Shut UP, Hannibal/Literature
Examples of a Shut UP, Hannibal reaction in Literature include:
Discworld
- Granny Weatherwax delivers one to the Queen of Fairies in Lords and Ladies, and even turns it around by lecturing the fairies themselves.
Go back. You call yourself some kind of goddess and you know nothing, madam, nothing! What don't die can't live. What don't live can't change. What don't change can't learn. The smallest creature that dies in the grass knows more than you. You're right. I'm older. You've lived longer than me but I'm older than you. And better'n you. And, madam, that ain't hard. |
- Carrot also steps on the Big Bad's Break Them by Talking quite beautifully in Men at Arms by just walking up to him and impaling him with a sword.
- This is one of Pratchett's Big Ideas: in the book, Vimes thinks: "If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
- And how can we forget Death in Hogfather?
You can't do this, there are rules! |
- Nanny Ogg gets one near the end of Wyrd Sisters, when she smashes the Dutchess on the back of the head with a cauldron mid-speech.
Nanny: She does like to go on, doesn't she? |
- Vimes to Carcer Dun at the end of Night Watch:
"The machine ain't broken, Carcer. The machine is waiting for you. The city will kill you dead. The proper wheels'll turn. It'll be fair, I'll make sure of that. Afterward you won't be able to say you you didn't have a fair trial." |
- Played with in A Hat Full of Sky, where Tiffany mentally prepares a long and scathing retort to Anagramma chastising her for missing an opportunity to show up Granny Weatherwax, but decides the other girl just wouldn't get it. So Tiffany settles for giving Anagramma a meaningful smirk and telling her "Oh, shut up."
Other works
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Puddleglum does this to The Vamp, narrowly preventing her from brainwashing him and the rest of the heroes.
"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia." |
- Bonus points for Puddleglum, because he managed to achieve a Shut UP, Hannibal epic win even after conceding to everything she'd said.
- Harry Dresden of The Dresden Files does this a lot, though mostly to the mobster Marcone. It should be noted, though, that Harry reacts this way even when Marcone is making a very reasonable offer and being very polite about it. Harry can be kind of a dick himself. Marcone's general response is to snark back and look amused. (Also, when the hero has called up the gangster on three occasions in the books (Death Masks, White Night and Changes) and asked the gangster for help—and received it, on both occasions—well, I'm not sure Marcone can be classed solely as a villain any longer.)
- Absolutely, Marcone is a bad guy. You failed to notice that in each case, Marcone got something HE wanted as well, even if it was only a bit of leverage on Harry. Marcone is criminal scum with style—and that is all he is.
- One of the more dramatic ones is when Harry gives one of these to Queen Mab at the end of Ghost Story. When she brings him back to life, Harry says he will honor his word, but must do it his way, or else he becomes a mindless thug. In a partial subversion, the recipient is both furious and elated at this statement.
- Gandalf does this to Saruman in The Two Towers, and destroys Saruman's staff for good measure.
- Theoden does this to Saruman right before Gandalf does; Gandalf just has a bit more oomph to it.
- In The Return of the King Gandalf is being lectured by Sauron's messenger, who tells Gandalf "Those are the terms. Take them or leave them!" Gandalf, knowing that the messenger is lying, saying "These we will take!" and then zaps the messenger and takes Frodo's gear.
- Detailed further in this trope's quote page is the gem from the climax of Blade of Tyshalle.
- In Bones of the Hills, when the Mongols have razed the Assassins' fortress, the Old Man of the Mountains attempts to break Genghis Khan by telling him he doesn't understand anything, that he only knows destruction, and that nobody will remember him after he's gone. The gurkhan just laughs and orders Tsubodai to kill him.
- In Red Dragon, Will Graham comes about as close as anyone gets to giving Hannibal Lecter himself this treatment. Granted, he says it out loud to a written letter, but it shows exactly what he thinks about having the same motivations as a deranged serial killer.
- Earlier in the book, he calls one of Lecter's bluffs by walking away when he tries to get a lecture rolling.
