forcing him to spend hours locked outside his dormitory just after a dangerous convict broke into the castle[[/note]].

** ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'': The look of Comlumbia emphasizes Booker's violent actions and role as a chaotic element. He, in text, claims the Vox Populi are a reaction to people much like himself. He acts and presents himself as an enemy to the Voice of the People.

* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'' curses the newborn Aurora to fall into a coma on her sixteenth birthday, solely because she wanted to get revenge on Aurora's father. She also unblinkingly [[spoiler:kills dozens if not hundreds of men during her reign of terror. Most of them were trying to kill her, sure, but they were JustFollowingOrders from their own tyrant king]]. A lot of that could have been avoided if she hadn't cursed Aurora in the first place. Still, all of that gets to be completely ignored at the end when [[spoiler:she makes her HeelFaceTurn and gets to live HappilyEverAfter with Aurora's praise and respect]].
* ''Film/{{The Mummy|1999}}'': while the titular mummy is obviously the villain, the protagonists Evy, O'Connell, and Jonathan constantly go around stealing things, which is presented as KleptomaniacHero; but when their rival Burns notices that Evy has his stolen tool kit ''O'Connell points a gun in his face to get him to back off,'' and Evy refuses to give the kit back. One can question why the American dig team is portrayed as the bad side, when the 'heroic' characters are doing the exact same things as them; essentially grave-robbing an ancient site, getting innocent local people killed (albeit accidentally), and refusing to listen to the warnings of the Medjai, all of which ends up releasing Imhotep and endangering the world.

*** [[JustForPun Objectively speaking]], these two characters make the same decision, with the same motivation, with the same lack of knowledge of what is going on elsewhere on the railroad; the only difference is in the author's respective opinions on them.

** The "good" vampires appear not to have thought of using their immeasurable powers to save people's lives; they're more content to repeat high school for the umpteenth time and play baseball, and seem to be happy with their brethren slaughtering innocent people as long as they leave Bella alone. And Bella herself doesn't lift a finger to help anyone even when she knows they're as good as vampire food. This is shown clearly in ''Eclipse'', where an army of uncontrollable newborn vampires is only four hours away from them destroying Seattle, but none of the Cullens or Bella even consider trying to stop them until they start to think the Seattle-based vampires might be coming for them next. Toward the beginning, they explicitly pass it off as SomebodyElsesProblem.

* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' tells the story of brave patriots seceding from the United States in the face of PoliticalOvercorrectness, to preserve traditional Christian values. In the course of this, they seize federal land to sell to foreign developers, kidnap, torture, make liberal use of hostages and human shields, threaten the families of servicemen who fight against them, execute captured soldiers ''en masse'', assist a foreign invasion of the US, bomb their own allies, nuke an ally's city, threaten nuclear war with China, violently purge ideologically unreliable academics, and more. These are, at worst, the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo strictly necessary]] actions of a reasonable figure, more often, outright celebrated, unlike the federal opposition. When the heroes take pilots and their families hostage to deter bombing, it's a clever outside-the-box tactic, when the Feds assassinate a Confederate leader, it's a vile crime. When good Christians are sold into slavery in the Middle East, no effort or expense can be spared in securing their return home; when defeated feminists are sold into sexual slavery in the Middle East, it's only their just comeuppance and a chance to show them what ''real'' patriarchal oppression looks like.

* {{Enforced}} in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. Almost every book published by the Black Library is Imperial propaganda (with the exception of the ''Literature/HorusHeresy'' novel series, which is meant to be the real OriginStory of the modern Imperium), and the fluff included in each faction's codex casts them in a good light (with the exception of Chaos and Tyranids, both of which are mostly from Imperial point of view as well, probably because the stars of those books are insane or all-devouring cosmic horrors).

* Discussed in "Stepsisters' Lament", a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical adaptation of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}''. The stepsisters, watching Cinderella dance with the Prince, point out that conventionally pretty but mysterious girls--"frail and fluffy beauties" who are "obviously unusual"--always end up with happy endings and the support of the audience, while "solid," "usual" women like them are inevitably left with nothing. It's worth noting that these stepsisters, while somewhat mean, have a softer, kinder side. Their final fates vary depending on the version -- in the original 1957 TV production and its stage adaptation they and their mother are at the wedding celebrating Cinderella's good fortune, while in the 1997 TV movie remake they all end up cast out of the palace. In the 2013 Broadway version, one of the sisters is part of the BetaCouple so "Stepsisters' Lament" is sung only by the other, backed by the chorus. [[spoiler:This sister and the stepmother make Heel-Face Turns at the end, as Cinderella's forgiveness moves them.]]

Website/{{Springhole}} has an article [[https://www.springhole.net/writing/protagonist-centered-morality.htm discussing this trope and how to avoid it]].

** Umbridge using magic to mutilate a child is portrayed as cruel and vile; Hermione using magic to mutilate a child is portrayed as clever.

** Lampshaded many times when each person (especially [[LovableRogue Silk]]) admits to having various vices and refusing to accept it as being the same as the vices of others. Belgarath even refuses to classify it as [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Good vs. Evil]] and instead prefers to call it "them versus us." Considering that he's spent about 7000 years often being NecessarilyEvil, you can understand why he would.

* ''Literature/InfiniteDendrogram'': PlayerKilling that's not done in self-defense is considered to be one of the worst things in the world of Infinite Dendrogram by both the protagonists and the rest of the game community, and the [=PKers=] themselves are considered AcceptableTargets for high-level players to go hunt and kill [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill in ridiculously over-the-top and gruesome ways]]. Ray spends a good four novels wanting to get his revenge on the Superior Killer who took him out, but when their true identity is revealed as [[spoiler:Marie]], who he had befriended prior, he still continues to view her as a friend and doesn't retaliate--mercy he never showed toward any other player killer. Befriending someone makes it a lot harder to do something bad to them, especially when it takes away from the dehumanizing factor of destroying 'an enemy' over 'a person.' Likewise, Ray attempts to kill [[spoiler:Franklin]] for pranking him with a potion that causes him to grow animal ears, and it's played entirely for comedy--and keep in mind that this was long before [[spoiler:Franklin was revealed to be the BigBad]].

%%Administrivia.ZeroContextExample* In ''TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial'', part of the delusions suffered by Heroes is that they benefit from this, which, combined with the fact that their sanity was kind of shaky to begin with, makes them pretty dangerous to everyone around them.

