Basic Trope: A character hates being pitied.
- Straight: Alice shows sympathy for Bob after his brother dies. Bob responds by snapping angrily at her.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice shows sympathy for Bob when his brother dies. Bob responds by beating the living daylights out of her.
- Bob's family and friends have all been murdered by a gang with whom he has an impossible debt with, his ex-girlfriend has spread the word that Bob has a tiny penis to every single female in the world who takes her word for it, and has an immortality curse that forbids him from committing suicide. Alice, the only survivor, hears his story and replies with the ever-so-slightest hint of pity in her voice, so Bob pulls out a gun and shoots her.
- Downplayed:
- Alice shows sympathy for Bob after his brother dies, and he frowns at her and does not seem comforted.
- Alice shows sympathy for Bob after his brother dies, and he deflects any comments or questions on how he is doing.
- Bob's reaction to another person showing sympathy for him depends on who that person is. Al is a paparazzo that Bob finds to be annoying, so he snaps angrily at him; Alice is one of Bob's loved ones, so he appreciates her concern.
- Justified:
- Bob has been receiving pity about his dead brother all day and this is the last straw.
- The pity is rubbing his emotional wounds and hurting more than it helps.
- Bob feels he does not deserve their sympathy.
- Bob finds Alice's pity to be degrading, and is too proud to accept it easily.
- Bob does not want any pity from Alice whom he has shown to have a strong dislike for her for certain reasons.
- Bob was taught that pity equals weakness which did not help an already troubled childhood.
- Bob simply dislikes excess attention.
- Bob is genuinely fine, yet other wrongly believe that he's currently suffering a Fate Worse than Death.
- Bob would be okay with getting pity from any other person on the planet, but Alice is his Sitcom Arch-Nemesis and she has exploited other moments he's been hurt to deliver further insults disguised as compassion, so Bob refuses to take a chance that this is the one time Alice will actually behave.
- Inverted:
- Bob asks Alice to show him pity because his brother died, but Alice tells him that he does not deserve, or does not really want pity.
- Alice seems like she's being genuinely compassionate to Bob, but everyone can tell from her wording and the context of the situation that she is actually mocking him.
- Wangst
- Bob is hurting for whatever reason, but Alice tells him it is not worth crying over.
- Bob is angry that he feels pity for Alice.
- Subverted: Alice shows pity and Bob looks angry and takes a deep breath as if to yell at her...but then thanks her for her concern...
- Double Subverted: ...but deep down he hates the pity he receives.
- Parodied:
- Alice pities Bob for a different reason than what he feels he would be pitied for.
- Mr. T does the pitying. He comes out of nowhere for the sole purpose of pitying a foo'.
- Alice pities Bob for not getting any peanut butter, but Bob's response is to beat her into a puddle.
- Zig Zagged: Bob is on the verge entering the trope when he decides to just thank her for it, but, deep inside, he wants to kill her because he hates pity, but, at the same time, since he is in love with Alice that would be a way for him to think she loves him. Plus, in the deep end he is just trying to convince himself that he is a tough guy by refusing pity...
- Averted: Bob accepts Alice's pity without any problems.
- Enforced: "We need to keep Bob's stoic badassery even though he just watched his brother die. Make him reject Alice's pity."
- Lampshaded: "You know, normal people would accept people's pity, not try to make them stop. But hey, you do you, asshole."
- Invoked: The Big Bad disguises himself as the hero's lancer, and claims to have witnessed a tragic event that happened in the Hero's life, and uses that to try to divide the hero and his lancer (and the rest of his friends perhaps).
- Exploited: Charlie uses this to send Bob's reputation into the toilet, by causing something bad to happen to him and watch as Bob pushes away anybody who would be willing to help him.
- Defied: Bob is about to rail on Alice, but realizes she means well and instead politely says, "I appreciate your concern."
- Discussed: "You think Bob would take well my pity?" "No! He's insanely stoic, he wouldn't take pity even if his life depended on it..."
- Conversed: "I think they should just respect Bob's wishes against pity and, y'know, not give him some?"
- Implied: After a major tragedy, Alice walks up to Bob and puts a hand on his shoulder. Bob literally shrugs her off.
- Deconstructed:
- No matter how badly screwed up Bob's emotional state becomes, he refuses pity, to keep up his charade of nothing being wrong, ultimately causing him to self-destruct.
- Bob's rejection of his friends' sympathy drives them away, as they decide that the Ungrateful Bastard is not worth it. As such, when Bob decides that he does want pity, no one is inclined to feel it for him or offer help.
- Culture is a major factor that determines how people react to pity. Culture A values personal dignity and "saving face", so the people there generally reject any form of pity. By contrast, culture B values solidarity, so the people there generally frown upon rejecting pity, while encouraging the acceptance of sympathy.
- Reconstructed:
- Post-BSOD Bob examines his own feelings, and realizes that he has a deep seated fear of seeming weak. He realizes his friends are showing sympathy for him not because they think he is weak, but because they are genuinely concerned. He starts accepting offers of support from his friends. He still refuses to accept pity now and again, but usually over minor things.
- Bob finds his friends and apologizes for being so stubborn and ungrateful. He still does not want to be seen as weak, but is willing to accept help and comfort from his friends. To his surprise, his friends quickly forgive him.
- Alternatively, just as Bob finally comes around to accepting his friend's pity, Alice calls Bob's friends out on shunning Bob for refusing their pity and for confusing pity for real empathy, when in reality pity is more closely related to Condescending Compassion. Alice then demands Bob stand up for himself and tell his supposed friends off for manipulating him while he was vulnerable.
- Played For Drama:
- Bob hates being pitied... because he thinks he is not worth it.
- His friends have to deal with this attitude so many times that they soon decide to just wash their hands of him. Alice objects to this, but the rest of Bob's friends state that they no longer want any part of this nonsense.
- Bob suffered a Career-Ending Injury that left him in a wheelchair and his newfound limitations resulted in a severe inferiority complex; he correllates the people who give him pity with those who think Disabled Means Helpless and who keep offering him Unwanted Assistance. As a result, Bob feels the need to prove he is more than a victim, with everyone who pities his situation being Innocently Insensitive who keep feeding Bob's feelings of inadequacy.
- Bob is a high-profile celebrity who is currently in a turbulent state due to his brother's death. He desires to be left alone and grieve alongside his loved ones. Unfortunately for him, Bob is bombarded left and right by the media and other anonymous people giving him unwanted attention. He is forced to play the role of a Nice Guy appreciating their concern, while in fact he secretly resents those people for being nosy and obtrusive. Cue angst.
- Played For Laughs: Bob stubs his toe. Alice cringes in sympathy, only to get a twenty-minute lecture from Bob.
- Played For Horror:
- Alice's attempt at being kind to Bob, unfortunately, makes him completely snap and go on to commit brutal atrocities on the alleged "two-faced phonies" who wanted to "butt in on his privacy".
- Alice is The Sociopath and her attempt at cheering up Bob was a very rare moment of her showing actual kindness to a fellow human. She really does not takes it well when Bob tosses it back to her face.
Stop your pitying! And get back to Don't You Dare Pity Me!!
- Fine....ungrateful little maggot!
