Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Good Lord Bird

 The Good Lord Bird
type
TVTItem
 The Good Lord Bird
label
The Good Lord Bird
 The Good Lord Bird
page
TheGoodLordBird
 The Good Lord Bird
comment
The Good Lord Bird is a 2013 Historical Fiction novel authored by James McBride as a retelling of the life and death of radical abolitionist John Brown, which is at once darkly comedic, dramatic and epic. The story concerns itself with the young former slave Henry Shackleford, nicknamed "Onion" and mistaken for a woman after being freed by John Brown and his militia and becoming friends with him. From Bleeding Kansas to the doomed Harper's Ferry raid, Little Onion gets to witness firsthand the might and madness of John Brown while discovering his own identity as America itself changes with time.In 2020 the novel was faithfully adapted into a seven-episode miniseries by Blumhouse Productions for Showtime, starring Ethan Hawke as John Brown and Joshua Caleb Johnson as Henry "Onion" Shackleford. James McBride acted as an executive producer.
 The Good Lord Bird
fetched
2024-03-08T05:45:34Z
 The Good Lord Bird
parsed
2024-03-08T05:45:34Z
 The Good Lord Bird
processingComment
Dropped link to Dramedy: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Good Lord Bird
processingComment
Dropped link to Foil: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Good Lord Bird
processingComment
Dropped link to HistoricalDomainCharacter: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Good Lord Bird
processingComment
Dropped link to MissionFromGod: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Good Lord Bird
processingComment
Dropped link to TheWestern: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Good Lord Bird
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Good Lord Bird / int_131e6871
type
Crazy Sane
 The Good Lord Bird / int_131e6871
comment
Crazy Sane: Ultimately where the narrative lands regarding John Brown. Towards the end of the narrative, a slaver calls him a madman, and Brown simply points out he's the sanest man he'll ever meet: it's all those who stand by and support slavery who have gone mad. In short, Brown's erratic, bombastic and may be hallucinating, but as Onion points out, his judgement of society is perhaps the sanest one in the entire narrative.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_131e6871
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_131e6871
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_131e6871
 The Good Lord Bird / int_15d8e4f5
type
Slave Liberation
 The Good Lord Bird / int_15d8e4f5
comment
Slave Liberation: Brown and his followers plan to seize the Harper's Ferry US armory, arm the slaves in the nearby areas with the guns then spark a huge slave revolt which will eradicate slavery in general. They fail, but it adds fuel to the coming civil war, ending slavery in the US.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_15d8e4f5
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_15d8e4f5
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_15d8e4f5
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2139c878
type
Church Militant
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2139c878
comment
Church Militant: John Brown is a very proud Christian, and his path of faith is one laced with gunpowder against those who would support slavery. This also goes for his army, who share his views by and large (though with less fervor most times).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2139c878
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2139c878
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_2139c878
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2439b588
type
As the Good Book Says...
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2439b588
comment
As the Good Book Says...: John Brown, true to his historical self, is always quoting biblical verses no matter the situation (and often prompting others to recite them to him).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2439b588
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2439b588
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_2439b588
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28b2f93a
type
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28b2f93a
comment
Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Brown, his followers, the abolitionists generally and former slaves who join them all believe this naturally. As a result, he and his army go to extreme lengths fighting against it.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28b2f93a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28b2f93a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_28b2f93a
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28f852ea
type
Wholesome Crossdresser
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28f852ea
comment
Wholesome Crossdresser: Onion puts on a dress as a disguise early on, and gets mistaken for a girl after that by Brown, necessitating that he continue it. Finally he tries to confess what happened, but Brown stops him (apparently already knowing it) and says this doesn't matter, only the person Onion is.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28f852ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_28f852ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_28f852ea
 The Good Lord Bird / int_297ab1b9
type
Parental Abandonment
 The Good Lord Bird / int_297ab1b9
comment
Parental Abandonment: Onion's father gets killed in his first scene. His mother was apparently already dead.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_297ab1b9
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_297ab1b9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_297ab1b9
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2ae29c0d
type
The Dreaded
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2ae29c0d
comment
The Dreaded: Everyone on the side of slavery is utterly terrified of John Brown.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2ae29c0d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_2ae29c0d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_2ae29c0d
 The Good Lord Bird / int_31708bd3
type
Terror Hero
 The Good Lord Bird / int_31708bd3
comment
Terror Hero: Brown fights for the righteous end of slavery, but he does so by some very bloody and gruesome methods that leave his enemies in utter panic.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_31708bd3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_31708bd3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_31708bd3
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bc88a7f
type
Foregone Conclusion
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bc88a7f
comment
Foregone Conclusion: Even if you're unaware of the life and death of John Brown, the very first scene of the miniseries is John Brown walking to the gallows as Onion looks on. On the other hand, the survival of Owen Brown and O.P. Anderson isn't in much doubt, as they later fought on the Union side of the American Civil War.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bc88a7f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bc88a7f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_3bc88a7f
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bfd638c
type
Warts and All