* Discussed in "Stepsisters' Lament," a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical adaptation of ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}''. The stepsisters, watching Cinderella dance with the Prince, point out that conventionally pretty but mysterious girls--"frail and fluffy beauties" who are "obviously unusual"--always end up with happy endings and the support of the audience, while "solid," "usual" women like them are inevitably left with nothing. It's worth noting that these stepsisters, while somewhat mean, have a softer, kinder side. Their final fates vary depending on the version -- in the original 1957 TV production and its stage adaptation they and their mother are at the wedding celebrating Cinderella's good fortune, while in the 1997 TV movie remake they all end up cast out of the palace. In the 2013 Broadway version, one of the sisters is part of the BetaCouple so "Stepsisters' Lament" is sung only by the other, backed by the chorus. [[spoiler: This sister and the stepmother make Heel-Face Turns at the end, as Cinderella's forgiveness moves them.]]

** In the Unlimited Blade Works route, the concept of Protagonist-Centered Morality is roundly criticized by Archer. [[spoiler: He became a hero hoping to save people, but this ultimately meant leaving a long trail of dead people in his path.]]

* Happens from time to time in ''Franchise/AceAttorney''. One of the more notable examples is in the first case of ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', where Phoenix gives Apollo [[spoiler:a falsified piece of evidence to convict the villain. While Apollo is angry enough to punch Phoenix over being tricked like this, he also makes no moves to report that false evidence was used, and the villain of said case remains in prison for the crime permanently despite this illegal evidence tampering. This is in stark contrast to about every other game in the series, where the villains using false or illegal evidence is often a plot point and treated as a ''Main/MoralEventHorizon''.]]

--->'''Adventurer''': Hey, they attacked us first!
--->'''Sir François''': Because you were committing a home invasion.
--->'''Adventurer''': Which would never have happened [[InsaneTrollLogic if they hadn’t chosen to live in such an obviously cool adventure location]].

* ''Webcomic/YuMeDream'' has this when it comes to [[spoiler:Lia]]. While she was {{Not H|imself}}erself sort of when doing all of the terrible things she did, it was a bit jarring to see her [[spoiler:have a romantic reunion with Fiona while a child that she killed was still in the background of the scene]]. There are also no repercussions for her actions besides her feeling bad about it... which doesn't seem to be getting in the way of her life too much. However, this event is what [[spoiler:caused Fiona to merge consciences with their respective owners]], so something like that won't happen again.

* Get’s called out in [[https://images.app.goo.gl/uuUVTCT1EPAGtu318 this webcomic parodying Go, Diego, Go]] as the jaguar calls Deigo out on “rescuing” the capybara he was going to eat as stealing his food and causing him starvation.

* Subverted in ''Literature/TheSwordOfGood'', parodic "fragments of a novel that would never be written" in which a GenreSavvy lost prince raised in our world battles AlwaysChaoticEvil orcs alongside a pirate captain and a wizard with healing magic. When they meet the villain, right after the death of a MauveShirt the pirate was in love with, the villain points out that [[spoiler:the wizard could have not only saved the MauveShirt himself by putting himself at minimal risk but could also have alleviated much suffering the heroes had previously seen, prevented from doing so only by the self-interested ideology that's underlain both the villain's "evil" classification and the wizard's mysticism to that point]]. This causes the hero to realize [[spoiler:how much suffering the grieving pirate captain must have herself caused almost by definition, how quickly he bought into the idea of hereditary absolute monarchy, and the fact that his party is guilty of torture]], and he concludes that he was on the WrongSideAllAlong.
* Occasionally, a story on ''Website/NotAlwaysRight'' will feature an employee who clearly thinks they're the "good guy" of the story when really they're worse than the customer they posted the story to complain about. [[UnreliableNarrator That's assuming these events actually happened, of course.]] This pops up on the sister sites as well; many stories posted to ''Website/NotAlwaysWorking'' are written by customers who mistreat employees but see themselves as the protagonist of the story. For example, [[https://notalwaysright.com/putting-a-dent-in-your-fun/63475/ someone pretends to be an irrational customer]] a la ''Not Always Right'' and then mocks the employee for not realizing it was only an act.

'''Sian:''' ''[stamps her foot]'' Uuugghh!! [[InformedWrongness So unreasonable!]]

* One interpretation of [[HeroAntagonist Captain Hammer]] (the one that most people in-story believe, and most viewers don't) in ''WebVideo/DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog'' is that he really is a hero and didn't, on average, deserve a comeuppance, and wasn't really any worse than [[SuperDickery a lot of other heroes]] except from the point of view of Doctor Horrible. Granted, said comeuppance is self-inflicted and relatively minor, more befitting a JerkJock than a supervillain.
* Conversed in the "Violence as Narrative" episode of ''WebVideo/FoldingIdeas''. He talks about how a lot of video games will portray the main characters' actions as okay even if they're terrible. Then he discusses 3 games that worked around Protagonist-Centered Morality or attentional bias and instead have the violence as a part of the narrative. The examples of aversions he gives are:
** ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'': Joel has learned to solve his problems with violence to the point that's all he knows. He shows symptoms of [[TheSociopath sociopathy]] when rescuing Ellie. In the end, there's a PerspectiveFlip which gives a more objective outlook on his actions.
** ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'': The player is forced to make the protagonist go through the maze again afterward and see the corpses of all the people the protagonist has killed. The main character is later provided a {{foil}} and gives the player (playing as the foil) the option not to kill anyone if they want.
** ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'': The look of Comlumbia emphasizes Booker's violent actions and role as a chaotic element. He, in text, claims the Vox Populi are a reaction to people much like himself. He acts and presents himself as an enemy to the Voice of the People.
* Parodied in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzyUcXR05Z4 this video]]. Despite being seen as people doing charity for good, the {{speedrun}}ners are blatantly doing things like stealing college degrees, killing their own parents, literally trying to kill themselves, and generally causing $1000's worth of damage, all to raise [[spoiler:only $25]] for an unnamed charity. There's even a narrator reassuring us that it's for charity.

---> '''Jeremy:''' Rousing speech time! Hey, one thing they forgot to do with this movie is give us a reason to care! This ain't [[Film/{{Braveheart}} William Wallace]] talking about their freedom and shit. This is a bunch of lawless pirates! Oh shit, I guess I spoke too soon. So this ''is'' about their freedom? To loot and plunder? What the fuck are pirates in these movies anymore? [[EvilVersusEvil Just because the East India Company is evil doesn't make these assholes Robin Hood!]] (Ding!)

---> Ah, the magic of movies. You see, [[HeroAntagonist Salazar is actually a good guy in this story]], even though he didn't want to show mercy to some filthy pirates after the battle was over. [[VillainProtagonist Jack is definitely the bad guy here]], but because we supposedly love Jack, the story is flipped on its head (Ding!)

