Basic Trope: A character punishes another by forcing them to skip a meal, giving them worse food than others, or disallowing them from eating a specific food.
- Straight: Nine-year-old Alice plays in the study of her father, Bob, which she isn't allowed to do, so he sends her to bed without dinner as punishment.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob punishes Alice by having her not eat any food at all for a week.
- Bob doesn't let Alice eat as punishment for any transgression, no matter how minor.
- Downplayed:
- As punishment for playing in his study, Bob doesn't allow Alice to put hot sauce on her food.
- Bob punishes Alice by giving her food she doesn't like as much.
- Bob only sends Alice to bed without dinner as a last resort.
- Justified:
- Bob is abusive.
- Bob's own parents also punished him as a kid by sending him to bed without dinner.
- Alice ruined dinner, and her parents only had enough time and money for takeout for two. She's got to learn actions have consequences at some time.
- The setting is one where food is strictly rationed, and Alice is being punished for taking more than her allocated share.
- Inverted:
- Subverted: Bob makes Alice go to bed early as punishment for playing in his study, but he brings her some food.
- Double Subverted: He still doesn't allow her any dessert, though.
- Averted:
- Bob lets Alice off with a warning.
- Alice doesn't misbehave.
- Bob gives Alice a different punishment, such as making her sit on a "naughty step".
- Enforced: "We need to create tension between the little girl and her dad. How about have him send her to bed without dinner?"
- Lampshaded: "Without dinner?!"
- Invoked: Bob's father, Chris, encourages him to send Alice to bed without dinner if she misbehaves, because that's what he did when Bob was a child.
- Exploited: Alice doesn't like whatever's for dinner, so she gets in trouble specifically to try and get this punishment.
- Defied:
- "No. I don't care what she did wrong, I'm not depriving my little girl of food!"
- Alice keeps a secret stash of food in case Bob tries to punish her by depriving her of a meal.
- Discussed: "Oh no! Now I'm busted! What if he sends me to bed with no dinner!?"
- Conversed: "What is it with fictional parents and sending their kids to bed without dinner? Does anyone still do that?!"
- Implied: Alice is very hungry at night and blames Bob.
- Deconstructed:
- Being sent to bed without dinner makes Alice very hungry, so she raids the kitchen.
- Alice ends up severely malnourished as a result of Bob repeatedly depriving her of food. This leads to Bob losing custody of her and being prosecuted for child cruelty.
- Alice runs away from home to escape Bob, believing that she doesn't matter to him if he would refuse to feed her.
- This is seen as blatant evidence of abusive behavior from Bob (correctly or not, Depending on the Writer) and it will end with him getting the book thrown to his face by Child Services.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob is standing right at the refrigerator.
- Bob understands that malnourishment can be an unintended consequence, so he only does this very sparingly.
- Alice's uncle Carl discovers her and takes her in, promising to never administer such a terrible punishment ever again.
- Played for Laughs: Alice is a comically obese Big Eater, and begs Bob to do Anything but That! whenever he catches her doing something she's not supposed to do.
- Played for Drama: See Deconstructed 2 and 3.
- Played for Horror:
- Bob is being stricter to Alice than usual because he's being possessed by a demon.
- Because of these punishments, Alice is so malnourished that she is constantly one skipped meal away from death. And knowing this, Bob punishes her yet again…
- Alice develops an eating disorder because of the psychological scars of this tactic. And skips means as self-flagellation for having this disorder.
- Alice was okay with not eating dinner once if that meant standing up to Bob. But Jim was sentenced to not eat dinner either, and it was his favorite food, so he decides to murder Alice and Bob in revenge.
Back to Denied Food as Punishment, or you're not getting any dinner!