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bfd638c
comment
Warts and All: The idea here is to portray all historical figures with no hagiography. There's Brown himself portrayed as an unstable madman (if an undeniably righteous one), but the other prominent example is the focus given to Douglass's gigantic ego and womanizing ways.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bfd638c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3bfd638c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_3bfd638c
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3f11ef74
type
Parental Substitute
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3f11ef74
comment
Parental Substitute: Brown grows to be something of a weird father figure for Onion (as the story begins with his father's death).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3f11ef74
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_3f11ef74
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_3f11ef74
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cbee83
type
Wretched Hive
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cbee83
comment
Wretched Hive: Pikesville, Missouri, is a microcosm of every nasty frontier town in every gritty Western you've ever watched. It seems to be one of the only locations in the story that's entirely fictional, which is probably just as well.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cbee83
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cbee83
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_40cbee83
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: As expected, John Brown ultimately gets hanged for treason, but his death provides the spark that lit the fuse for the end of institutional slavery in the US. Onion also survives as one of the few survivors of his militia.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cc0c7e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_40cc0c7e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_40cc0c7e
 The Good Lord Bird / int_5e2e55e4
type
The Casanova
 The Good Lord Bird / int_5e2e55e4
comment
The Casanova: Frederick Douglass gets along quite nicely with the ladies. One of Brown's soldiers, Sam Cooke, also has an affinity for the fairer sex (which proves to be a problem when his philandering gets in the way of Brown's plans).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_5e2e55e4
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_5e2e55e4
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_5e2e55e4
 The Good Lord Bird / int_6439de78
type
Heroic Sacrifice
 The Good Lord Bird / int_6439de78
comment
Both of them make a Heroic Sacrifice as a result of their opposition to slavery, although Brown does so with the intent of inspiring more fighters for freedom, while Sibonia tries to limit the backlash against other slaves, accepting her death stoically and refusing to give up anyone else. We never even find out for sure whether the alleged slave revolt was real in the first place, or whether Pikesville's slaveholders murdered her based on rumor and paranoia.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_6439de78
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_6439de78
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_6439de78
 The Good Lord Bird / int_66dfe36a
type
Missing Mom
 The Good Lord Bird / int_66dfe36a
comment
Missing Mom: Brown's wife is dead, leaving him to care for their children. Her Bible remains a heirloom for them.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_66dfe36a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_66dfe36a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_66dfe36a
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7464705c
type
Arc Words
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7464705c
comment
Arc Words: "What a beautiful country", spoken by John Brown a few times (including as he's about to be executed). There's always a underlying irony that Brown and his allies seem to essentially be at open war with the United States as it existed in their time, but still find it is (or perhaps could be) "a beautiful country".
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7464705c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7464705c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_7464705c
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7885de85
type
MyDeathIsOnlyTheBeginning
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7885de85
comment
My Death Is Only The Beginning: Brown plans for his death to be the spark to ignite the end of slavery in the US. He succeeds.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7885de85
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7885de85
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_7885de85
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7bc90010
type
Hearing Voices
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7bc90010
comment
Hearing Voices: Brown seems to hear God's voice speaking to him from time to time.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7bc90010
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_7bc90010
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_7bc90010
 The Good Lord Bird / int_805deb6e
type
Small Role, Big Impact
 The Good Lord Bird / int_805deb6e
comment
Small Role, Big Impact: "The General" Harriet Tubman shows up for exactly one scene, but the weight she has on the narrative is colossal.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_805deb6e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_805deb6e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_805deb6e
 The Good Lord Bird / int_820133fd
type
Tragic Hero
 The Good Lord Bird / int_820133fd
comment
Tragic Hero: Brown's unflinching faith in his own ideals ultimately render him into a societal pariah, cost him his men, several of his sons and ultimately his own life.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_820133fd
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_820133fd
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_820133fd
 The Good Lord Bird / int_823c6e3e
type
Large Ham
 The Good Lord Bird / int_823c6e3e
comment
Large Ham: John Brown is not a subtle man in any regard. Ethan Hawke's portrayal oscillates between a snarling and screaming at the drop of a hat.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_823c6e3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_823c6e3e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_823c6e3e
 The Good Lord Bird / int_95a70bb1
type
Wild Hair
 The Good Lord Bird / int_95a70bb1
comment
Wild Hair: Brown's hair (and beard) gets progressively more unkempt and scraggly as the story goes on. By the end you can barely see his face.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_95a70bb1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_95a70bb1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_95a70bb1
 The Good Lord Bird / int_9d27a8be
type
Army of Thieves and Whores
 The Good Lord Bird / int_9d27a8be
comment
Army of Thieves and Whores: John Brown's recruiting standards are extremely lax.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_9d27a8be
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_9d27a8be
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_9d27a8be
 The Good Lord Bird / int_a1b141f4
type
My God, What Have I Done?