---> '''Letty (After being shot at by the truck driver they're robbing):''' You son of a bitch!!!
---> '''Jeremy:''' Yeah, what a dick! Defending his truck and shit! (Ding!)

---> '''Letty:''' We'll figure it out. We always do!
---> '''Jeremy:''' Man, that's touching. I really hope these criminals find a happy ending. (Ding!)

---> '''Jeremy:''' Well, it should be easy to pry them away from their retired millionaire lives in order to take down a crew that does the exact same illegal things they did to become millionaires in the first place just because your old girlfriend is involved. (Ding!)

---> And this is how [[Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk Jack]] got revenge on the giant's wife after [[DesignatedHero Jack stole from and killed her husband]]. Oh, wait. (Ding!)

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%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1648941209078290500
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to discuss a new image.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'': Sebastian the crab, a major character, narrowly escapes Chef Louie, who kills and cooks fish. The moment when Sebastian reaches safety is treated as the end of the matter; the fact that the other fish Louie still kills and cooks were clearly sentient is glossed over.
* ''Animation/VukTheLittleFox'': Since the story focuses on Vuk, he is treated as a good guy, despite killing a lot of (apparently sentient) animals for food and systematically destroying a man's property. At the same time, the hunter is treated as the BigBad, even though he just kills foxes to protect his livestock. Justified, since Vuk would not survive otherwise.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheEmojiMovie'' heavily relies on this. The villain is treated as a despicable control freak despite the dangers posed by an emoji making more than one face. Meanwhile, the film glosses over everything bad that Gene does, even though he doesn't even offer an apology. Gene [[spoiler:leaves Akiko Glitter to die with the trolls]], can't hold a face without panicking, -- ''and'' his adventure actually accelerates Alex's decision to erase all the phone data.

* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/RalphBreaksTheInternet'', as in [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph the first film]], it's explicitly stated that game-jumping is bad and there are massive repercussions for Ralph when he temporarily abandons his game to get a medal proving he can be a good guy and the BigBad of the first movie did the same thing, causing [[spoiler: his game, ''Turbotime'' and the game he kept jumping into to be shut down for good]]. In the sequel, Vanellope wanting to abandon ''Sugar Rush'' and go to ''Slaughter Race'' [[UngratefulBitch because she's bored of winning all the time]] is framed like a natural part of her growing up and ''Ralph'' is the one who has to learn to let Vanellope go so she can do the thing he and [[spoiler: Turbo]] got vilified for in the first movie. Speaking of Ralph, him leaving his game ''again'' (albeit for a far less selfish motive than in the first movie) is treated as no big deal as Felix offers to cover his shift, despite Ralph being the most essential part of ''Fix-It Felix Jr.'' next to Felix himself, as opposed to Vanellope whom ''Sugar Rush'' could, and even used to, run perfectly fine without. It almost feels like "Going Turbo" isn't even a concept anymore, at least as far as the good guys are concerned.

* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'': A central theme (along with MyCountryRightOrWrong). Team America are a squad of gung-ho {{Straw C|haracter}}onservatives [[DestructiveSaviour who keep destroying other countries in their ham-fisted attempts to "stop terrorists"]], but in the end [[BlackAndGrayMorality they are still better than genuine tyrants and dictators.]]

* ''Literature/KonoSuba'': Many monsters are assumed to be AlwaysChaoticEvil when they're usually either minding their own business or reacting to something the protagonists did. When a demon knight attacks the FirstTown, the protagonists assume it's just another random act of cruelty...except the only reason he's attacking is because Megumin decided to practice [[StuffBlowingUp explosion magic]] on his home, unprovoked. The protagonists ignore his very legitimate gripe, defeat him, and [[CrossesTheLineTwice play hackysack with his decapitated head]]. Of course, this being ''Konosuba'', it's entirely possible this occurrence of Protagonist Centered Morality is PlayedForLaughs as much as any other.
* In the novel ''Literature/TheRedBlazerGirls,'' a character who stalks the protagonists and is apparently in competition with them is described by one as "Pure evil!", although he actually turns out to be on their side, and they forgive him.
* Justified in ''Literature/SSSClassSuicideHunter'' because the Tower where protagonist Kim Gongja lives is a kill or be killed hellhole and the people he wants to kill are psychotic assholes. Especially [[RedBaron Flame Emperor]] Yoo Sooha who happily uses arson to cover up his murders and then shows up on the scene, faking innocence, ''[[RefugeInAudacity and then demands a reward before he'll consider putting out the fire he started!]]''
* ''Literature/{{Toradora}}'': Sumire Kanou's public rejection of Yuusaku is considered such a {{Jerkass}} move that Taiga [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown jumps her afterwards]], and we're supposed to view every second of it as justified way to stick up for her friend. Apparently someone forgot to remind her that not only is their relationship not any of her business in the first place, but at the start of the series she was shown to take delight in rejecting anyone who asked her out, which was entirely PlayedForLaughs.
* The main characters in ''Literature/TwoAsOnePrincesses'' are two souls inhabiting the body of a 10-year-old girl that's been through hell since infancy, who just wants to escape the country so she can live quietly. Since HumansAreBastards is in full display, people who help her can be tolerated, at worst, while people who oppose her are clearly scum in one way or another.
* '''Very''' justified in ''Literature/TheWeakestTamer'' as the protagonist is a sweet, sensitive 8-year-old girl whose only "crime" is wanting to live after being found to have a [Tamer] skill with no stars. People who are good to her tend to be decent and kind while people who try to harm her are obvious scum.
* ''Literature/WorteniaSenki'' is particularly egregious in this. Good and evil basically boils down to "will it help Mokishiba or hurt him?". At the start of the story, he kills members of a "gang" wearing red bandannas that are well-known kidnappers, murderers and rapists, albeit in self-defense after they attack him and try to rape a couple of war-slaves he came across because said war slaves had magic spells on them keeping them from defending themselves. Some time later, he allies himself with this same band to use them as soldiers while fighting off the Ortomea army... knowing full well how they'd treat any villages [[RapePillageAndBurn they came across.]] In addition, before using the Red Bandanna "gang," he was propositioned by a pirate fleet under similar terms. The pirate fleet was utterly exterminated despite having no difference from the red bandanna gang. Mikoshiba's explanation? Having the pirates as allies would destroy the morale of his ChildSoldiers.... whom Mikoshiba purchased from a slaver for the express purpose of putting them through TheSpartanWay. At no point in this does he stop being the hero.
* Creator/RobertLouisStevenson's ''Literature/TheBlackArrow'': Deconstructed. Richard Shelton steals Captain Arblaster's ship "the Good Hope", and he thinks nothing of it because he needed one ship to carry his plan out. Later, he runs into Arblaster again, and finds out that stealing his means of livelihood destroyed Arblaster's life...nearly literally, since his lack of a ship means Arblaster gets mixed up in the Battle of Shoreby and nearly gets killed by Yorkist partisans. At the very least, the epilogue has him living in Tunstall Hamlet and receiving a pension from Dick.