- In Shadow Puppets by Orson Scott Card, Achilles has blackmailed Bean into coming onto Achilles' home turf unarmed. He proceeds to pontificate about his immeasurable genius and overall badassery until he realizes he's been betrayed by his 'compatriots'. Suddenly Bean has a gun and Achilles has a knife.
Achilles: You can't just kill a man in cold blood, no matter how much you hate him. It's not in you to do that. |
- Earlier, Achilles tries to ransom Bean's test tube babies, using one as a shield saying he wouldn't dare hurt it. Bean crushes it beneath his foot
- In "Felidae" by Akif Pirincci, Francis delivers this to Pascal/Claudandus shortly before their final battle.
Francis: 'Everyone wants to rule the world', I said, filled with sorrow. 'Really, absolutely everyone. That's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always about in the end. And every species believes that it's number one. Every individual is firmly convinced that he or she alone has the right to ascend to the throne and issue orders to get rid of others. And in reality everyone is fooling themselves, because up there on the throne it's lonely and cold. We don't have anyting more to say to one another, my friend. I understand the reasons why you unleashed this nightmare, and I don't want to conceal from you either that I harbour certain feelings of sympathy for your remorselessly cruel plans. But not at this price, no, not at this terrible price! I will fight you and do everything in my power to destroy your life's work. This I swear as sure as I am standing here. And I'm going to begin by deleting this unspeakable program. I'm sorry...' |
- In War of the Dreaming by John C. Wright, the heroes deliver a magnificent rebuttal against a Physical God insisting that Humans Are the Real Monsters: Azrael revokes his power, and tells him to sit down and shut up.
- In one of the most surprising examples of this trope, Aibileen, of all people, interrupts Miss Hilly's attempts to threaten her at the end of The Help and then proceeds to blackmail her:
Miss Hilly: I won't tolerate liars. |
- In the novelisation of Iron Man 2, Tony throws Ivan's words about being a thief and murderer back in the latter's face by pointing out that the latter has himself taken lives.
- In the Honor Harrington novels:
- Michael Oversteegen gives an absolutely brilliant one to the Mesan Navy commander in Crown of Slaves.
"At least, Sir, the uniform of the Queen of Manticore has never been sold t' the service of whoremasters, murderers, pedophiles, sadists, and perverts. I suppose, however, that those of you who choose t' serve in the navy of Mesa feel comfortable amid such company." |
- Aivars Terekhov gets a similar one in The Shadow of Saganami.
"And honesty compels me to add that neither I nor any other Manticoran officer have conspired with genetic slavers, pirates, terrorists, and mass murderers to commit acts of war on the sovereign territories of at least two independent star nations. Your government has done precisely that. My responsibility to see to it that those unprovoked and murderous assaults end now overrides any responsibility I may have towards your personnel." |
- Mara Jade gives an awesome one in I Jedi, mockingly comparing the villain-of-the-week to Darth Vader and Palpatine.
- Barra the Pict pulls this trope on God Himself in Jericho Moon, shaking off the effects of a psychic "The Reason You Suck" Speech to axe the guy who's channeling Old-Testament Yahweh's energies from the Ark of the Covenant.
- Near the end of the Time Scout series, Kit Carson shuts up Senator Caddrick then goes back to bed.
- Sisterhood series by Fern Michaels: In the book Under The Radar, the Prophet Harold Evanrod gives his followers of the pedophile polygamist sect Heaven On Earth a speech about how the outsiders who have invaded their homes are doomed to damnation and that the Heaven On Earth people are righteous and will prevail. Kathryn Lucas responds, "Cut the bullshit, you creep, and do what this guy tells you, or you'll be picking your brains off your upper lip." That makes him shut up.
- In the Dale Brown novel Shadows of Steel, Admiral Tufayli tries to call Madcap Magician killers and doesn't live to regret it. In Shadow Command, Leonid Zevitin tries to lecture Patrick McLanahan on becoming a killer because It's Personal. He doesn't live to get away with it.
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