 The Good Lord Bird / int_a1b141f4
comment
My God, What Have I Done?: The last we hear of Douglass, he seems quite sad that Brown's plan failed in part because he didn't support him.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_a1b141f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_a1b141f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_a1b141f4
 The Good Lord Bird / int_b4fce1ab
type
Obfuscating Insanity
 The Good Lord Bird / int_b4fce1ab
comment
Obfuscating Insanity: Sibonia the slave, at first glance, appears to be an annoying but tragic character, who has simply cracked under the pressure of a life in chains. Don't believe it for a second.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_b4fce1ab
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_b4fce1ab
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_b4fce1ab
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bc74ef27
type
Berserk Button
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bc74ef27
comment
Berserk Button: Brown is a gentle (if kooky and eccentric) man...unless you support slavery in any fashion. Then he'll probably lop off your head with a broadsword on the spot.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bc74ef27
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bc74ef27
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_bc74ef27
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bdb5c651
type
Real Men Love Jesus
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bdb5c651
comment
Real Men Love Jesus: Brown is a hugely badass anti-slavery crusader who's also a fervent Christian. The same applies to many of his followers on a lesser scale, plus Harriet Tubman for a female example.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bdb5c651
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_bdb5c651
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_bdb5c651
 The Good Lord Bird / int_cb70651c
type
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
 The Good Lord Bird / int_cb70651c
comment
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The visions from God John Brown receives seem to have some startling accuracy, but it's left ambiguous enough that it might have just been dumb luck.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_cb70651c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_cb70651c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_cb70651c
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e21faf11
type
Friend to All Living Things
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e21faf11
comment
Friend to All Living Things: Despite his utmost viciousness to any pro-slavery human being within stabbing/shooting distance, Brown is shown as very gentle towards animals and is often seen caressing random wild animals.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e21faf11
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e21faf11
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_e21faf11
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e2ccee25
type
Animal Motifs
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e2ccee25
comment
Animal Motifs: The story is titled after the Good Lord Bird, a name for the (currently thought to be extinct as of 2020) ivory-billed woodpecker, birds Brown and his men believe to hold a sacred significance of God's wisdom. The birds and their feathers (which are said to grant a man who carries them divine guidance) reoccur in the narrative.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e2ccee25
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e2ccee25
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_e2ccee25
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e4b69188
type
Very Loosely Based on a True Story
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e4b69188
comment
Very Loosely Based on a True Story: "All of this is true. Most of it happened."
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e4b69188
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e4b69188
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_e4b69188
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e8cae797
type
Freudian Trio
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e8cae797
comment
Freudian Trio: While they don't share any actual moments all together on-screen, this is the dynamic between Frederick Douglass, John Brown and Harriet Tubman. Douglass is the collected intellectual fighting against slavery through speeches and debates (The Superego), John Brown is a fiery hellstorm of a man fighting against slavery with all manner of violence (The Id) and Tubman seems to be trying to make sure both approaches aid her Underground Railroad (The Ego).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e8cae797
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_e8cae797
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_e8cae797
 The Good Lord Bird / int_f0515dae
type
Sidelong Glance Biopic
 The Good Lord Bird / int_f0515dae
comment
Sidelong Glance Biopic: It is essentially the life of John Brown (from the mid-1850s up to his death) as told by the perspective of (fictional) runaway slave Little Onion.
 The Good Lord Bird / int_f0515dae
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_f0515dae
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_f0515dae
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fd4f8299
type
Well-Intentioned Extremist
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fd4f8299
comment
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Brown is willing to use violence, including killing unarmed prisoners, in his crusade to eradicate slavery (it helps that his victims are its proponents).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fd4f8299
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fd4f8299
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_fd4f8299
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fff371b4
type
Death Seeker
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fff371b4
comment
Death Seeker: It's hinted John Brown may have been perfectly aware his mission was doomed, but he knew that dying he would do more for the cause than living (something he says in his last conversation with Onion and said in real life).
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fff371b4
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_fff371b4
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_fff371b4
 The Good Lord Bird / int_name
type
ItemName
 The Good Lord Bird / int_name
comment
 The Good Lord Bird / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
The Good Lord Bird / int_name
 The Good Lord Bird / int_name
itemName
The Good Lord Bird

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
Church Militant / int_d13d568f
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
Real Men Love Jesus / int_d13d568f
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
Series of the 2020s / int_d13d568f
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
Slave Liberation / int_d13d568f
 Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil
processingUnknown
The Good Lord Bird
 The Good Lord Bird
hasFeature
Wholesome Crossdresser / int_d13d568f