* E. E. Smith's ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series exemplifies this. The actions of various protagonists are consistently applauded -- including one-man judge/jury/execution, destruction of entire planets/solar systems/civilizations, with or without noncombatants, various nasty means of underhanded (or overhanded) warfare, torture, mind rape, etc. Some of the protagnists are disturbed by the things they have to do to others, and the series makes a point of how different species may have different morality. It's stated in-story that only paragons of IncorruptiblePurePureness can ever be Lensmen in the first place (and that the Arisians are actively weeding out those who fall short just before they actually get Lenses), and the bad guys are clearly more "professional" and self-interested, but we do have to kind of take the author's word for it.
* ''Literature/DiaryOfAWimpyKid'': Greg suffers from this big time. For example, in ''Rodrick Rules'', he mistreats Chirag Gupta by pretending he doesn't exist. If the same thing happened to him, he'd almost certainly complain about it and call the kid(s) doing it to him bulllies. The book series might actually be one of the best explorations of this trope, especially if one treats it as a look into the worldview, life, and perceptions of a borderline amoral Middle School student.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** This trope is examined in ''Literature/TheLastHero'' by Vetinari who points out that most "heroic" acts would have anyone else hanged for wanton death and destruction, but since they are committed by a "hero" they are considered acceptable. Downplayed in that at least ''some'' of their stuff would be a case of BlackAndGrayMorality, such as Lord Hong.
** See also Susan's revised retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" in ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', which lampshades this trope:
--->'''Susan''': ...and then Jack chopped down the beanstalk, adding murder and ecological vandalism to the theft, enticement and trespass charges already mentioned, but he got away with it and lived happily ever after without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done. Which proves that you can be excused anything if you're a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'', in which young Sam points out to Vimes that in certain circumstances, Vimes is prepared to do things which are illegal or immoral (like knocking people unconscious before they can hit him). Vimes evades giving an explanation and privately admits to himself that his main justification is "It's Me Doing It" -- and that this is a pretty poor justification, especially because it's the one the people on the other side are using too (and he feels [[TheFettered he could do worse if he let himself]], but he doesn't). Also downplayed in that he's using it about the EliteMooks of a corrupt, oppressive king, so there is ''some'' justification.
** PlayedForLaughs in ''Literature/ReaperMan'', where Miss Flitworth has no truck with the idea of moral relativism because she was taught the difference between right and wrong. Death points out that the father who taught her this was an occasional smuggler.
--->'''Miss Flitworth:''' There's nothing wrong with smuggling!\\
'''Death:''' I MERELY POINT OUT THAT SOME PEOPLE THINK OTHERWISE.\\
'''Miss Flitworth:''' They don't count!
** Both Magrat in ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'' and the Senior Wrangler in ''Literature/TheScienceOfDiscworld 3'' have used the phrase "It can't be bad if ''we're'' doing it. We're the good ones!" Their colleagues have to point out that they've got cause and effect reversed there.
* ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight'' series is seen and judged through Zoey's sense of Morality. Even in ''Tempted'' and ''Burned'' (when different POVS and many new characters are introduced) and someone has a different opinion than Zoey's, they're considered to be having an [[OutOfCharacterMoment OOC moment]] at best or they're automatically considered to be a horrible bitch and/or in cahoots with the BigBad.
** The majority of characters consider Loren Blake to be idealized because he was a young good-looking substitute professor and [[spoiler:because Zoey was in love with him and DeathEqualsRedemption]]. He was also a sexual predator and a ManipulativeBastard. On top of that, he decided to toy with the feelings of the BigBad... A serious case of [[spoiler:TooDumbToLive and HoistByHisOwnPetard]]. He knew what the BigBad wanted and why she wanted him to do it and went along with her plans with no remorse.
** When Venus is introduced [[spoiler:she has just recently regained her humanity]] but she is deemed a horrible bitch and possibly evil in the first chapter of ''Hunted'', despite how Venus's personality is very close to that of Aphrodite. Why? [[spoiler:Because she DARED to flirt with Erik in front of Zoey and hooked up with him when Zoey and Erik broke up. Zoey was telling herself that it was wrong to behave and think the way she did, didn't stop it anyway.]]
** Zoey and her friends all call Aphrodite a "ho" for dating two guys, even though she began going out with the second one only sometime after the first one and is genuinely serious about him. Zoey, meanwhile, has dated/flirted with no less than four guys, and letting Heath continually lure her into feasting on his blood (which has strong sexual connotations in this universe), and she ''repeatedly'' calls herself out for being unable to settle on one guy. And yet when Erik calls her out on this in a later book, he's dismissed as just a jealous jerk by all her friends and we're clearly meant to disagree with her being a ho even when Aphrodite is supposed to be seen as one for ''less''.
** Raven Mockers are mindless creatures of Darkness and they should all be wiped out. Everybody agrees with the attitude and, as of ''Burned'', around twenty Raven Mockers have been killed. Even the idea of giving them a burial is seen as strange. The only exception is Stevie Rae and when she raises valid points of WhatMeasureIsANonHuman and IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim not only does every character tell her she's wrong but she is suspected of secretly turning over to TheDarkSide.
** How is it okay for the Red Fledglings that haven't "Chosen" yet to be running around killing people? Even after Stevie Rae gives them multiple chances to choose, and they try to kill her and her friends multiple times, she ends up just chasing them away/exiling them... as if wherever they end up, they'll be any less evil and bloodthirsty? It could simply be a moment of weakness, but the fact that they're Red Fledglings and thus "her people" seems to be what keeps her from stopping them from murdering any more innocents.
** The authors almost poke fun at this in Chapter 6 of ''Revealed'', when Kalona calls Zoey out for making a tactless comment concerning personal morality and Stark jumps to her defense, telling Kalona that he "just [doesn't] ''get'' her." Zoey is then shown to get all worked up and zone out when she realises that (gasp!) Kalona's assessment ''might be right''.
** In ''Hunted'', Zoey catches Stark raping a vampire girl through forcible blood drinking but ignores Darius condemning him because Nyx herself guides Zoey into deciding to redeem Stark. On the flipside, in ''Tempted'', Zoey calls Stark out on what he did and Stark angrily declares that she's been misled and turned against him by Kalona.
* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'' has a lot of this, quite possibly on purpose, since it was explicitly intended to be JustForFun/TropeOverdosed.
