| abstract | - Some orphans have it easy, but not these ones. This trope is about fiction highlighting the unpleasant side of losing one's parents to death or abandonment. The parents are lost recently, and the main plot (or at least a major subplot) involves dealing with this loss. This generally includes some combination of:
* Grieving over the loss.
* Finding surrogate parents or family, whether blood relatives or True Companions. Complications may arise from finding a new family (perhaps involving a stay at the Orphanage of Fear or under an Illegal Guardian), or from fitting in with the new family. Expect the kid to refer to the new parents by their first name, rather than Mom or Dad, for some time.
* Discovering some heretofore-unknown aspect of the parents' lives, and investigating it. This attempt to understand their roots can be a subtle (or not) metaphor for the search for self-understanding.
* In particularly idealistic series, the parents may be unintentionally missing, rather than dead, and the plot would involve finding or rescuing them. The character is often a Heartwarming Orphan. If they're especially unlucky, they will be Raised by Orcs. Contrast with Conveniently an Orphan, where orphanhood is used simply as a plot-enabler. Also see Happily Adopted. Examples of Orphan's Ordeal include:
|