** Barak drunkenly raped his wife in the backstory, but nobody cares (except Barak himself, and then only in a 'kinda regrets the circumstances' way), because he's a good guy - though that could be coloured by the fact that the only one who heard about it is a 14-year-old Garion, and the terminology was sufficiently obscure that while most readers would get it straight off, it goes straight over Garion's head, meaning that no one else may actually have known.
** [[spoiler:Zakath]], once he joins the heroes, is considered to be a trustworthy friend, regardless of how he attempted to commit genocide and nearly did.
** Sadi dealt drugs like candy, including powerful hallucinogens and poisons.
** Silk nearly wiped out an entire family for the actions of a few, Hettar openly admits to murdering people on the road just because they were Murgos, and Polgara and Belgarath are much worse. The attitude seems to be 'If they're not on our side, they're horrible people who do horrible things. If they are on our side, they're good people who just made some bad choices.' Yeah, try telling that to the thousands of dead Murgos.
** Lampshaded many times when each person (especially [[LovableRogue Silk]]) admits to having various vices and refusing to accept it as being the same as the vices of others. Belgarath even refuses to classify it as [[BlackAndWhiteMorality Good vs. Evil]] and instead prefers to call it "them versus us." Considering that he's spent about 7000 years often being NecessarilyEvil, you can understand why he would.
** In the case of [[spoiler: Zakath]], it's a bit more ambiguous. It's noted a) that he spent most of the series as a cold-blooded monster, as a product of being manipulated into executing the woman he loved when he'd just taken the throne, which drives his genocidal RoaringRampageOfRevenge, b) nearly has a breakdown when he realises that pretty much everything he's done since the end of ''The Belgariad'' has been absolutely pointless, c) very nearly reverts after he feels as if he's been betrayed by the heroes. In other words, he's not presented as performing a HeelFaceTurn overnight, nor is it presented as either smooth or easy.
** Belgarath firmly believes that UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans, and has done everything he has done, including forcing people into loveless, dysfunctional marriages to ensure the birth of important figures, drugging up the Queen of the Dryads and forcing her people into a treaty with Tolnedra, a number of assassinations and a ten-year piss-up, to assure the victory of the Light.
* In ''Literature/TheElenium'', the Sparhawk's party slaughters enemies by dozens. They even kill in cold blood an unsympathetic teenage bastard who was unarmed and harmless. They only lose a single member by the end, killed in a fair fight while invading the enemy's HQ. Reaction of the party? They take this justified battle killing as a vile murder and the murderer is slowly and violently tortured to death. The "tortured murderer" was in fact a raping, torturing, murdering monster who [[PayEvilUntoEvil totally deserved his fate]], but their treatment is simply DisproportionateRetribution for ''that'' particular killing. We'll hear no remorse from Sparhawk for ''his'' murders.
* The protagonists of ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' commit all sorts of reprehensible acts in pursuit of their personal freedom from taxation, but Ragnar Danneskjöld, a pirate who exclusively plunders foreign aid ships, probably takes the cake.
** Another noteworthy instance is illustrated in two train journeys:
*** At the start of the book, Dagny Taggart is on a train that is stuck at a red signal and is at risk of being late for a meeting. She demands that the driver proceed despite the signal, laying out a chain of logic that works ''internally'' but fails to account for all the reasons why a signal might be at red[[note]]- she says the signal must be broken; there is no way for her to know if it is in fact letting them know that the track ahead is broken, flooded out, has a running train on it, has a ''broken-down'' train on it, etc[[/note]]. As she is the heroine of the novel, everything is just fine.
*** Later in the book, Kip Chalmers, a politician, also demands that ''his'' train be got moving again because he doesn't want to be late to his destination; because he is a looter and a villain, the result is that absolutely everyone on the train dies and infrastructure that is critical to the ''entire nation'' is destroyed.
*** [[JustForPun Objectively speaking]], these two characters make the same decision, with the same motivation, with the same lack of knowledge of what is going on elsewhere on the railroad; the only difference is in the author's respective opinions on them.
* ''Literature/TheFountainhead'': Everyone who's poor deserves it ''except of course Henry Cameron'', whose impoverished circumstances are because of ''eeeevil'' classical architecture. Then there's Howard Roark, the hero, who engages in [[AuthorAppeal sex that has]] QuestionableConsent and domestic terrorism, yet it's treated as a good thing when despite spending eight pages in a MotiveRant about how and why he did the latter, he's [[HollywoodLaw found not guilty anyway]].
* Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's protagonists routinely get away with being huge jerks to other characters. It's often portrayed as a flaw in a generalized way (Killashandra of ''Literature/CrystalSinger'' and Lessa of ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' are both understood to be overly short-tempered, for instance); but in most specific instances, the narrative rather makes it clear that "that (Designated) JerkAss had it coming." In ''Crystal Line,'' Killashandra humiliates a scientist for more than a page for the sole offense of being pedantic and giving a new substance a different name than she gave it, and it's PlayedForLaughs, and viciously justified a few pages later with descriptions of how space-sick the scientist and his partner got all over the ship that brought them in.

* ''Literature/HushHush'':
** Patch walks around threatening, mindraping, and torturing {{Nephilim}}, but seeing as he’s doing it for Nora, it’s okay. It's treated as evil when someone else does it.
** Nora does a good few cruel things to Marcie for revenge purposes (for example, [[spoiler:breaking into her bedroom and stealing her diary and anything Patch gave her]]), but all of them are excused as being justified. The few KickTheDog moments Marcie gets are treated like she horrifically tortured Nora.
* Parodied in ''Literature/LoveAndFreindship'', the satirical novel Creator/JaneAusten wrote as a teenager, in which the narrator Laura excuses any crimes whatsoever committed by herself, her husband Edward, and their friends Augustus and Sophia, but is merciless toward anyone who does not cater to their whims.
* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/ForerunnerForay'', Ziantha thinks taking over the bodies of the dead is a touch of {{Necromanc|er}}y. Having done so, she and the other psychic with her exploit the dead's past and the loyalties of the innocent guardsmen without regard to the effect they have on the ancient civilization -- and all for a purpose of GraveRobbing. It is taken for granted that the dead man's widow is malicious because of her hatred for him, though the book reveals nothing of their relations before. (True, the other psychic is doing it [[ForScience to discover more about the past]], not for financial reasons. Still.) Then when they come back to their own time, [[spoiler:he is at pains to keep her from being arrested for her crimes, not because she was exploited by the mastermind because of her youth and poverty, but because she's really useful]].
* In Creator/TamoraPierce's ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', a major event in ''Squire'' involves the fact that nobles are able to mistreat commoners at will and at worst must pay a fine ''if'' convicted, something that Kel protests vehemently when a friend of hers is the victim. She also agrees to give up her own noble right to duel the noble offender when the King agrees to change the law since that would undercut the point that the law must apply to all. But in ''Lady Knight'', Neal lays a spell on a man, cites his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections being a Queenscove]] when reminded it's illegal, and Kel unambiguously approves of this act. Yes, the man was an abusive JerkAss and there wasn't much chance of local justice, but Kel should have at least thought about the fact that Neal was flagrantly taking advantage of his birth to do this.
* There is a particularly blatant example in ''Literature/TheScarletLetter''. The antagonist Chillingworth does objectively good things: he gains great medical knowledge from the Indians at considerable personal risk and uses it for the benefit of the community. When Chillingworth comes home to see his wife (and indirectly himself) publicly shamed, he comforts Hester, medicates her and her daughter, and mostly blames himself for his wife's infidelity. He helps Dimmesdale medically and emotionally by correctly insisting that Dimmesdale will never fully recover until he relieves himself of whatever is weighing down his heart. Despite these good acts, the Puritans of Boston seem ungrateful for having a man who has put so much effort into becoming a great doctor for them and seem to interpret everything he does in the worst possible light. Everyone, including the narrator and Chillingworth himself, assumes that he is doing everything for the very worst of reasons. Just to hammer in his badness, the narrator makes Chillingworth ugly, and uglier as the story goes on. Protagonist Dimmesdale, on the other hand, does objectively bad things by ruining Hester's life and making Pearl grow up a poor pariah. He is extremely hypocritical in participating in the public shaming of Hester, even pretending to try to make her give away the name of her lover. He neither has the courage to confess and face the consequences nor to take his secret to the grave, instead choosing the most cowardly possible solution [[spoiler:(he waits until he only has seconds left to live to confess)]]. Yet he obviously has the sympathy of the narrator, Hester, and all of Boston.
* In the ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' series, Anita starts [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope sliding down the slippery slope]] of morality by the seventh or eighth book, noting how she's less affected by things as the series goes on, and can do things that morally she would have balked at earlier. However, everything she does is portrayed as the right and correct decision at the time, regardless of the consequences (and some of the things she's done would result in her perfectly legal summary execution), and she's quite willing to kill people for committing lesser crimes than she has who had decidedly greater justification than hers. She even set one character up who was supposedly under her protection to be hunted down and murdered simply because he refused to have sex with her. This was presented as the appropriate response to the reader.
* A lot of the behavior displayed by Literature/NancyDrew is downright meddlesome, snoopy, and intrusive, all of which is portrayed as perfectly okay, as she's a detective and the people she's displaying this behavior towards are jerks and/or suspects in her case. When anyone else acts like this, they are rightfully called out on their rudeness. This gets to the point where Nancy demands clarification on information that she learned while eavesdropping on a man's private conversation, and ''he's'' the one made to be the bad guy for screaming at her to mind her own business. Multiple times throughout the ''Files'' series, however, Nancy is blasted for this by everyone -- Bess, George, Ned, even her own father -- and her conduct is bad enough to cause a rift in her relationships with these people.
* The second book of ''Literature/TheCobraTrilogy'' has the titular Cobra super-soldiers agree to consider attacking the planet Qasama (which they know nothing about) in exchange for new territory elsewhere. They go to Qasama pretending to be a diplomatic party while actually spying, and when caught, kill a lot of Qasamans and threaten to do more damage until they're allowed to leave. Then they come back in greater force to conduct experiments and kill more Qasamans to make their getaway. Their conclusion: Jeez, these people we've attacked twice are a damn ''menace'', aren't they? We've got to start a full-scale war with them, quick! (The fact that the Qasamans used spy tricks and violence against the Cobras is cited as proof that they're dangerous, even though the Cobras were first to spy and first to kill.) In the end, the Cobras find a solution short of war that will "only" overturn the foundations of Qasaman society. But it's the Cobras doing all this, so yay! A few people on the Cobra side note that the conflict was probably unnecessary, but even then, most treat it as a strategic blunder rather than a [[HeelRealization maybe-we're-the-bad-guys realisation]].
* In ''Literature/SpiceAndWolf'', Lawrence claims to be a man of principle unlike other merchants, but it's shown that he and Holo are perfectly willing to engage in shady behavior such as [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord extortion]], {{Honey Trap}}ping a rival merchant who is in love with Holo, and [[WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk interrogating another merchant at knife point]]. Despite this, the story and other characters seem to genuinely believe that Lawrence is as principled as he claims and shrug off any mention of any morally dubious deeds, or justify them by saying that the others did it first. Meanwhile, whenever other merchants do these things, they are treated as cowardly and acts of wanton cruelty.
* In ''Literature/Twisted2010'', Railrunner gushes about how much he loves drinking blood and killing, and during his initial transformation and rampage, straight-out murders dozens of cops who were just doing their duty, then has the audacity to bitch that no one accepts him as he really is. He also has no problem with killing the Fallen, even though they're evil through no fault of their own... and he's the good guy!
* Shows up in ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars'' when Hazel and her friends [[spoiler:vandalize Monica's house as payback for her abruptly ditching Isaac after he lost his vision]].
* In ''Literature/TheFabulousFive'' series (or rather, its prequels), the titular characters have a club whose primary goal is find ways to humiliate AlphaBitch Taffy Sinclair, mostly out of jealousy over the fact that she's pretty. This is portrayed as right--even with the girls eventually being chewed out for their behavior--presumably because readers are assumed to be empathizing with the girls rather than with Taffy.
* Quite prevalent in Creator/LRonHubbard's ''Literature/MissionEarth''. {{Psycho Psychologist}}s using their black arts to twist the minds of their victims is evil, but the protagonists using [[HypnoTrinket hypno-helmets]] to reprogram their enemies into doing what they want is fine. The difference between the bad guys on Earth using Public Relations to manipulate the masses and the protagonist using Advanced Symbolic Logic to do the same is that the protagonists' civilization was doing it first. Even the books' central plot boils down to an attempt to free planet Earth from a tyrannical overlord so that an alien empire can conquer it over instead.
* The average Creator/DanielleSteel book will have any and all behavior by her heroes and heroines portrayed as perfectly okay, while identical behavior from the villains is despicable. In ''The Wedding'', a woman comes home from a business trip to find her boyfriend cavorting with another woman; she tells him off and throws him out, conveniently forgetting that she herself spent her trip having a fling with another man, who turns out to be her OneTrueLove, whom she marries at the end of the book in the titular ceremony. There's also her numerous [[MayDecemberRomance May-December romances]] being portrayed as perfectly common and normal--to the point where no one bats an eye at a 62-year-old man marrying an ''18-year-old'' girl (in ''A Perfect Stranger''), or a 49-year-old man falling in love with a ''15-year-old'' girl (in ''Family Album''). Unless you're a villain. Then, ''you'' "look like an idiot" with your younger girlfriend, even though the age difference is only 15 years.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter''
** An authority figure's open favoritism of the protagonists' rivals is used to characterize that character as a {{Jerkass}}. [=McGonagall=] (the Head of Gryffindor House, and the Deputy Headmistress), on the other hand, is portrayed as strict but fair despite the fact that she breaks the rules to put Harry on the team as a first year.
%%Please clarify and Administrivia/RepairDontRespond*** the entry is beyond defending.
** Snape's bullying of Harry due to his history with James Potter, is used to demonstrate that he's a SadistTeacher and a petty {{Jerkass}}. Meanwhile, Hagrid is depicted as a NiceGuy despite the fact that his introductory scene has him give Dudley a pig's tail purely because his father insulted Dumbledore [[note]] The movie adds a moment where Dudley starts eating the birthday cake Hagrid baked for Harry, possibly to make Hagrid's actions more sympathetic[[/note]], and [=McGonagall=] is seen as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and a CoolTeacher despite endangering Neville's life ''twice'' through punishments for relatively minor infractions [[note]] sending him, Harry, Hermione, and Malfoy out into the Forbidden Forest because he was caught out of bed after curfew, and later, when Neville writes down and misplaces the passwords to the Gryffindor common room, forcing him to spend hours locked outside his dormitory just after a dangerous convict broke into the castle[[/note]].
* ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' tells the story of brave patriots seceding from the United States in the face of PoliticalOvercorrectness, to preserve traditional Christian values. In the course of this, they seize federal land to sell to foreign developers, kidnap, torture, make liberal use of hostages and human shields, threaten the families of servicemen who fight against them, execute captured soldiers ''en masse'', assist a foreign invasion of the US, bomb their own allies, nuke an ally's city, threaten nuclear war with China, violently purge ideologically unreliable academics, and more. These are, at worst, the [[IDidWhatIHadToDo strictly necessary]] actions of a reasonable figure, more often, outright celebrated, unlike the federal opposition. When the heroes take pilots and their families hostage to deter bombing, it's a clever outside-the-box tactic, when the Feds assassinate a Confederate leader, it's a vile crime. When good Christians are sold into slavery in the Middle East, no effort or expense can be spared in securing their return home; when defeated feminists are sold into sexual slavery in the Middle East, it's only their just comeuppance and a chance to show them what ''real'' patriarchal oppression looks like.

* ''Literature/AsianSaga'': Subverted with shades of deconstruction. Dirk Struan, the protagonist of ''Tai-Pan'' is... not a very nice person. He comes across fairly well, due to having very progressive attitudes about employer-employee relations, intercultural interaction, and corporal punishment, but is completely ruthless in dealing with anyone who opposes him, in business or at sea. His EvilCounterpart, Tyler Brock, has more typical attitudes in regards to race, violence, and the treatment of women, but firmly believes that EvenEvilHasStandards and in many ways holds himself to a higher standard than Struan (among other things, he insists that Struan be "broken regular" i.e. killed in a fair fight, whereas Struan showed no qualms about sending a triad hit squad after Brock's son). Both Struan and Brock are POV characters at some point, and it is clear that, from their perspective and with the information they have, both are doing what they think is best for their families and the people around them. Both men are also very well aware that they are not angels, but rough-and-tumble China traders and opium smugglers, and that a lot of what they do as a matter of course is morally dodgy at best. Both men throw the phrase IDidWhatIHadToDo around with abandon.
** A telling scene is when Brock attempts to sink a lorcha-carrying bullion Dirk Struan intends to use to pay off a huge debt to Brock, who has been buying up Struan's mortgages in the hope of driving him out of business. Culum goes on a long rant about how Brock should hang for a pirate. Dirk just shrugs and says that if he had been in Brock's shoes he would have done exactly the same thing, and that Brock's only crime was failure.
** When ''Noble House'' rolls around some 200 years later Ian Dunross and Quillan Gornt (descendants of Struan and Brock, respectively) have romanticized the events of ''Tai-Pan'' thoroughly, and both openly consider their respective forefather to be a paragon and the other's a vile villain.
* In the third ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'' book, the innocently naive Fierce Dog pups lampshade the CarnivoreConfusion that comes with the series' AnimalReligion. The [[NatureSpirit Forest-Dog]] watches over the animals of the forest and if he's pleased with a dog he'll "give" them prey. Lick gets confused and asks "But if the Forest-Dog watches over the trees and animals, doesn't that mean he watches over voles and rabbits too?"
* ''Literature/HettyFeather'': The entire series is actually child and teenaged Hetty's memoirs, naturally unintentionally or even intentionally skewing facts at times.
* ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'': After learning his account's been frozen as Corellian Security has learned that he had deposited proceeds from selling stolen goods, Han takes the bank manager hostage before he can get arrested. This gets the man killed as he's shot when stormtroopers try to stop Han escaping. Yes, he didn't intend it, but it's probably the worst thing Han does in the trilogy. He never has to face any consequences for it either. This is just fine apparently, because he is the hero.
* ''Literature/TheToughGuideToFantasyland'': "Turncoat" is solely defined as someone who turns ''against'' the protagonist. People joining them are only doing what's right. Along with this, the {{barbarian hero}} is described rescuing a female slave from being kept in a harem, then has sex as a reward before abandoning them in the middle of nowhere (i.e. using them for sex much like their slave master would), yet remains a "hero" to people writing such a character.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' trilogy is entirely narrated by Katniss, and she tends to categorise whether someone is good or bad by whether she likes them or not. She frequently mocks Effie and her style team for worrying about how they're going to get her sponsors (which is their ''job''), but when Cinna makes her a pretty dress, she treats him like he's better than the other people in the Capitol. Johanna even calls her out on this in the third book when Katniss asks why Johanna hates her so much -- [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Johanna tells her that despite Katniss's angsting about what she suffered in her Hunger Games, she fails to appreciate that as the Mockingjay she gets special treatment because she's the symbol of the rebellion, whereas everyone else who suffered just as much or even more than she did just have to suck it up and get on with it because they have a war to win.]]
* [[DiscussedTrope Actively analyzed]] in ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs''. Protagonist Leon is a non-fan of the RomanceGame genre who was {{blackmail}}ed into beating a ScienceFantasy otome dating sim by his sister, before [[ReincarnateInAnotherWorld dying in an accident and reincarnating as a background character in the game world]], and therefore doesn't look kindly on its tropes.
** In the game, Olivia is portrayed as the pure-hearted heroine, while Angelica is portrayed as the villainess who opposes her; in the gameworld, Marie usurps Olivia's position for the same outcome. But from Angelica's perspective, she is trying to defend her engagement with a man she genuinely loves from someone trying to steal him away. Ditto the fiancees of the ''four'' other boys whom Olivia/Marie ensnare in the ReverseHarem route.
** Leon also notes that the ReverseHarem concept would have dramatic political implications that weren't addressed in the game, due to it being a PowerFantasy for heterosexual female players: not only is she breaking the preexisting engagements of several of the boys, but even were such a relationship to go through, it would [[SuccessionCrisis foul up the successions of their own houses]] since none of the boys could be completely sure he was the father of any given child.
* ''Literature/AscendanceOfABookworm'': The priests making the orphans in the temples's orphanage rely on handouts and begging all while preventing them from going to the forest to scavenge food themselves is condemned as horrible by Myne. Her solution is to get the orphans clothes in which they can go out to the forest and start a paper-making workshop to generate money that allows them to buy even more food and supplies, but that changes the system into one where, at least on paper, the orphans ''have'' to work for their meals. While this is portrayed as much more benevolent by the narrative because it makes the orphans develop good character and allows them get more food overall, it doesn't change the fact that they're working for Myne to be able to eat while the other priests were condemned as cruel for properly feeding only the orphans they took on as attendants all while literally leaving the others with their table scraps. That incident is keeping with the overall narrative, as Myne's social climbing comes with the situations in which she is the antagonistic figure increasing in number.

* Music/TaylorSwift's "You Belong With Me." The opening lyrics state that the boyfriend is having an argument with his girlfriend. She's apparently offended by something that he said. The next lyric is "she doesn't get your humour like I do". Because of course since Taylor is the narrator, her romantic rival clearly has to be in the wrong. She must of course be overreacting to a joke, rather than have a legit reason to be offended at something her boyfriend said to her. (The video plays with this by having Taylor portray both the narrative character of the song ''and'' the girlfriend.)
* The Music/SteveMillerBand's "Take the Money and Run." A pair of young, possibly teenage protagonists rob and murder someone, mainly out of boredom, then escape the police and flee to Mexico. Everything about the song acts like we should be rooting for them rather than the police detective who's trying to bring them in (because CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority).

--> ''I loot plot armor from [=NPCs=]\\

* ''Film/TheLastJedi'' applies this to Kylo Ren, the ostensible villain, as his POV, desires, and feelings are given more leeway and weight than those of the actual heroes and previous protagonists. He exited the [[Film/TheForceAwakens last film]] as an unrepentant mass murderer, torturer, and slave master who personally [[MindRape violated]] the main heroine Rey and maimed the male lead Finn after murdering his loving father Han Solo… and ''remains'' thoroughly unrepentant and ObviouslyEvil throughout this one, but suddenly gains the sympathy, faith, and attraction of Rey without explanation or cause to the extent she willingly allows herself to be violated again to try and turn him to the light side, has her and his uncle Luke Skywalker ignore that he murdered his uninvolved fellow students immediately after Luke’s MyGreatestMistake moment, and is generally portrayed in a very forgiving and entitled light… all while the film holds previously established heroes Luke, Finn, and Poe to impossibly higher standards, and even treats the latter two as two versions of CreatorsPest, and treats other villains like Hux and Snoke as worse when there’s no discernible moral difference between Kylo and them. The film’s director Rian Johnson has admitted to ordering scenes re-scored to present Rey’s attraction to Kylo in favorable light, and cited Kylo as someone everyone could relate to, while a published article in Star Wars Insider noted that Rey and Kylo’s relationship was a textbook abusive one, while Creator/JohnBoyega has publicly noted the disparate treatment his role received starting with Film/TheLastJedi.

* ''Film/PatchAdams'': Dean Walcott is unambiguously presented as the film's villain because he tries to block the title character's graduation from medical school. This despite the fact that Patch frequently behaves immaturely in class, impersonates a third-year medical student so he can get in to see hospital patients, sneaks into patients' rooms late at night to bombard them with balloons, advocates a "laughter cures everything" approach to medicine that he never even ''attempts'' to prove with science, practices medicine out of his house without a license, steals supplies from a hospital, and gets some of the highest grades in school even though no one ever sees him studying (making it perfectly logical to suspect him of cheating). Worst of all, his methods [[spoiler:directly lead to the murder of another med student]]. But of course, since he's the protagonist, anyone who doesn't think he would make a good doctor must be evil. The real Patch Adams was quite upset about this portrayal of his life, which was highly inaccurate. [[http://channelawesome.com/nostalgia-critic-patch-adams/ The Nostalgia Critic had a field day with this]].

* "I'm the Main Character" by Will Wood is sung by a {{narcissist}}ic {{Jerkass}} utterly convinced that this is in effect for them and blissfully unaware of the harm they do.

* In ''LightNovel/FallingInLoveWithTheVillainess'', the "good" and "bad" of the story is almost entirely decided by Rion, a MisanthropeSupreme anti-hero who rightly hates the world he's been reincarnated into, since that world has a will of its own and seems to enjoy his suffering, or at least taking everything he cares for away from him, if not both. Fortunately, his judgement tends to be right far more often than not.

* E. E. Smith's ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series exemplifies this. The actions of various protagonists are consistently applauded -- including one-man judge/jury/execution, destruction of entire planets/solar systems/civilizations, with or without noncombatants, various nasty means of underhanded (or overhanded) warfare, torture, mind rape, etc. It's stated in-story that only paragons of IncorruptiblePurePureness can ever be Lensmen in the first place (and that the Arisians are actively weeding out those who fall short just before they actually get Lenses), but we do have to kind of take the author's word for it.